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Leaders & Clergy Supporters

Have you been charged with the responsibility to support and nurture pastors? That charge may come from a denomination to a particular office or committee, such as a commission on ministry or a conference minister. Some congregations may also charge a lay committee with a similar responsibility, often called a personnel committee. If you are selected, what do you do? What support do pastors most need?

The following questions will prompt you to consider how to set up a system of support, based on the activities that research has shown make the most difference in nurturing pastoral excellence.

  1. How do we assess the system of support for pastors in our care?

    The discipline of creating and monitoring a plan that attends to the many elements of development is easy to understand in theory but challenging to practice, because of the limits of time and attention… Learn »

  2. How do we evaluate the services we provide pastors?

    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… Learn »

  3. What role should pastors play in their own development?

    Learning and growth deepen when commitment to and participation in a peer group is the pastor’s decision. When participation is forced or required, frequently the peer group becomes just another task for the pastor, and commitment to the group… Learn »

  4. What's different about the pastoral excellence approach?

    The conviction that communities -- not just individuals -- nurture pastors to excellence distinguishes pastoral excellence from other approaches to supporting ministry… Learn »

  5. What are examples of a strategy of support?

Related Resources

In this space, you’ll find resources related to each dimension of a peer learning group. Each question has a set of resources to help you think through the different parts of the design process.

Books

Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry

by L. Gregory Jones and Kevin R. Armstrong
Provides the theological basis for exploring pastoral excellence. The authors articulate a theology of excellence in ministry that shuns both competition and mediocrity and rightly focuses on the beauty, power, and practices of living as faithful disciples of the crucified and risen Christ. Resurrecting Excellence portrays the ministries of pastors, lay leaders, and congregations that embody "a more excellent way."