Liminality and leadership
March 15, 2011
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How do we evaluate the services we provide pastors?
Questions to ask about the services you provide:
- What learning events or groups are offered or supported? What are the goals for each?
- How is regular reading encouraged? (periodicals, books, websites, etc.)
- How is travel supported?
- How are the disciplines of worship, Scripture study and prayer supported?
- What relationships for reflection are supported? With peers? Coaches? Spiritual directors?
If you are responsible for nurturing one or more pastors, consider the web of services that you encourage. Often, you or your denomination provides services, such as continuing education events. The experience of 60 projects in Sustaining Pastoral Excellence shows that pastors need support through intersecting networks that engage the social, vocational and personal spheres of their lives.
Denominational leaders who supervise pastors must discern when the denomination should provide services and when they should refer pastors to outside resources. Sustaining Pastoral Excellence project leaders learned that pastors benefit from building relationships with pastors from other denominations. Those who supervise clergy should encourage such networking through word and action.
Regulation is a frequent byproduct of assessment. When “holes” show up in a system, a natural response is to create a “rule” that forces participation in whatever is missing. Because the initiative of the pastor is critical to cultivating pastoral excellence, those who supervise clergy need to explore ways to encourage and incentivize missing elements rather than regulate.
