Go out into the world...

Jeffery MacDonald, in an op-ed piece in the August 07 issue of the N.Y Times, speaks of the cultural change that is pressing in on clergy.

The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people.

As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy.

The trend toward consumer-driven religion has been gaining momentum for half a century. Consider that in 1955 only 15 percent of Americans said they no longer adhered to the faith of their childhood, according to a Gallup poll. By 2008, 44 percent had switched their religious affiliation at least once, or dropped it altogether, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found. Americans now sample, dabble and move on when a religious leader fails to satisfy for any reason.

It may sound noble to say that I didn’t enter the ministry to be a success but rather to be faithful, but the truth is that it is hard to be faithful when those that offer you the salary to live want you to satisfy their interests rather than challenge them to make sacrifices for a higher purpose. I think this pressure is real across the theological spectrum. Liberals to conservatives know the pressure.

How do you live with integrity in the pastorate? Let’s explore that in the next few days.

Today is my anniversary of 44 years of marriage. As I approach 70 years of age, next February, and consider my 44 years of marriage, I am filled with gratitude for the life that I have lived. I’ve had the highs and lows that everyone experiences, sometimes resented not being paid what I felt I was worth or appreciated for what I was doing, but if the prayer was that God would provide me each day my daily bread, then I have to say that God has been more than faithful in answering that prayer.

I would pray that others who have responded to God’s call can feel the same overall satisfaction that I have in my ministry. It is not an easy world in which to minister. I don’t know whether it is growing more complex or not but I do believe that the importance of our witness is more significant than ever. In a time when people are consumed by the crass and the trivial, it is important that there be a witness to the sacred and the eternal.

Religion is critical and often destructive factor in the politics of our age. The difference between those who believe they are the agents of God’s truth and those who are willing to submit to God’s will, even when they don’t fully understand, is the difference between violence and peace.

Let’s explore the financial reality with respect to clergy, and others as well, from a theological perspective.

Throughout the biblical story, there has always been a certain amount of tension between what God provides and what we want with respect to the material aspects of life. Let me note a few examples.

One of the first decisions about how much wealth is enough came between Abram and his nephew Lot in Genesis 13. It was wealth that caused the tension between their peoples. When Abram offered Lot the choice of land, he immediately chose the more prosperous section of land to occupy. His greed would eventually have devastating results. Later, in the Exodus, when God was leading the children of Israel across the wilderness, God provided them manna so that they could survive but it was not enough. Then, when they entered the Promised Land, God ordered the dividing up of the land so that each tribe had sufficient to feed their families. Knowing that over time there would be an inequality that would develop, they set up the year of Jubilee so that every generation would have a fresh start with sufficient to experience a secure life.

The examples could continue, but for Christians, the most significant evidence of God’s intent is contained in the words of the Lord’s prayer. We are taught to pray that God will give us each day our daily bread. Christians pray that prayer on a regular basis without considering that from God’s perspective, that is what we need. In contrast to that, Jesus told the parable of the man who built a larger barn to contain his abundant harvest, not recognizing that the blessing of this harvest would not protect his future and could be of benefit to his neighbor. (Luke 12:13-21)

Even for clergy, it is easy to get infected by society’s emphasis on the value of having more and never feeling we have enough.

Yesterday we spoke of the private emotions that affected our spending patterns. Today I want to speak of emotions on a larger scale.

Let’s admit it. While no one ever enters the ministry with the expectation of growing rich, it is also true that none of us think that we are even remotely paid what we are worth. It is easy for us to fall into the comparison trap with other professions. How many professions that require at least a masters degree, and two languages are paid at the level of most clergy. Consider also that you are expected to be a manager of an organization, make at least a weekly public presentation, teach, and have skills in counseling, and you have quite a complex set of responsibilities. Do all that work and in the process have difficulty meeting the basic bills of living, and you have a formula for envy and resentment.

When we began, we knew that our calling required a certain amount of sacrifice, but in the process, especially if it also causes marital strain, it is hard not to feel a little sorry for ourselves. This is where we need to not only become conscious of our feelings but also bring them into conversation with our sense of call. A first step would be to compose to stream of conscious essays. Begin by writing for about 20 uncensored minutes on how you feel about your salary, the stresses that it causes in your life, and the feelings that arise when you compare what you are receiving versus other professions with considerably less demands. Again, the more honest you are when you write this, the better it will be for you. No one else has to see it.

Next, write for 20 minutes or so on your sense of call and the often unfair challenges that you know you have to confront in pursuing this call. Assume for the purpose of your essay, that God is truly asking you to make this sacrifice. Where is God in all of this. Don’t dwell on the “poor me” aspect but rather the “nobleness” of the cause toward which you are working.

If we feel like a victim, we are trapped by negative feelings. If, on the other hand, we are convicted that we are making sacrifices for a greater cause, then there is honorable purpose to what we are doing.

Yesterday we spoke of creating a financial diary for a month to raise awareness of where the small change goes. Today, I want to speak about the emotions that affect our spending patterns.

Either review your month, or better yet start a new month of keeping a financial diary. Only this time, note the feelings that accompany each expenditure. Remember this is a private dairy so you can be completely honest with the process. Are you more likely to buy that expensive cup of coffee in the morning because you need a lift to start the day? Is there a tendency to buy a candy bar near the end of the week because you are growing weary of the grind? Do you tend to reward yourself with a little treat when you have just endured a hard interchange or even when you have accomplished a significant task? Somebody coined the phrase “small indulgences” to explain some of our decisions. I’ve finished this really challenging project. I “deserve” to treat myself to a pair of shoes, a hot fudge sundae, a movie, etc. None of the above is wrong in itself but it can easily become a pattern that causes a problem. By keeping the emotional-financial diary, you are able to evaluate your own emotional response to how you are spending your money.

Try it. You will probably be surprised at how often there is an emotional element to financial spending, especially in the small things.