I’m a minister and I care about ministerial credentials. This is partially why I enjoy my work on my association’s COM (Committee on Ministry - we work with those who have ministerial standing and those who are discerning a call to ministerial). I’d like to think that I’m fairly good at it. I have gone to college and seminary and keep up with certificates and continuing education yearly. I find this to be important because I want to be the best I can be and faith is constantly evolving along with the scholarship.
So I am very bothered when I see colleagues who don’t do continuing education. I’m gravely concerned about people who think they can become pastors simply by going online and paying a fee or taking a one weekend class. I’m not saying that lay people, those who don’t go to seminary or divinity school, cannot become great, well rounded pastors. I fully support alternative routes to ministry and if I was looking at going into ministry today, I would probably use an alternative route versus the more traditional setting of seminary.
What I am saying is when people say that God has called them, they start their own churches/faith communities, ordain themselves, rely on Wikipedia for all of their “scholarly information,” and then preach/teach/counsel in the name of God I’m concerned. There is a lot of power and authority that pastors/ministers/priests hold. That is something very serious. I have seen and worked with many people who have been hurt by religious leaders who had little to no training or refused to do any continuing education. At the least offensive these hurts were over leadership styles that do not work anymore. I’ve seen churches die because people were upset about the color of the new carpeting or because folks were run out of the church for having a difference of opinion. At its worst people have lived through experiences of “being fixed/saved that are criminal in nature. Groups of people have been demonized, told they have no place in religion, and physically harmed. Some people have died because of dangerous religious teachings.
I don’t want to spend half of my time in ministry taking more classes. I can’t sit still that long any more. And to be honest life and ministry happen all of the time. But I do go to retreats, meet with a small group of clergy colleagues, read books and attend lectures/webinars that challenge, and teach me. I do this, and expect my clergy colleagues to do the same, because it’s part of the checks and balance we all need. We all need to learn from others who do not agree with us. I think it makes me a better pastor and person.
So I am very bothered when I see colleagues who don’t do continuing education. I’m gravely concerned about people who think they can become pastors simply by going online and paying a fee or taking a one weekend class. I’m not saying that lay people, those who don’t go to seminary or divinity school, cannot become great, well rounded pastors. I fully support alternative routes to ministry and if I was looking at going into ministry today, I would probably use an alternative route versus the more traditional setting of seminary.
What I am saying is when people say that God has called them, they start their own churches/faith communities, ordain themselves, rely on Wikipedia for all of their “scholarly information,” and then preach/teach/counsel in the name of God I’m concerned. There is a lot of power and authority that pastors/ministers/priests hold. That is something very serious. I have seen and worked with many people who have been hurt by religious leaders who had little to no training or refused to do any continuing education. At the least offensive these hurts were over leadership styles that do not work anymore. I’ve seen churches die because people were upset about the color of the new carpeting or because folks were run out of the church for having a difference of opinion. At its worst people have lived through experiences of “being fixed/saved that are criminal in nature. Groups of people have been demonized, told they have no place in religion, and physically harmed. Some people have died because of dangerous religious teachings.
I don’t want to spend half of my time in ministry taking more classes. I can’t sit still that long any more. And to be honest life and ministry happen all of the time. But I do go to retreats, meet with a small group of clergy colleagues, read books and attend lectures/webinars that challenge, and teach me. I do this, and expect my clergy colleagues to do the same, because it’s part of the checks and balance we all need. We all need to learn from others who do not agree with us. I think it makes me a better pastor and person.
So please folks - do the work. Do the continuing education. And church people expect your church leadership to do the work. Check out where and how they came to be a minister. Ask questions and faithful listen. This work is sacred and powerful and deserves to be treated as such.
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