Installing a conference minister
26/09/15 05:17
Today we’ll drive to Pierre for the installation of our new conference minister. The celebration should be a memorable event, with a preacher who is a well-known church leader. We’ve heard her speak on several occasions and have been inspired by her ministry and leadership in the past. It is fun to get together with other ministers and an installation involves a bit of pomp and ceremony with a procession of robed clergy that is kind of fun from time to time.
The installation of a conference minister is a relatively rare event. This will be only the second installation in South Dakota in the 20 years that I have served in this conference and the first was during my first year as a pastor here. We’ve had other conference ministers, but they have been acting or interim and have not been installed. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long-term relationship.
Conferences, however, are in transition and it is a bit difficult to know what the future holds. In most mainline denominations midlevel judicatories are in decline. When I began my career as a pastor, the South Dakota Conference had three conference ministers and maintained three offices across the state. Now we struggle to keep one conference minister and are exploring ways to share staff with other conferences. Part of this decline has to do with the decline in membership of churches. Across the United States fewer people are members of churches and those who belong tend to participate at a lower level than was the case a few decades ago. The fastest growing religion in America today is “no religious preference.”
Part of the decline in conferences has to do with the impact of technology in our lives and changes in the way we develop relationships. There was a time when physical distance was a huge factor. Face-to-face contact was deemed essential. Conference ministers had to get in their cars and drive hundreds of thousands of miles to be physically present in churches. They were the connection between local congregations and the church’s national setting. Today we can video chat easily. Meetings can be held with conference calls or computer-mediated video conferencing. And we don’t need intermediaries between us and the church’s national setting. We can go online and be in direct contact with the resources of the national churches without the need for a go-between. Furthermore, while the church’s conference and national settings were once the sources of innovation, programming and resources, most local congregations have multiple sources of these things. As conferences have cut back, we have become more self-reliant on the local level.
In terms of program and resources, conferences are becoming largely irrelevant to the live of local congregations.
Religion, however, is not about numbers and statistics and counting people is not an accurate measure of faith nor is it an appropriate place to look for hope for those who place their trust in God.
There was a time, earlier in my career, when I thought that I would be a conference minister. When we served in North Dakota, I was a member of a search committee for a new conference minister. Over the years I have served in the conference and national settings of the church in many different roles. I understand the dynamics of conference ministry quite well and appreciate the work that connects us as individual congregations. When I reached mid-career, I was selected to participate in a program of developing conference ministers and identified as a potential candidate for conference positions.
Looking back, I am grateful that a call to conference ministry did not exist for me and that my career didn’t take that particular turn. The joys of preaching to the same congregation for a long period of time, serving people through a variety of life settings and situations, watching families grow, and witnessing the coming and going of many people is not to be taken lightly. I have baptized the children of couples at whose marriages I officiated. I have celebrated the confirmations of children whose baptism I celebrated. There are families in our congregation for whom I’ve led funerals, baptisms, confirmations, weddings and other significant celebrations for three generations. The relationships that are built in long-term ministry are deep and meaningful.
I know that I have been much better suited to the path my life has taken than I would have been to an office-based administrative minister. Years ago when I would hear about conference ministry as a specialty, I used to balk. I have been active in conferences all of my life. I know who does the work of the conference and, in general, it is not the conference minister. Local church pastors and lay persons serve on the committees and do the work of the conference. The conference minister’s roll is partly ceremonial - the officiant at certain events - and partly coordinating. And a conference minister goes from church to church, rarely speaking to the same congregation more than once a year and in many cases less often than that.
Tomorrow I will preach a sermon on Esther to our congregation. The book of Ester appears in our lectionary only once every three years. Many pastors never get to preach a second sermon on Esther in a single congregation. This will be my seventh in this congregation. Of course the congregation is dynamic and there aren’t too many people who have been present for all seven sermons. Still, the joy of returning to the same scripture with some of the same people is significant. We can reach for depth that isn’t possible in a “hit-ant-run” style of ministry.
I know that I am best suited for long-term relationships and am grateful that my ministry has taken the shape of being able to explore the precious relationship of pastor and congregation as central to our life of faith.
So today, as we worship, I’ll offer a somewhat selfish prayer, thanking God that it is not me who is being installed to this challenging and difficult ministry. My I show my faith by supporting our new minister.
The installation of a conference minister is a relatively rare event. This will be only the second installation in South Dakota in the 20 years that I have served in this conference and the first was during my first year as a pastor here. We’ve had other conference ministers, but they have been acting or interim and have not been installed. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long-term relationship.
Conferences, however, are in transition and it is a bit difficult to know what the future holds. In most mainline denominations midlevel judicatories are in decline. When I began my career as a pastor, the South Dakota Conference had three conference ministers and maintained three offices across the state. Now we struggle to keep one conference minister and are exploring ways to share staff with other conferences. Part of this decline has to do with the decline in membership of churches. Across the United States fewer people are members of churches and those who belong tend to participate at a lower level than was the case a few decades ago. The fastest growing religion in America today is “no religious preference.”
Part of the decline in conferences has to do with the impact of technology in our lives and changes in the way we develop relationships. There was a time when physical distance was a huge factor. Face-to-face contact was deemed essential. Conference ministers had to get in their cars and drive hundreds of thousands of miles to be physically present in churches. They were the connection between local congregations and the church’s national setting. Today we can video chat easily. Meetings can be held with conference calls or computer-mediated video conferencing. And we don’t need intermediaries between us and the church’s national setting. We can go online and be in direct contact with the resources of the national churches without the need for a go-between. Furthermore, while the church’s conference and national settings were once the sources of innovation, programming and resources, most local congregations have multiple sources of these things. As conferences have cut back, we have become more self-reliant on the local level.
In terms of program and resources, conferences are becoming largely irrelevant to the live of local congregations.
Religion, however, is not about numbers and statistics and counting people is not an accurate measure of faith nor is it an appropriate place to look for hope for those who place their trust in God.
There was a time, earlier in my career, when I thought that I would be a conference minister. When we served in North Dakota, I was a member of a search committee for a new conference minister. Over the years I have served in the conference and national settings of the church in many different roles. I understand the dynamics of conference ministry quite well and appreciate the work that connects us as individual congregations. When I reached mid-career, I was selected to participate in a program of developing conference ministers and identified as a potential candidate for conference positions.
Looking back, I am grateful that a call to conference ministry did not exist for me and that my career didn’t take that particular turn. The joys of preaching to the same congregation for a long period of time, serving people through a variety of life settings and situations, watching families grow, and witnessing the coming and going of many people is not to be taken lightly. I have baptized the children of couples at whose marriages I officiated. I have celebrated the confirmations of children whose baptism I celebrated. There are families in our congregation for whom I’ve led funerals, baptisms, confirmations, weddings and other significant celebrations for three generations. The relationships that are built in long-term ministry are deep and meaningful.
I know that I have been much better suited to the path my life has taken than I would have been to an office-based administrative minister. Years ago when I would hear about conference ministry as a specialty, I used to balk. I have been active in conferences all of my life. I know who does the work of the conference and, in general, it is not the conference minister. Local church pastors and lay persons serve on the committees and do the work of the conference. The conference minister’s roll is partly ceremonial - the officiant at certain events - and partly coordinating. And a conference minister goes from church to church, rarely speaking to the same congregation more than once a year and in many cases less often than that.
Tomorrow I will preach a sermon on Esther to our congregation. The book of Ester appears in our lectionary only once every three years. Many pastors never get to preach a second sermon on Esther in a single congregation. This will be my seventh in this congregation. Of course the congregation is dynamic and there aren’t too many people who have been present for all seven sermons. Still, the joy of returning to the same scripture with some of the same people is significant. We can reach for depth that isn’t possible in a “hit-ant-run” style of ministry.
I know that I am best suited for long-term relationships and am grateful that my ministry has taken the shape of being able to explore the precious relationship of pastor and congregation as central to our life of faith.
So today, as we worship, I’ll offer a somewhat selfish prayer, thanking God that it is not me who is being installed to this challenging and difficult ministry. My I show my faith by supporting our new minister.