My sense is that membership in the CRC (and in most denominations) used to be much more important than it currently is. I'm speaking very broadly, but my observation is that in recent years membership in a particular church or denomination in North America has become less of an emphasis and there is more of an emphasis on one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ, active engagement in the church, and living out faith.
Within that there is a move again to reclaim and restate the value of membership - to invite people to commit to being part of a particular community of faith. I recently led a new members class at our church and it was a beautiful experience to be able to connect with people who were newer to our congregation, share about our church's story, hear their own faith stories, and invite them more deeply into the life of the church.
I don't know if that helps answer your question? Would love to hear more of the context behind your question and chat more if it would be helpful.
I don't think acknowledging the reality of the burnout experienced by many in pastoral ministry in any way is meant to say that the modern Pastor has a harder life than those of previous generations. Pastoral ministry has always been both deeply rewarding and deeply challenging. Congregational stressors and pressures change over time, but each generation and changing season brings with it different challenges (and some challenges that are timeless).
I'm grateful for articles like this that provide encouragement and steps that Pastors and congregations can take when they recognize that Pastors (or other ministry leaders) are experiencing burnout so that their leaders are able to be healthy. As you say, it really has a negative impact on the whole congregation when the leader is burnt out and depressed. It is a gift when time and space is given to be able to take a step back, re-evaluate, and re-engage in ministry from a healthier place where you are once again deeply connected with the calling that led you there in the first place. I would hate to see pastors going through a hard time give up all together just because they have lost the initial joy of the calling. Instead I would hope that they would see it as an invitation to take a new approach to ministry or put support systems and structures in place like those described in this article that can enable them to discover again the joy and priviledge it is to serve the church.
Your letter makes a lot of assumptions about the workload and expectations on modern pastors. It's helpful to remember that not all Pastors are serving in contexts where their churches can afford to pay them $100,000 plus benefits. Not all have substantial vacations and other time off. An increasing number of Pastors are bi-vocational, juggling a part-time or full-time job in addition to serving at the church. This can create additional opportunities as well as new challenges.
As I interact with my peers in ministry, it has thankfully not been my sense that we are "hard done by." Yes, we commiserate over common challenges or things we are struggling with. Yes, after the past two years many are tired. But we also share about the joys of the work God has called us to, pray for each other, and do our best to encourage one another and build each other up. What encourages us and motivates us to continue going in ministry is not the size of the paycheck or the perks and benefits, but knowing that we have the incredible and humbling priviledge to be a part of the the work God is doing in and through his church.
Blessings to you as you serve in your congregation and community! I can tell from your comments that while you are frustrated at present, you care deeply for the church and long to see pastors healthy and thriving in ministry. As you pray for and seek to support and encourage the pastors around you, you have the opportunity to be a part of bringing that vision into reality.
My apologies for misspelling your name! I don't know where I got that extra "a" from. Thank you for providing additional context. I have a much better understanding of your reaction to the article. As I reflect on your post, I wonder if two additional pieces of advice for those facing burnout could be:
9. Develop life-giving routines and systems of accountability.
I really appreciate your sentence "It is the vast acres of unstructured time, largely unsupervised and unaccounted for, which works hand in hand with the depression which I observe as pervasive in our clergy." In many pastoral roles you do have a large amount of freedom in structuring your time on a weekly and daily basis. I can see how this can lead to both over-working and under-working. Some Pastors end up turning all their time into "work time" to the neglect of family, hobbies, and health. On the other hand without the structure of needing to be up and at a particular place at a particular time, there are days when it can be hard to find the motivation to get out of bed. One can lead to the other. The past two years of navigating the pandemic has only made this worse as many routines and systems were disrupted by changes to working environments, fewer opportunities to connect with others, loss of familiar working habits and rhythms, etc. As I reflect on how the past two years have been for myself I can think of specific stretches when I was working mostly from home where I did struggle more with my mental health. Some things I found helpful were creating clear goals and objectives for the next 3-4 months on a regular basis and then coming up with realistic and specific strategies to achieve those objectives, making use of time blocking, and writing regular reports to our staff team and elders. I also found myself having to recommit to embracing God's good gift of Sabbath rest. There are times when the cell phone needs to be off and email needs to go unchecked for a time.
10. Engage in a new activity or learn something new
Your second to last paragraph describes a sort of settled complacency that I think could be the temptation in any field. I appreciate that you suggest a number of different activities that could engage the mind and heart in a new way and be professionally energizing - develop new goals, write a book or regular column that allows you to do research and reflect on aspects of ministry or theology that interest you, get involved in the civic life of your community, connect with parishioners of all ages from those in school to those in the workplace to become familiar with their daily lives and learn valuable new insights, engage in classical activities to continue to stretch and grow in different areas.
Thank you again for the conversation. I am grateful I pushed back a bit on your response because your perspective has given me some good things to continue to ponder.
We're currently doing a series called "Deep Roots, New Branches" during Lent that looks at how we can sink our roots down deep into what we believe as we learn to develop the habit of paying attention to the new things that we see God doing in our lives, our families, our community, and our world.
There are a lot of challenging things going on in the world around us. Our prayer is that in this season we will find strength in the faith that keeps us grounded and hope as we see the new life that God is able to bring.
I've enjoyed not just singing along with the service, but also playing along with the worship! It helps me stay more actively involved. I play piano, but I could see others engaging in this way using rhythm instruments like shakers or even homemade instruments!
I'm at Hope Fellowship Church in Courtice, Ontario and we use computer software to keep track of our membership records. Specifically we are currently using the software Planning Center People for this. There are a number of different software options available out there that churches can use! I don't believe we have any paper copy of membership or that keeping a paper copy is a requirement for churches.
Posted in: History of Membership in CRC?
Hi Cindy,
My sense is that membership in the CRC (and in most denominations) used to be much more important than it currently is. I'm speaking very broadly, but my observation is that in recent years membership in a particular church or denomination in North America has become less of an emphasis and there is more of an emphasis on one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ, active engagement in the church, and living out faith.
Within that there is a move again to reclaim and restate the value of membership - to invite people to commit to being part of a particular community of faith. I recently led a new members class at our church and it was a beautiful experience to be able to connect with people who were newer to our congregation, share about our church's story, hear their own faith stories, and invite them more deeply into the life of the church.
I don't know if that helps answer your question? Would love to hear more of the context behind your question and chat more if it would be helpful.
Posted in: How to Handle Pastoral Burnout in a COVID-Plus World
Dear Mr. Tamminga,
I don't think acknowledging the reality of the burnout experienced by many in pastoral ministry in any way is meant to say that the modern Pastor has a harder life than those of previous generations. Pastoral ministry has always been both deeply rewarding and deeply challenging. Congregational stressors and pressures change over time, but each generation and changing season brings with it different challenges (and some challenges that are timeless).
I'm grateful for articles like this that provide encouragement and steps that Pastors and congregations can take when they recognize that Pastors (or other ministry leaders) are experiencing burnout so that their leaders are able to be healthy. As you say, it really has a negative impact on the whole congregation when the leader is burnt out and depressed. It is a gift when time and space is given to be able to take a step back, re-evaluate, and re-engage in ministry from a healthier place where you are once again deeply connected with the calling that led you there in the first place. I would hate to see pastors going through a hard time give up all together just because they have lost the initial joy of the calling. Instead I would hope that they would see it as an invitation to take a new approach to ministry or put support systems and structures in place like those described in this article that can enable them to discover again the joy and priviledge it is to serve the church.
Your letter makes a lot of assumptions about the workload and expectations on modern pastors. It's helpful to remember that not all Pastors are serving in contexts where their churches can afford to pay them $100,000 plus benefits. Not all have substantial vacations and other time off. An increasing number of Pastors are bi-vocational, juggling a part-time or full-time job in addition to serving at the church. This can create additional opportunities as well as new challenges.
As I interact with my peers in ministry, it has thankfully not been my sense that we are "hard done by." Yes, we commiserate over common challenges or things we are struggling with. Yes, after the past two years many are tired. But we also share about the joys of the work God has called us to, pray for each other, and do our best to encourage one another and build each other up. What encourages us and motivates us to continue going in ministry is not the size of the paycheck or the perks and benefits, but knowing that we have the incredible and humbling priviledge to be a part of the the work God is doing in and through his church.
Blessings to you as you serve in your congregation and community! I can tell from your comments that while you are frustrated at present, you care deeply for the church and long to see pastors healthy and thriving in ministry. As you pray for and seek to support and encourage the pastors around you, you have the opportunity to be a part of bringing that vision into reality.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Nicole McLeod
Posted in: How to Handle Pastoral Burnout in a COVID-Plus World
My apologies for misspelling your name! I don't know where I got that extra "a" from. Thank you for providing additional context. I have a much better understanding of your reaction to the article. As I reflect on your post, I wonder if two additional pieces of advice for those facing burnout could be:
9. Develop life-giving routines and systems of accountability.
I really appreciate your sentence "It is the vast acres of unstructured time, largely unsupervised and unaccounted for, which works hand in hand with the depression which I observe as pervasive in our clergy." In many pastoral roles you do have a large amount of freedom in structuring your time on a weekly and daily basis. I can see how this can lead to both over-working and under-working. Some Pastors end up turning all their time into "work time" to the neglect of family, hobbies, and health. On the other hand without the structure of needing to be up and at a particular place at a particular time, there are days when it can be hard to find the motivation to get out of bed. One can lead to the other. The past two years of navigating the pandemic has only made this worse as many routines and systems were disrupted by changes to working environments, fewer opportunities to connect with others, loss of familiar working habits and rhythms, etc. As I reflect on how the past two years have been for myself I can think of specific stretches when I was working mostly from home where I did struggle more with my mental health. Some things I found helpful were creating clear goals and objectives for the next 3-4 months on a regular basis and then coming up with realistic and specific strategies to achieve those objectives, making use of time blocking, and writing regular reports to our staff team and elders. I also found myself having to recommit to embracing God's good gift of Sabbath rest. There are times when the cell phone needs to be off and email needs to go unchecked for a time.
10. Engage in a new activity or learn something new
Your second to last paragraph describes a sort of settled complacency that I think could be the temptation in any field. I appreciate that you suggest a number of different activities that could engage the mind and heart in a new way and be professionally energizing - develop new goals, write a book or regular column that allows you to do research and reflect on aspects of ministry or theology that interest you, get involved in the civic life of your community, connect with parishioners of all ages from those in school to those in the workplace to become familiar with their daily lives and learn valuable new insights, engage in classical activities to continue to stretch and grow in different areas.
Thank you again for the conversation. I am grateful I pushed back a bit on your response because your perspective has given me some good things to continue to ponder.
Posted in: Current Sermon Series?
We're currently doing a series called "Deep Roots, New Branches" during Lent that looks at how we can sink our roots down deep into what we believe as we learn to develop the habit of paying attention to the new things that we see God doing in our lives, our families, our community, and our world.
There are a lot of challenging things going on in the world around us. Our prayer is that in this season we will find strength in the faith that keeps us grounded and hope as we see the new life that God is able to bring.
Posted in: Does Worshiping at Home Feel Awkward? You’re Not Alone
I've enjoyed not just singing along with the service, but also playing along with the worship! It helps me stay more actively involved. I play piano, but I could see others engaging in this way using rhythm instruments like shakers or even homemade instruments!
Posted in: Track Church Membership Using Excel?
Hi Joshua,
I'm at Hope Fellowship Church in Courtice, Ontario and we use computer software to keep track of our membership records. Specifically we are currently using the software Planning Center People for this. There are a number of different software options available out there that churches can use! I don't believe we have any paper copy of membership or that keeping a paper copy is a requirement for churches.