Moaning and Complaining: Lutheran Clergy

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I have known, worked with or heard of several situations in which pastors have flat-out failed to be effective ministers. So I am taking advantage of this blog to let all my frustrations shouted out.

1. Some pastors just don’t listen. A member of a pastoral call committee spoke with me recently. The congregation wisely decided to hold “cottage meetings” at which the members were to provide their input to the congregation committee in answer to the question “What are you looking for in the next pastor we are calling to serve us?” Unfortunately an interim pastor decided to attend those cottage meetings. She took over. For the full 90 minutes she lectured, she gave instructions she shared her personal experience. Not once did she allow the members to give their in-put to the question for which the group had been assembled. She just didn’t listen.

This need to talk rather than to listen is also often demonstrated by pastors who teach adult classes. Way too often these are lectures only. Opportunity to gather the shared wisdom and insight of the group is simply not considered. The message seems to be “You folks listen up! I know, you don’t”

2. Failure to Conduct Pastoral Visits to the Sick and Shut-ins. Some pastors are fantastic at this and give it a very high priority, but it seems to me the current trend is in the opposite direction. I have a friend who is a member of a Lutheran congregation (not mine). She has kidney cancer. She carefully informed her pastor of the date she was to have it removed. There was no hospital or home visit made. After my friend returned home there were new complications. This time her husband sent an email to the pastor. No response. No home visit. No mention on congregation prayer lists. I became so disturbed by this that I wrote a very careful non-blameful email to the pastor. No response to me nor to the ill member! And certainly no home visit

In the old German Lutheran congregation of my youth I learned the term “siel sorger”(sp) which means, “concern for the soul”. The pastor kept a careful record of those who were ill, those who had not taken communion for some time, those who had not been to worship for over a month. This was his (and it was always a male) priority list for home visits. Any suggestion that a process similar to this be instituted into today’s church life would be met with derision and the strong declaration that I was our of contact with today’s realities. Yes, I know the lay people can do a lot of this and I also know where the pastors have made zero effort to train, engage and encourage their members in home visits via e.g. Steven Ministries

3. Interim Clergy. These are clergy assigned to parishes which have a vacancy in the pastoral office and are in the process of calling a replacement. Again, there are some interims who do a great job, but by far the majority of cases about which I hear tell of great frustration, especially by congregation leaders. Too many interim pastors make the situation worse.

So that’s my moaning for today. And I thank God for all those pastors who faithfully listen, really make those pastoral visits and really help hurting congregations eagerly awaiting a new pastor.