Tim Ryan, who lost his job as a pastor at a megachurch in Mechanicsburg, Pa., now works as a carpenter.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (Joblessness Hits the Pulput, May 17, 2010) "Right now, the Presbyterian Church in America, which includes about 1,700 churches, has about five pastors looking for work for each of its 54 job openings, about twice the level before the recession, said the group's business administrator, John Robertson."
Seems like there is quite an oversupply of Presbyterian ministers in the US. I wonder if some would consider relocating to some rural Presbyterian Churches in Australia. Or there are always needs on the mission field.
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2 comments:
I'm sure I'd be in for a long discussion with my wife, but I would! God isn't calling me to the ministry so I can "get by" or make money. Ministers, believe in you Call (and more importantly, the faithfulness of The Caller) enough to step out in faith. Be like Jesus, who had compassion on the sheep without a shepherd.
Dear Aquatiki,
Thanks for your contribution. I think the concept of "calling" is often misunderstood.
“At the most basic level, the Bible says that Jesus doesn’t have two classes of disciple: those who abandon their lives to his service and those who don’t. The call to discipleship is the same for all.” (The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall & Tony Payne p.42)
This avoids the error sometimes we see in Thailand where Pastors think that it is beneath their “calling” to take a part-time secular job to support themselves because the giving of the congregation is not enough to support his family. They think this demeans their “calling”.
How sad, as they could be a model and example to his congregation that they could be serving God through their secular work as well as in “ministry”
Richard
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