With the increase in part-time pastorates, churches
seem to think more in term of a pastor’s hours. This attitude is no doubt imported from
the secular economy. They start
with the assumption that “full-time=40 hours per week.” Then, if the kind of part-time they are
talking about is “half,” they conclude that this means 20 hours per week. Then they design a contract for the
part-time pastor based on that amount of time.
First of all, let’s start with fallacious
assumption that full-time pastors work for 40 hours a week. This has nothing to do with the way
pastors actually work. I am
emphatically not claiming that pastors work 50, 60, or 70 hours a week. I do
not want to feed into the martyrdom/work-aholism of many pastors. I am saying that the work a pastor does
cannot be measured in time. What
we do was being done centuries before clocks were invented.
Ministry is not really a job like any other
job. We don’t punch time-clocks
and we don’t count hours. Serving
as the pastor of a church is a way of life. It is not something we do to make money, God knows. It is something we are.
I recently saw a job description for a
part-time pastor that carefully laid out how many hours a week the pastor was
supposed to devote to certain activities.
It was ridiculous and insulting.
First of all, a pastor’s work has a cyclical quality to it depending on
the season. Secondly, a pastor’s
work is subject to changeable and impossible to predict circumstances. Thirdly, the things we do don’t always
take the same amount of time.
Finally, it is often impossible to distinguish between time “on” and
time “off” when pastors are concerned.
(The job description also listed things the pastor was expected to do,
but would not be getting paid for.
Like praying.)
The PCUSA Form of Government describes the
work of a teaching elder/pastor.
“Teaching elders (also called ministers of
the Word and Sacrament) shall in all things be committed to teaching the faith
and equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4: 12)…. When they
serve as preachers and teachers of the Word, they shall preach and teach the
faith of the church, so that the people are shaped by the pattern of the gospel
and strengthened for witness and service. When they serve at font and table, they shall interpret the
mysteries of grace and lift the people’s vision toward the hope of God’s new
creation. When they serve as
pastors, they shall support the people in the disciplines of the faith amid the
struggles of daily life” (G-2.0501).
· ---Teaching the
Faith and Equipping the Saints for the Work of Ministry.
1.
Word: Preach
and teach the faith of the church, so that the people are shaped by the pattern
of the gospel and strengthened for witness and service.
2.
Sacraments: Interpret
the mysteries of grace and lift the people’s vision toward the hope of God’s
new creation.
3.
Prayer: Support
the people in the disciplines of the faith amid the struggles of daily life
Each part of this definition is oriented
towards the work of the people. Pastors
function as leaders, examples, teachers, servants, and advisors of other
Christians. A pastor is a
disciple trained to train others in discipleship.
The Book
of Order makes no mention of how much time
this is all supposed to take. It
makes no distinction between full-time and part-time ministry.
Part-time pastoral contracts should be
shaped around these three basic responsibilities, not hours. Since it is not just about doing these things, but teaching, equipping,
strengthening, lifting, and supporting the people
in doing them. In other words, the
missing half of part-time ministry is not just jettisoned; it is taken up by
the people, as trained and equipped by their pastor. Which is what the people are supposed to be doing anyway,
were these skills not allowed to atrophy by the corruption of full-time
ministry.
Then we need to take this part-time model
and extend it to full-time ministry.
