This is a follow up article in the New York Times that drew my attention. Clergy burnout is a topic of conversation in my denomination even as we ask the laity to volunteer to do more and more. Some younger generations of clergy have taken “self care” to an extreme and forgotten that those that volunteer in their local congregation often work 40-60 hrs a week themselves. Congregational life may be their self care. So, here is a paragraph of the article. This is a must read for laity and clergy alike as it reflects on integrity, theology, and the mission of the Church.
Congregations Gone Wild
G. Jeffrey MacDonald | The New York Times | August 7, 2010
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.
Does everyone in our nation have a right to receive a college degree? No. Citizens of this nation have the right to access a quality education (through public education) that prepares one to live and participate in a pluralistic culture, but no one is “entitled” to a college education. We need more people with a liberal arts educational background that begins in high school. An aside: an educated laity is the reformation wave that requires Christianity (all religions) to evolve. The current trend in Discipledom about educational requirements for service in “ordained” ministry is disturbing. The denomination seems intent on preparing persons for ministry in one location, for one congregation, or ethnic group rather than on behalf of the whole Church. That was ecumenical and took Christian unity seriously.
One of the problems our nation is living through is the lack of creative problem solving because the narcissism of gaining and keeping political power through fear profiteering, by a ruling class, has become precedent. The Senate is a prime example. President Obama can set the post-partisan example, but the children in Congress have not followed the example. Hiring a partisan Chief of Staff did not set a good example. Instead of making a clear break by bringing in outsiders prepared to work for the common good and raising the bar for dialogue and leadership, the President was sucked in by institutional business as usual. The ruling class can afford this, but the rest of us cannot.
Education over the last twenty years has become a hurdle to jump, a diploma one is owed just for putting in the time, rather than understood as a path to a better job, meaningful life, and sifting mechanism to help citizens find a niche in culture. Anti-intellectualism has led to “Reality TV” and an entertainment culture that numbs citizens before a politician, religious leader, or corporation appears on the screen to tell you whose fault it is that you cannot . . . Currently, nameless, faceless immigrants, legal and not, are the persons who are the reason you cannot . . . It is fear profiteering that is keeping financial elites and power brokers, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, in power because many citizens cannot think for ourselves nor take the time to educate themselves about the best ways to solve the nation’s problems. Bob Herbert, in his column for the New York Times, provides a harsh prophetic voice about our culture, our problems, and education. Click the title to read the article.
Putting Our Brains on Hold
Bob Herbert | The New York Times | August 8, 2010
The latest dismal news on the leadership front comes from the College Board, which tells us that the U.S., once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations.
At a time when a college education is needed more than ever to establish and maintain a middle-class standard of living, America’s young people are moving in exactly the wrong direction. A well-educated population also is crucially important if the U.S. is to succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment.