[UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 260-Clergy effectiveness study will enhance training, says leader

[NewsDesk]

Clergy effectiveness study will enhance training, says leader 

Jun. 24, 2008     

A UMNS Report 
By Vicki Brown* 

An analysis of what makes an effective pastor will enhance training
provided this summer to United Methodist annual (regional) conferences.

The Rev. Sharon Rubey, director of candidacy and conference relations at
the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said the
study would provide useful information for those who work with
candidates for ministry, assign pastors to churches, and do clergy
supervision.

Richard P. DeShon, a psychology professor at Michigan State University
in East Lansing, Mich., used focus groups to conduct the study. "The
breadth of tasks performed by local church pastors, coupled with the
rapid switching between tasks and roles prevalent in this job is
unique," he reported. "It is remarkable how complex this job is."

The next step, according to Rubey, is to develop and distribute a survey
about the underlying behaviors associated with effective ministry "to
learn more about the amount of time and the value that is given to each
behavior."

"Along with that, we hope to survey congregations... to find out the
kinds of knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics
(that) are desired in pastoral leadership," she added. "Together, these
studies will offer guidelines that can be helpful in matching pastors
with congregations."

The study, completed last December, used focus groups of pastors who
were identified as "high performing pastors" by boards of ordained
ministry and district superintendents. The 20 pastors chosen were
diverse in gender, racial/ethnic background and age and represented a
variety of ministry settings and different sizes of churches.

Tasks contribute to effectiveness 

A set of 13 clusters or groups of tasks that contribute to effective
performance emerged from the discussions. Those are: administration,
caregiving, rituals and sacraments, facility construction,
communication, relationship building, evangelism, fellowship,
management, preaching and public worship, self-development, United
Methodist connectional service, and other development, such as
performing activities to teach, train or mentor individuals and groups
to improve their knowledge and skills. 

"Every pastor is not going to be able to perform all these tasks well,"
DeShon said. He pointed out that "the people who are effective at very
big churches could out-compete CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The
problem is there aren't that many of them."

The Rev. Tom Pace, senior pastor of St. Luke's United Methodist Church
in Houston and focus group participant, believes there is one crucial
element an effective pastor must have. "You have to know how to learn,
and you have to like doing it," he said.

"I also think pastors have to be self-assured enough that they can be
psychologically grounded," he said. "There is no work other than
politics or acting where it is so much about whether people like you."

When he first came to St. Luke's - a church with about 2,000 weekly
attendance at worship - some people left simply because he wasn't the
former pastor, and they did not like him as much, Pace acknowledged. 

Scope of responsibilities 

The Rev. Sara Thompson-Tweedy, pastor of The Federated Church of
Kerhonkson in Kerhonkson, N.Y., said she was stunned at the scope of the
tasks identified by the focus groups. 

"But really, it's the work of the church. It falls on clergy to do it or
see that it gets done, but there is no way one person could do
everything," she said. The church she pastors has about 100 members in a
community of 2,000.

Both Thompson-Tweedy and Pace said churches teach their pastor things
they need to know. 

"When I went into ministry, I would have thought care giving was my
strength," she explained. But now, she believes her particular strengths
are preaching and public worship. "I feel so alive when I preach, teach,
and lead worship."

Tweedy-Thompson said good pastors must learn to delegate and be willing
to let people fail gracefully. "If you stand over someone with your foot
in their chest, they are going to do nothing or get sick of you and
leave. You may discover you've delegated to the wrong person. If they
fail, you need to pat them on them on the back and say that's fine."

DeShon said all of the pastors in the focus groups talked about the
importance of a strong call and also about finding a balance between
life and being clergy.

In addition to a call, DeShon noted it was clear that good pastors have
to be adaptable, intelligent, and have good social skills. "You must
have a strong sense of call and nothing can substitute for that," he
said. "A lot of other things you can work on."

To read the study, visit www.gbhem.org and click on Boards of Ordained
Ministry. 

*Brown is associate editor and writer, Office of Interpretation, United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk at umcom.org. 

******************** 

United Methodist News Service 
Photos and stories also available at: 
http://umns.umc.org 




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