Toward a Higher Quality of Christian Ministry A Study of Church Leadership Funded by the Lilly Endow

1
Toward a Higher Quality of Christian MinistryA
Study of Church Leadership Funded by the Lilly
Endowment
2
DISCERNING THE HEART OFPASTORAL
LEADERSHIPDreibelbis GortnerSeabury-Western
Seminary
3
Discerning the Heart of Pastoral Leadership

• Congregations are the
• principle context
• Listening to congregations involves discipline
  rigor
• Clergy competency and congregational vitality
  reinforce each other
• Seminaries can develop competency-oriented models
  of education

4
Listening to CongregationsNo Simple Endeavor!
5
Problems in listening to congregations

• Opinions ? Behaviors
• Wish-lists Expectations ? Lived Experience
• Leadership function is often hidden
• Descriptive ? Prescriptive

6
What lay people want in pastors (Lummis, Pulpit
Pew, 2003)

• Demonstrated competence, experience
• Religious authenticity, spiritual leadership
• Preaching that is relevant engaging
• Commitment to parish ministry, above self-care
  time for family
• Approachability, warmth, good "people skills
• Consensus building, lay ministry coaching
• Entrepreneurial evangelism w/o change
• Male, under 40, married

7
What Seminary Professors Say Are Good Ministry
Qualities (What Is Good Ministry study, 2002)

• Deep spirituality
• Engaged deeply with their tradition
• Word Sacraments
• Lover for God Gods People? to the point of
  willingness to sacrifice

8
Catholic Clergy (Kennedy Heckler, 1972
Greeley, 1972)

• Bright, able, and dedicated, but also
  underdeveloped as persons
• Not strong in assertiveness and dealing with
  aggression
• A key in clergy career satisfaction
  inner-directedness
• the protective function of the priesthood role
  for the underdeveloped, affects markedly their
  capacity to implement religious ideals

9
U.S. Clergy Today (Hadaway, 2002)

• Members see their rectors as caring, spiritual,
  hard-working, and knowledgeable
• Members do not see their rectors as evangelistic,
  charismatic, or capable in administration
  conflict negotiation
• Mid-point strengths -- building cooperation and
  providing a clear vision -- directly related to
  church vitality

10
Toward an Integrated Model of Seminary Education
11
Seaburys Focus on Leadership Development

• Nine years (since 1995)
• Integrated models of seminary education /
  graduate training
• Joint focus on contexts and competencies for
  ministry

12
Models of Theological Education

• Academic
• Traditional Divinity School model
• Stress on mastering body of semantic knowledge
• Parallels MA / MS in humanities, sciences

13
Models of Theological Education

• Formational
• Common Denominational Seminary model
• Stress on personal formation, integration (faith,
  knowledge, self), religious identity
• Parallels Certification in psychoanalytic
  training, some social work community organizing
  training

14
Models of Theological Education

• Professional
• Least common model often resisted
• Stress on competency skill development, tacit /
  procedural knowledge, reflective practice
• Parallels MFA in arts, MBA, MD, PsyD

15
What Clergy Told Us about Seminary Education
16
What Clergy Told Us about Seminary Education
17
What Clergy Told Us about Seminary Education

• Well, I think I learned to talk better about
  the faith. You know, I got a little more
  articulate about stuff. And, I mean, I learned a
  lot. Im not saying I didnt learn anything
  because I did. You know, I acquired a body of
  information with which to sort of a toolbox, I
  guess. No, I didnt acquire tools, I acquired
  information, from which I could fashion tools.

18
What Clergy Told Us about Seminary Education

• In some ways, seminary is just kind of a black
  hole. You were in it. You did it. And you came
  out of it shaped differently. But, it just
  didnt really relate to anything else, you know.
  It was seminary and it didnt relate. It was
  over when it was over.
•  
• Its that sense that its objectifying people
  you make them a mass of something, a block of
  something, instead of individual people with all
  sorts of fears and hurts and dreams and talents.

19
Integration of Models

• Academic acquire knowledge, information, basic
  tools
• Formational internalize knowledge, embody
  values
• Professional apply knowledge values, fashion
  tools for practice, build frameworks for action

20
Joint Focus in Curriculum

• Context
• Research ethnography in congregations
• Course-based field studies, cases
• Competency
• Research ethnography on clergy leadership
• Individualized feedback, learning contracts,
  reflection-in-action, role play

21
Systematic Listening to Congregational Contexts
and Clergy Competencies
22
Phases of our leadership study

• Phase 1
• 66 intensive clergy interviews
• 151 supplemental interviews
• 3 parish case studies
• national review conference
• Phase 2
• Survey, 456 rectors/vicars
• Website survey, 216 clergy
• 3 parish case studies

23
Greatest Influences on Clergy Development in
Ministry
24
Clergy Confidence in Ministerial Job Activities
25
Activities Clergy Feel Least Confident Doing
26
Clergys Strong Points in Decision-Management
27
Clergys Weak Points in Decision-Management
28
Where Clergy Learned Decision-Making
29
Clergys Greatest Skill-Learnings from Mentors
30
How interviewers described clergy
31
Early parish change associated with clergy
proactive attitudes
Time analysis p 32
Comparison -Effective Struggling
Clergy Self-Descriptions
33
What Attracted Clergy to Their Parishes
Paired comparison p 34
How lay members described their experience of
church
Paired comparison p 35
Lay Views of Overall Parish Tonein Parishes with
Effective / Struggling Clergy
Paired comparison p .001
36
Building Habits of Reflective Practice
37
Theses from Seabury Institute

• Use of Liturgy and Spirituality in Working with
  Chronically Troubled Congregations
• Miraculous Expectations in the Lone Star State
  Congregations Moving from Maintenance to Mission
• The Thriving Church in the Declining Community
• Leadership during Rebuilding Organizational
  Empowerment Using Benedictine Spirituality

38
Outline for The Plunge

• Intensive 11-13 day congregational immersion
• Student teams sent to unfamiliar church contexts
• Participant-Observation
• Assessment of basic message, lay leadership,
  history change, systems, and creativity in
  congregation
• What is the soul of this parish?
• What style does the pastoral leader embody?
• What do I need to be effective in this place?

39
Beginning early The Gospel Mission

• Brings core religious aims values into
  conversation with cultural congregational
  differences
• Assigned visits to congregations outside inside
  denomination
• Sets tone for students to engage learning with an
  eye toward application

40
Beginning early The Gospel Mission

• Outside denomination parish visits
• Trinity UCC (Afr-Amer)
• Old St. Pats RC (young profls)
• Holy Trinity Lutheran (young couples)
• Willow Creek (seeker focus)
• Inside denomination
• Cristo Rey (Latino/a)
• St. Martins (Afr-Amer, GLBT)
• Christ Church (White upper class)
• St. Joseph, Aidan, Clement (yoked, blue collar,
  mixed race)

41
Other Places of Reflective-Practice Model

• Liturgical courses? worship ethnographies
• Mission missiology? practitioner lecturers
• Young adult ministry? community / church field
  studies
• Advanced leadership? case studies role plays

42
A seminary culture of iterative learning

• Academic grounding
• Real laboratory experiences
• Parish visits analyses
• Community analysis theological reflection
• Case studies role plays
• Skill-developments goal-setting, planning,
  conflict negotiation, anxiety management,
  community-building organizing
• Challenge of personal formation

43
Building Habits of Self-Assessment
Continuous Development

• Identifying areas of strength
• Identifying areas for growth
• Seeking specific feedback
• Asking challenging questions
• Embracing challenge as a value

44
Setting Learning Objectives
OVERALL GOAL
45
Setting Learning Objectives - Example
Become stronger consensus builder
46
Setting Learning Objectives - Example
Become stronger consensus builder
47
Setting Learning Objectives - Example
Become stronger consensus builder
48
Advanced Leadership a Laboratory for Curriculum
in Reflective Practice

• Research Results
• Choice of Course Content
• Competency Development Aims
• Experimenting with Formats
• Application in Other Courses

49
Iterative Reflective Learning

• Knowledge base (language for reflection)
• Tools for listening to context
• Experience in listening to context
• Reflection on / Rehearsal of practice
  competencies
• Feedback from peers faculty
• Self-reflection goal development

50
Toward a Higher Quality of Christian MinistryA
Study of Church Leadership Funded by the Lilly
Endowment