Dr. Leonard Greenway, pastor of the Riverside Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is in charge of Our Question Box. This department is for everyone. No signatures are required and no names are published.
Although we are happy about the popularity of this department, we regret that, due to all the questions on hand, no more should be sent until further notice. The patience of our readers will therefore be greatly appreciated.
From a reader who prefers not to be identified as to area of residence—
Question: We are disturbed in our church by what appears to be a trend among pastors—our own included to ask for a leave of absence for “study” with no intention of resuming the present pastorate when the “study” is completed. Some of these pastors on study-leave have part-time secular employment, working on projects not even remotely connected with the office of the minister of the Word. Have you any comments on this situation?
Answer: I share your concern, and so do many brother ministers who have been watching this trend. And by the way, something a bit similar is happening in the Church of Rome where priests and nuns are quitting their orders in disturbing numbers.
What is back of it all? There is no one answer that covers the entire situation. For one thing, personal tensions appear to be on the rise among pastors. That raises the question, What is producing these tensions? This is a study by itself. Then too, I have observed that an increasing number of incompatibilities seem to be surfacing in the lives of some ministers during their first pastorate or soon after. One wonders whether a more thorough psychological testing program should not be introduced in the schooling of these men before they reach the seminary. I have on my desk right now a long letter from a distraught young pastor who had personality problems when he was in school. These problems have now been aggravated by what one writer calls “parsonage pains,” and the young pastor is ready to call it quits! Last week I had a telephone call from another pastor, also considerably younger than I, who is beginning to suffer emotionally from similar incompatibilities. Counseling these men is not easy. Too much has already transpired before they came for counsel.
Another factor to be considered is the new worship tastes that have developed in certain congregations. As Dr.Donald Macleod of Princeton Seminary puts it, They prefer “immanence in a turtleneck sweater to transcendence with a halo.” So many worshippers today bring to church on Sunday a picture-conscious mentality, created by TV, slick papers, magazines, and advertising media. They want, therefore, more of the “seen,” the non-verbal, and the element of drama in liturgical communication. The anticipation of worship on the Lord’s Day has become partly an anticipation of entertainment. Each “performance” must outdo the previous one. Pastors of such congregations enter the chancel well aware, often painfully aware, of the contemporary passion for freshness, first–time-ness, and sparkling originality. Not every pastor can bear up under this pressure. And so they start looking for exit signs!
There is more to be said in answer to the above question. Perhaps I can address myself to it again in a future article.
