My profession
30/09/15 04:41
After experiencing a call to the ministry, I charged in “full steam ahead.” I served a rural congregation a licensed minister during my final year of undergraduate school. In theological seminary, I enrolled in a combined masters and doctoral program in seminary that required two internships plus Clinical Pastoral Education in addition to the academic work associated with such degrees. Through the process of becoming licensed and then becoming a student in care, I worked with what was then called the Committee on Church and Ministry to maintain my connection with the institutional church. I was examined by the committee both for licensure and for ordination as well as an ecclesiastical council before the Association.
As a result, I have carried with me a strong sense of professionalism and proper preparation and equipping for ministers. I know that the educational requirements of other denominations differ from ours. I have met many pastors who do not have an undergraduate degree who believe that one or two years of unaccredited Bible college is sufficient preparation for ministry.
Often those who have not gone through rigorous preparation lack proper training in how to work with others in professional settings. This is often evident in the hospital, where some of my colleagues, sadly, don’t understand the procedures and protocols of a modern medical facility and make inaccurate assumptions about the role of pastors in the care team. Sometimes they create an image of pastors that makes it difficult for others of us to operate in that setting because they have failed to maintain proper professional relationships, failed to keep confidentiality, and failed to observe hospital protocols.
There are plenty of things in life that require hard work and commitment in order to achieve the competence required. This is true of the ministry as well. What we do often appears to be easy and people sometimes assume that it is a job that anybody can do.
As a result of all of this, I have worked throughout my career to maintain the highest levels of academic integrity and professional qualification. I am quick to refer when I am asked to operate in an area where I lack the experience or training and I maintain a rigorous discipline of reading and continuing education. I’m not a fan of meetings and conferences, but I attend several each year to make sure that I have received appropriate training for the vocation to which I am called.
There is a part of me, however, that is becoming a bit cynical. It may be a product of my aging and having invested quite a few years in ministry. I see things differently than I did when I was freshly ordained and my degrees were new. There are many conferences that I attend where the trainers seem to know less about their subject than I, and it isn’t rare for me to be disappointed at a general lack of knowledge of the relevant literature among my colleagues. I belong to one group that is all clergy with master’s degrees where some of my colleagues complain about the amount of reading required. This frustrates me. I don’t think there is a substitute for reading as an academic discipline. If one has a specific disability there are ways around having to read quietly, but the material needs to be covered if we are to maintain our base of knowledge, skills and training.
I am well aware that it is not academic training that makes a minister. I am equally aware that we in our corner of the Church of Jesus Christ tend to spend a lot of time in our heads, thinking about faith and theology. Often we are less capable at artistic expression and our sermons lack emotional impact. I know that others look at me with legitimate criticism.
On the other hand, I have taken multiple graduate level courses in storytelling, maintain a professional membership in the Fellowship of Biblical Storytellers and take the oral traditions of the church seriously. Unlike some of my colleagues who lecture to their congregations each week, I have made a study of the difference between oral and written language and have invested a lot of time in practicing my skills as an oral presenter.
My problem, I am well aware, is that I can be overly judgmental of my colleagues. What I see as high standards is viewed by some as the gripes of a cranky old man. What I see as professionalism is viewed by others as a gatekeeper attitude focused on keeping others out of the profession. Like most criticism, there is probably truth in their opinion.
I just registered for another conference. It is part of the annual continuing education that goes with professional membership in the International Conference of Police Chaplains. It is a credential that I maintain as a part of my dedication to professional practice. And I confess that the workshops for which I have registered don’t excite me. They sound like workshops that I have attended before. I suspect that some of the trainers have not invested as much energy in learning their field as I have. I realize that I will have to work to remain engaged and pay attention for the things that I am able to learn.
For the first time in my professional career I am beginning to recognize signs that one day it will be time for me to step aside and allow younger leadership to emerge. The honest enthusiasm of youth has much to offer – and is often more reasonable than the cynicism of an old man. And the profession doesn’t need me to act as a gatekeeper. The Holy Spirit has provided the leadership that the church has needed in the past and will continue to do so for generations to come.
So I’ll be there. I’ll try to participate fully. I’ll try not to be too cynical. I’m sure that there are many things that I can still learn. And I’ll pray that perhaps I can teach some of my younger colleagues by example of submitting to the process.
As a result, I have carried with me a strong sense of professionalism and proper preparation and equipping for ministers. I know that the educational requirements of other denominations differ from ours. I have met many pastors who do not have an undergraduate degree who believe that one or two years of unaccredited Bible college is sufficient preparation for ministry.
Often those who have not gone through rigorous preparation lack proper training in how to work with others in professional settings. This is often evident in the hospital, where some of my colleagues, sadly, don’t understand the procedures and protocols of a modern medical facility and make inaccurate assumptions about the role of pastors in the care team. Sometimes they create an image of pastors that makes it difficult for others of us to operate in that setting because they have failed to maintain proper professional relationships, failed to keep confidentiality, and failed to observe hospital protocols.
There are plenty of things in life that require hard work and commitment in order to achieve the competence required. This is true of the ministry as well. What we do often appears to be easy and people sometimes assume that it is a job that anybody can do.
As a result of all of this, I have worked throughout my career to maintain the highest levels of academic integrity and professional qualification. I am quick to refer when I am asked to operate in an area where I lack the experience or training and I maintain a rigorous discipline of reading and continuing education. I’m not a fan of meetings and conferences, but I attend several each year to make sure that I have received appropriate training for the vocation to which I am called.
There is a part of me, however, that is becoming a bit cynical. It may be a product of my aging and having invested quite a few years in ministry. I see things differently than I did when I was freshly ordained and my degrees were new. There are many conferences that I attend where the trainers seem to know less about their subject than I, and it isn’t rare for me to be disappointed at a general lack of knowledge of the relevant literature among my colleagues. I belong to one group that is all clergy with master’s degrees where some of my colleagues complain about the amount of reading required. This frustrates me. I don’t think there is a substitute for reading as an academic discipline. If one has a specific disability there are ways around having to read quietly, but the material needs to be covered if we are to maintain our base of knowledge, skills and training.
I am well aware that it is not academic training that makes a minister. I am equally aware that we in our corner of the Church of Jesus Christ tend to spend a lot of time in our heads, thinking about faith and theology. Often we are less capable at artistic expression and our sermons lack emotional impact. I know that others look at me with legitimate criticism.
On the other hand, I have taken multiple graduate level courses in storytelling, maintain a professional membership in the Fellowship of Biblical Storytellers and take the oral traditions of the church seriously. Unlike some of my colleagues who lecture to their congregations each week, I have made a study of the difference between oral and written language and have invested a lot of time in practicing my skills as an oral presenter.
My problem, I am well aware, is that I can be overly judgmental of my colleagues. What I see as high standards is viewed by some as the gripes of a cranky old man. What I see as professionalism is viewed by others as a gatekeeper attitude focused on keeping others out of the profession. Like most criticism, there is probably truth in their opinion.
I just registered for another conference. It is part of the annual continuing education that goes with professional membership in the International Conference of Police Chaplains. It is a credential that I maintain as a part of my dedication to professional practice. And I confess that the workshops for which I have registered don’t excite me. They sound like workshops that I have attended before. I suspect that some of the trainers have not invested as much energy in learning their field as I have. I realize that I will have to work to remain engaged and pay attention for the things that I am able to learn.
For the first time in my professional career I am beginning to recognize signs that one day it will be time for me to step aside and allow younger leadership to emerge. The honest enthusiasm of youth has much to offer – and is often more reasonable than the cynicism of an old man. And the profession doesn’t need me to act as a gatekeeper. The Holy Spirit has provided the leadership that the church has needed in the past and will continue to do so for generations to come.
So I’ll be there. I’ll try to participate fully. I’ll try not to be too cynical. I’m sure that there are many things that I can still learn. And I’ll pray that perhaps I can teach some of my younger colleagues by example of submitting to the process.