Glut of preachers struggle to find jobs

[Ed Barrow]

A combination of many preachers, too many small churches and a bad economy have led to one of the worst job markets for ministers in decades. That has led to the so-called clergy glut. According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, there are more than 600,000 ministers in the United States but only 338,000 churches. Many of those are small churches that can't afford a full-time preacher. Among Presbyterians, there are four pastors looking for work for every one job opening.

That has left many good pastors out in the cold, waiting before finding a new job or finding alternative employment, denominational leaders say.

"There's lots of really good pastors out there who are having a terrible time," said Phil Leftwich, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee.

...

"There are churches in need of a pastor who don't happen to be in the places where clergy want to go," he said. "A small church that can barely afford a pastor of any kind and it's in the middle of nowhere, and the candidates look at that and say, 'We don't want to go out there.' "


http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100606/NEWS06/6060349/Glut+of+preachers+struggle+to+find+jobs

[msongs]

1. they can get a job doing something good for society instead lol nt

[DeSwiss]

18. +1

[jwirr]

2. My brother visited our childhood church and they are sharing a preacher

with another church and he said it was in such bad physical condition and only a few members left.

[Scuba]

3. Why don't they just pray? I'm sure god will provide.

[Angry Dragon]

4. 'We don't want to go out there.' "

Then the calling to serve your god must not be very strong

[NC_Nurse]

6. That occurred to me too. So much for taking the message to the flock.

:eyes:

[LAGC]

8. One of my old bosses became a rural fundamentalist Baptist preacher.

He left a good-paying job to move down to Yuma, AZ and take over a small Baptist church down there. Needless to say, I didn't agree with him on very many things politically, but I do have to give him credit for following his convictions and giving up everything to help out a neglected church that so many prior pastors had abandoned. He turned it around, grew it from just a few families to over a dozen, but there's a large Catholic presence down there along the border made up of Mexican immigrants, so its mainly the black and white minority who make up his congregation. As far as I know, he's still running that little church. I can't imagine he gets paid very well, but he sees it as his life duty. I can't help but think that when he dies soon of old age, that church will die with him. There simply aren't that many pastors out there that aren't in it for at least the hopes of a decent paycheck.

Vows of poverty for clergy seem to be a thing of the past...

[Angry Dragon]

11. Maybe it says a lot about your old boss

Money can make your life easier but it can not make one feel complete.
Perhaps if we all tried to do with less and cared more of others
this world and country would be a better place.

If one goes in search of money one can never find enough to fill the voids inside the soul.

[SocialistLez]

5. A church by my house is for sale.

I'm not sure if it's because they need a larger church or because they aren't bringing in enough money.

There are 6 churches within a 2-3 mile radius of my house. Crazy.

[Angry Dragon]

7. Perhaps religion is on the wane

[Interloper]

9. Clergy shouldn't be paid

Being the leader of a congregation should not be something that people should do for financial reasons. I don't think that they should be paid at all. The church is for the community, not the preacher. He/She should do it out of love. I like to study spiritual topics. I would be thrilled if somebody wanted to hear my thoughts on God.

[Angry Dragon]

13. You might find it hard to live on just people listening to you

Food, housing, retirement, clothes, family obligations, transportation, health insurance, the list goes on

[marybourg]

16. Will they pay for food and gas with love? nt

[Interloper]

19. Have jobs like the rest of us

The churches I went to as a kid the ministers had jobs during the week like everybody else.
I know it's a strange concept to those that think that they are entitled to feed off of the congregation.
But, most of the sermons come out of sermon outline books. The administration aspect takes one hour at most.
What's left? Counseling? Many preacher are already employed as counselers and paid by the state.
Their church is their pool. Do you get the real reason they become ministers?
There is no reason why they should be paid by the church. Let them get a real job.
And if they have a real calling they will do it freely.

[Chulanowa]

10. Oh, the poor dears

Fellas, your antecedents lived lives of abject poverty to not only prove their faith but to scourge worldly bonds from their soul in order to ease their path to heaven.

if a bunch of skinny frenchmen in cassocks can manage a life of humble, pious poverty, i'm sure your asses can, too. Just cut back on buying the mercedes and pomade, you'll be fine.

[safeinOhio]

12. My small, very liberal church

hasn't had a minister in 3 years. We do it all on our own and have a great time. We've found great speakers on all kinds of topics for reasonable rates.

[Angry Dragon]

14. Good for you

[LuvNewcastle]

15. Seminaries should warn future pastors

about the scarcity of churches out there. If they still insist on being a preacher, they should tell them to train for another vocation as well. My father learned all that the hard way and he didn't quite know what to do when a small country church asked him to be their pastor. He wasn't making quite enough money and he didn't have a back-up to earn some extra cash. Fortunately, my mother got a job at the bank and that made sure that we had a comfortable lifestyle. My father was never happy after that. He felt hemmed-in by his job and thus, was never able to loosen up and be happy with what he had.

[ZombieHorde]

17. Awesome. nt