A year ago, during the first week of Advent, we gathered for the funeral of a young man. He was known to many of us from his participation in camp and his leadership among the youth of our conference. We know his parents. There were many aspects surrounding the tragedy of his death. Part of the depth of loss for us was the sense of what might have been. He was a man of great talent and ability. He had shown great potential for leadership in the church. He was finishing up his undergraduate degree and had spoken of going to seminary to continue his education. Those of us who knew him had felt God’s call in his life and were eagerly anticipating his ministry. As we gathered for his funeral there was a deep sense of the loss of a leader of the church even though he had not yet been ordained, nor had he assumed the role of a church leader.

New ministers are few and far between in this season of the church’s life. We treasure the younger pastors that we have, but we are deeply aware that there are not as many as once was the case and there are not enough to meet the needs of the church. Across the prairies, small town churches are struggling to find leaders. It is unclear whether or not these smaller congregations would be able to afford full time ministry if there were leaders available. The costs of supporting a minister have gone up a great deal. The health insurance premium for a pastor now exceeds the total pay package that we received upon graduation from seminary. Congregations are smaller and have fewer financial resources. It is a hard time for many of our churches.

That sense of uncertainty about leadership for our congregations was a big part of the mood last night as we gathered for a service for one of the elders of our Dakota Association. It will be palpable this morning at his funeral. His years of service have been great and he worked actively as a pastor through the decade of his seventies, and continued to serve as his health allowed to the end of his life at 80 years. As we spoke of his life and his ministry it was clear that there is no one who is ready or able to step up and take his place. It is uncertain who will lead the congregations he pastored. It is uncertain who will assume the role of pastor to the region. He was the person to which hundreds of grieving families have turned to at the time of funerals. He mentored and taught so many of us about the art of providing comfort to grieving families and leading funeral services.

The need has not gone away. There will continue to be deaths. There will continue to be funerals.

As challenging as the current situation is, we know that the times in which we live are not the hardest times in the story of our people. We read of the years of the destruction of the great temple in Jerusalem, of the generations of exile that our people endured. We know of the times of persecution and fear of persecution in the early days of the church and of the sacrifice and deaths of leaders who helped establish our religion. In the history of the church, times when pastors have been educated, equipped and fully supported in their ministries have been rare. The times that we have known in our career as pastors are fairly unique.

Still, it is a worry to come face to face with the reality that stands before the church.

There are plenty of people who are willing to work in urban settings and in congregations that are large and have big budgets. There is no shortage of ones who want the title of pastor along with a salary, a retirement account, vacations, and health insurance. Plush offices and fancy pulpits will not go empty for many years.

But it is different in the small congregations where one or two dozen people gather in buildings that are in need of repair and weekly offerings barely cover the light bill. It is different in communities where the pastor lives many miles from the nearest colleague and there is no one to fill in when illness occurs. It is different in places where there is not enough money to allow for the purchase of new vehicles, but the pastor is still required to drive hundreds of miles to make hospital calls and visit parishioners who live on backroads and byways. It is different to be the sole pastor in a large area where the church isn’t the only struggling institution. Schools too are trying to find acceptable leadership and one would think twice before enrolling one’s children.

So as we celebrate the legacy of service and the great gifts of leadership of one pastor, we wonder about leadership for the next generation of the church. We know that there are some big gaps left in our institution. We know that there are some difficult times ahead.

Our faith teaches us that God will provide the leadership we need - often from unexpected places. It is likely that the ideas we have and the places we will look for leadership may leave us short-handed. It is likely that we have not yet thought of the right solution for the leadership problem of the church in rural and isolated locations.

I’m fairly certain that in the short term there will be a need for some of us to leave the comfort of our homes and congregations to provide occasional services for our neighbors. This is only a partial solution and will provide a kind of “hit and miss” ministry, but it could well be part of the process. We already have been helping with hospital visits and support of families for decades.

We will pray for the leaders that God will provide. We will look in new places and come up with new strategies. Even more, we will expected surprises along the way. When we don’t know the answers, we learn to search diligently and open ourselves to the unexpected.

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