Helping Pastors Thrive A Program of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina Funded by the Lilly Endowment s Thriving in Ministry Initiative
Program Purpose & Goals The purpose of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina s Helping Pastors Thrive Program is to provide pastors ongoing opportunities and environments for relational learning, spiritual formation, and professional development in the practices of Christian ministry across the vocational life span. Through a program of intentional mentoring and peer-based learning, Helping Pastors Thrive will meet CBFNC pastors needs for professional development and vocational and spiritual well-being as they serve their congregations. Pastors who thrive will inevitably contribute to congregational health and the vitality of their congregation s ministries in the communities they seek to serve. Helping Pastors Thrive builds on and significantly expands CBFNC s support for pastoral leaders by concentrating on the specific contexts and identified needs at three distinct vocational stages: (1) new pastors in their first 3 years of post-seminary congregational ministry; (2) early career pastors navigating the complex challenges of pastoral ministry in older, established churches; and, (3) late career pastors who are 5-7 years away from retirement and desire dedicated time away from their ministries to reflect on the meaning of their vocation, to prepare for their final years of pastoral service, and to share what they have learned with younger pastors. PROGRAM GOALS The goals of the program are: To engage new pastors in learning communities that provide opportunities for reflection on practice with mentors and peers over their first years in ministry. To strengthen pastoral identity among early career pastors through interaction with peers and mentors. To gather insight and information from participants that will better inform CBFNC s priorities in leadership development and continuing education
To afford pastors with dedicated time for self-assessment and self-reflection on the practices and challenges in ministry for more To enhance the supportive networks of CBFNC pastors for their own well-being and that of their congregations Program Activities The goals of the program will be realized through the implementation of three primary initiatives or program activities. A description of each activity is provided here with details related to design, content, format, target group, and timeline for planning and implementation. Initiative One: Cultivating Pastoral Imagination in Practice: Cohort Retreats for New Pastors and Mentors Formal theological education provides future pastors with rich contextual learning experiences through curricula requirements in field education and short-term internships, many of these in the context of CBFNC churches. The first years of pastoral ministry also provide a rich context for what James Wind and David Wood describe as reflective immersion, that is, learning through reflection with peers and mentors on the actual practice of ministry. 1 Providing new pastors with this form of disciplined learning will contribute significantly to overcoming pastoral isolation, building and sustaining professional friendships, and securing mentors who are active participants in continuing education and ministerial formation. CBFNC envisions a three-year cohort program for new pastors and mentors drawing from findings of the recent Auburn Seminary study on Learning Pastoral Imagination by Christian A. B. Scharen and Eileen Campbell-Reed. 2 Using a small group model that would involve no more than 6-8 new pastors and 2-3 pastoral mentors per group, the cohort would meet at regular intervals, three times a year during their first three years of pastoral ministry. Participants would share and present complex challenges from their own settings, utilizing written descriptions and engaging peers and mentors in reflection and assessment around actual practice and decision making. Cohort mentors, participants and resource leaders would establish outcomes and learning goals, as well as share in the selection of readings and other materials appropriate to themes and topics that emerge from issues 1 Wind, James P. and Wood, David. J. (2008). Becoming a pastor. Reflections on the transition into ministry. Alban Institute Scharen, Christian A. B. and Campbell-Reed, Eileen R. (2016). Learning Pastoral Imagination. A Five-Year Report on How New 2 Ministers Learn in Practice. Auburn Studies (21).
and interactions in the gatherings. Participants would be required to provide written feedback on personal progress and learning, as well as a written self assessment. Mentors as facilitators and participants are central to the success of the cohort model. The goal of building communities of learning, sustainable professional friendships and habits of reflection with peers and mentors is enhanced by regular interaction between members over time. The first cohort retreats will begin in the summer of 2019. Planning, design and training for the retreats would begin in the late fall of 2018. Initiative Two: Reframing the Challenges of Ministry: Extended Workshops for Early Career Pastors inestablished Congregations Over the last decade, many well-established CBFNC congregations, most serving urban areas, have called younger pastors. Energetic, creative, and eager to introduce innovation and new approaches to outreach and ministry, these early career pastors inherit the complex challenges of leading historic congregations through a changing environment of declining memberships, shrinking budgets, reductions in staff, aging facilities beset by deferred maintenance and increased costs, a challenging social and political climate, and changing urban contexts. The administrative demands brought about by these changes consume time and energy and threaten to diminish attention to the arts of ministry: pastoral care, worship, sermon preparation, reflection and prayer. Helping congregations navigate these realities while attending to spiritual and pastoral needs is identified by many of these leaders as essential to their success and well-being. CBFNC seeks to respond to this important group of pastoral leaders by providing a series of workshop retreats that will allow early career pastors to learn and share insights with peers and mentors. By exploring the tensions in topics commonly faced by these congregations such as the impact of facilities costs on mission, governance structure and staff leadership, effective volunteer leadership and planning, and staffing for the future rather than for the past pastors will discover from one another new ways to frame discourse around decline, loss, change, and transition. Each retreat workshop would also include time to rediscover practices central to pastoral practice and identity: proclamation and preaching, bible study, spiritual formation, and pastoral care. Mentors would be recruited for these workshop retreats based upon interest and experience related to the topics. The first series of workshop retreats would begin in the fall of 2019.
Initiative Three: Pastor-in-Residence Program for Mid-to Late Career Pastors Many mid and late career pastors desire an opportunity that pulls them away from the daily practice and activity of ministry and provides space for extended reflection on their lives, their pastoral identity and the long arc of their vocational path. Pastors approaching retirement often feel constrained, weary, and depleted of energy, wondering if they can finish well and remain vital, creative, and feeling good about their final years as leaders. At the same time, these pastors possess accumulated knowledge and wisdom they want to process and share, and by sharing, often discover a renewed sense of vocation and spiritual vitality. While a small number of CBFNC congregations are able to provide their pastor short-term study leave periods or sabbaticals, most are simply not equipped or financially able to do so. Others may provide time away but purposes for not primarily aimed or structured for self reflection and renewal through the sharing of experience and wisdom. For more than two decades, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina has formally partnered with four ATS accredited theological schools in the state: Campbell University School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University Divinity School, Wake Forest University School of Divinity, and Duke Divinity School and its Baptist House of Studies. Working together with these partner schools, CBFNC seeks to establish a Pastor-in-Residence program for mid to late career pastors who seek time away for personal reflection, learning and spiritual growth. On-campus opportunities could include auditing appropriate courses, spiritual direction and vocational coaching, participation in community worship, and engagement in the larger divinity or seminary activities. Participants would also be available to assist enrolled students in preparation for the transition from school to first-time ministry settings, and to reinforce through participation the value of mentor relationships. This initiative, embraced in concept by CBFNC partner schools, would support a Pastor-in-Residence program at each of the four schools for up to four weeks, and would be structured with the input and support from each of school s faculty and staff. Potential candidates for the Pastor-in-Residence Program would apply and selection would be make by CBFNC with input from each school. Up to four Pastors-in-Residence would be selected each year, one for each of the partner campuses. Pastor-in-Residents would receive a modest stipend in support for housing, food and travel costs while in residence. The pastor s congregation would also receive financial support based upon salary for the projected time away. Planning between CBFNC and representatives from the four schools would begin in the fall of 2018. The first Pastors-in-Residence would be named in the Spring of 2019 and be in residence during the 2019-2020 academic year. Outcomes
Outcomes are essential for measuring the effectiveness of the program and the participant s experience. Here are major outcomes of the Helping Pastors Thrive program. Participant outcomes: To be able to evaluate their own contexts for ministry and apply mentor and peer-based learning to appropriate pastoral practices. To articulate the need and benefit of mentors for ministry in the strengthening of pastoral identity and professional competencies. To employ the knowledge and skills gained through interaction with peers and mentors to pastoral practices in their congregational context. Program outcomes: An increase in the number of pastors and congregations who participate in CBFNC opportunities for relation-based learning programs. An expansion of CBFNC materials and web-site resources for assisting pastors in their own formation and professional development. Over the course of the program, an increase in congregational and pastoral satisfaction with the effectiveness and relevance of CBFNC s programs in leadership development. An increase in the use of mentors as an essential sources of self assessment and learning practices. Increased awareness within CBFNC of the significance of programs for that address pastoral well-being and relational-based learning. Strengthening of CBFNC partnerships around active co-participation in helping pastors thrive in their places of service.