By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

At the end of Sunday school one day, 12-year-old Tom Zarth was stopped by his teacher who said, “I think you would make a good pastor someday. Have you ever thought about it?”

Tom hadn’t. But he never forgot the conversation. Last Sunday, Pastor Zarth retired after 40 years of ministry as a parish pastor. In those 40 years, he mentored 20 different pastoral interns – probably a record. The wisdom gained in that internship year has blessed the individuals and the churches they’ve gone on to serve.

“How can we better affirm and lift up the joy and wonder of the pastoral calling?”

If I were asked to name my top five challenges facing the ELCA, the shortage of pastors would be one of them. In 2008, the ELCA had 1,195 students enrollment at ELCA seminaries, actively preparing to be pastors. Just 14 years later, in 2022, the total enrollment was 594 – a reduction by half.

Which brings me back to 12-year-old Tom Zarth’s teacher. When was the last time you encouraged someone to become a pastor or deacon? What are the things that stop you from offering that encouragement? Almost every clergy person I know has a memory similar to Tom’s.

 

PERHAPS YOU KNOW the demands placed upon clergy. Perhaps you know that the compensation will not compare with the other professions a gifted young person could pursue.

Still, if you recognize gifts in someone for parish ministry but stop yourself from encouraging them, take a moment to ponder why that is. Take a moment to pray for faith and wisdom.

Your encouragement is not the be-all and end-all of one person’s vocational discernment. The Holy Spirit is an ever-present midwife – accompanying the baptized in their journey of discernment. Entrust your words of encouragement to that same Spirit – to be used for good.

“If I were asked to name my top five challenges facing the ELCA, the shortage of pastors would be one of them.”

I affirm the conviction of Eugene Peterson: “I’ve loved being a pastor, almost every minute of it. It’s a difficult life because it’s a demanding life. But the rewards are enormous – the rewards of being on the front line of seeing the gospel worked out in people’s lives. I remain convinced that if you are called to it, being a pastor is the best life there is.”

How can we better affirm and lift up the joy and wonder of the pastoral calling?

I believe the need for beloved community will be even greater in the years ahead. The climate crisis will bring us to places we never thought possible. Faith communities will need leaders as much as ever.

Oh, the church may come up with new titles for leaders in the church; the concepts of lay and ordained may fade away. And yet, Lutherans are pretty clear that Christian communities will always need leaders, if even by another name. We need people prepared and committed to proclaim the Gospel of Christ in Word and Sacrament, to build up communities of mutual care and consolation, and to equip the baptized for loving the neighbor in daily life.

Who will serve in that way? Is there a sixth-grader, a 16-year-old, or a 56-year-old you could stop one morning and say: “I think you would make a good pastor. Have you ever thought about it?”