Why are Fewer Younger Men Going Into Pastoral Ministry?

For what it’s worth,

There are three sons in my family growing up. Our dad was a pastor for about 50 years. All three sons are serving as pastors.

The above comments contain much truth and wisdom. Pastoring is a tough, rewarding job.

David R. Brumbelow

“that ministry is, frankly, very hard work”

This is just personal opinion but the picture of the ministry as “very hard work” and countless articles about how pastors suffer in various ways as they labor has begun to wear thin on me. I’ll admit that this kind of talk may discourage young men from “the ministry” but I’ll also add that I don’t think it’s true. Is it work? Yes! Is it hard? Yes! (There are also many jobs that are much harder and more stressful.) But it is also full of joy as we’re sometimes forced to diligently find the comfort that exists in a closer fellowship with God. I’m one of the old guys who used to teach/preach 4 times a week along with service preparation, administration, counseling and visitation. I awkwardly laughed out loud the first time I heard a pastor of a church of 60 members who preached once a week saying that he needed a sabbatical in addition to his vacation because he was overworked.

The call is a combo of:

• Qualifications (1 Tim 3)
• Ability
• Family
• Giftedness
• Desire

Nothing mystical.

Whence desire….the human heart?

Am I the only one who smiles when I hear men who are cessationists and reject extra-Biblical revelation tell people that God “called” them to preach?

I wonder if what the author is writing about in the original post isn’t, in some way, a reflection of the changing demographic in the USA. That is, he mentions how things were in the late 80’s when he was at a school and how the place was packed. More recently, he stated, he was at the same campus and the place was not packed. But that is using the late 80’s as the numerical standard.

I’ve often wondered if those high numbers in the past were a result of the baby boom generation producing many young men and women, some of whom went into the ministry. Perhaps his article is based upon the assumption that there should be/has always been that many young people going into the ministry. When, in reality, America had a high water mark of people going into the ministry, partly as a result of the demographics of a large number of people born about the same period of time.

I would be interested in some historical data showing the percentage of people entering the ministry prior to the baby boom generation and what, if anything, we might learn from that data. I just have a nagging feeling that what we experienced in the late 80’s isn’t the normal and shouldn’t be used as the standard.

Joe

Like Roy, I am part of an older generation of pastors, most of whom serve small churches (by today’s standards). I just marked 35 years serving the same church. Most of my ministry peers enjoy similar longevity in their respective works. We all carry strenuous ministry schedules. I rarely speak less than four times per week and often five or six times. In addition to public ministry of the Word, there are numerous occasions for private ministry of the Word (one on one meetings for discipleship and evangelism). I repeat what I said in an earlier post, sometimes bi-vocational work is unavoidable, but it should be avoided if at all possible. If not, the pastor, his family, and especially the church will suffer. Carl Trueman offers instructive insight here, and in my opinion argues convincingly against the bi-vocational life except as a temporary necessity.

Regarding the question of a divine call, Paul H. laid out the correct question: “Whence desire….the human heart?” God works providentially to implant within within men’s hearts an unquenchable desire for ministry and prepares men with qualifications recognizable in the local assembly. We might quibble about the terminology we use to describe this divine work, but I’m fully comfortable referring to it as God’s call. This is neither mystical, a compromise of my cessationism, nor a denial that all believers share in ministry. And most importantly, it does not ignore the work God does uniquely in some men but not others.

I remain unconvinced by repeated claims that the church must be led by untrained, unpaid men who hold the title “elder.” By “untrained” I mean lacking the tools essential to make them “able to teach” with appropriate proficiency. Churches that follow this course must either create an artificial pastoral hierarchy or reduce the level of pastoral qualification. Through the years I have been aided by many capable men who assisted me. Hence they were “assistants to the pastor,” not “assistant pastors.” From among them our congregation has been able to send out many men well prepared to serve in vocational ministry. Most of the arguments I have read favoring plurality and equality of elders focus on the need for an accountability structure so that the pastor cannot seize power as an autocrat. I find this fallacious. A church does not need a board of elders to establish and maintain pastoral accountability.

Each of these issues (preference for bi-vocational ministry, rejection of the idea of a divine call to ministry, and minimization of the qualifications for vocational ministry by multiplying lay elders) seem to share a common element. They seem to reflect reaction against bad experiences in some churches, a reaction used as justification for poor ecclesiology. How does each of these seemingly random observations relate to the subject of the original post? I suggest that each of these has the potential to reduce the number of men preparing for vocational ministry (a perfectly legitimate use of “ministry!”). Preference for bi-vocational ministry inevitably minimizes the importance of the primary pastoral duties. Rejection of a divine call reduces pastoral ministry to one career path among many. Eldership gives the illusion that pastoral ministry does not require stringent academic training.

Do stats exist that detail the percentage of young men who filled those past “preacher boy” classes that actually became vocational ministers? Anecdotally, many of the guys I knew who were “preacher boys” never became vocational Pastors.

To the author’s point, though, and regardless of the the near-constant hand wringing over the economy, life in this country has become more and more comfortable and filled with more and more luxuries over the last several decades. Peter’s description of us as “sojourners” and “exiles” in 1 Peter 2:11 is harder to embrace when so many of us live in what amounts to incredible wealth when compared to human history. Many of us steer into the near constant temptation to believe that we are already “home.” I can see how fewer young men are going into vocational ministry because we’ve begun creeping further and further inside the gates of Vanity Faire. Why put energy into God’s Kingdom when this kingdom is so great?

There is a t least one church in our area that seems to be multiplying and able to find pastors. Their pattern is have a group from its main church go to another somewhat nearby area, establish and build relationships through small groups with the goal and end result of starting a new church with the co-coordinator (who is supported by the main church) becoming the pastor. They’ve done it about a half dozen times so far. I also seem to recall the Capitol Hill Baptist Church has interns that are “in training” and standing by for opportunities to be pastors.

My observations on these things may not be 100% accurate and I’m open to correction.

I’m wondering if the shortage is primarily a fundamentalist challenge?

To add to what Tyler said, Central Seminary enrollment is also up significantly this year.

I am surely right in assuming that on your narrow definition you are against the whole notion of God’s call on any life, correct?

I was asked:

I am surely right in assuming that on your narrow definition you are against the whole notion of God’s call on any life, correct?

Uh, no.Your assumption is wrong.

You said , “Am I the only one who smiles when I hear men who are cessationists and reject extra-Biblical revelation tell people that God “called” them to preach?”

What was your point exactly?