Working Towards Better Ministerial Health

Jesus First interviewed Rev. David A. Muench, Executive Director of Synod’s Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support, about what this commission is doing  to help the LCMS become a better church body.

JF: What’s the purpose of this commission?

Muench:  We are here to help the Church’s workers to learn and grow, to serve well and be healthy.  Our purpose is to be advocates for workers and their families.

JF:  How do you do this?

Muench:  We have several basic goals.  One is to promote continuing education so that every professional church worker is developing a service and learning plan which will help facilitate Kingdom growth.  Another is to provide support for church workers and their families in vocational transitions, such as from seminary to first congregation and from full-time service into retirement.  We are also intent on promoting wellness so that workers and their families are faithful stewards of their total health and are role models for wellness in their communities.

JF: Many circuits have been using the DVD “Let’s Talk It Over” that has neat vignettes about problem areas for professional church workers.  How did that come about?

Muench:  We had a Thrivent grant to produce not just written material but also well-acted video conversation starters.  They have been well received.  They are available at our website http://cmgs.lcms.org

JF: What have you been doing to help pastors in transitions?

Muench:  Our PALS program continues to grow.  We have had about 750 newly placed graduates and their spouses participate.  PALS stands for Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support.  We have become particularly sensitive to the need to provide opportunities for first-call pastors to strengthen “people skills.”

JF:  The word is out that you are doing something special for retiring pastors.

Muench:  We are now well along in developing a creative process for connecting the gifted passions of retired ministers with the ongoing ministry and mission of the church.  We have had exploratory sessions with 100 pastors and their wives, and now we have a pilot project going in the Indiana District.  Our aim is to have “Next Step” ready for implementation throughout Synod in 2010.

JF: “Wellness” is a relatively new term.  What do you mean by it?

Muench:  We have a Wellness Action Team dedicated to improving and maintaining the level of wellness among professional ministers so that they may flourish in the pursuit of their calling.  We are convinced that when the church’s workers experience “wellness” and “wholeness” the outflow will necessarily involve “serving” and “ministry.”  This is the group that put out the “Let’s Talk It Over” DVD series.

JF: What else are you doing in this area?

Muench:  Thanks to another Thrivent grant last year we hosted the first conference of Advocates of Ministerial Wellness that involved representatives from 23 districts.  We are planning another this year in Milwaukee October 1-2.

JF: We hear a lot about workers loaded with big education debt.  What are you doing there?

Muench:  We know from the “Rostered Church Worker Survey” that 48% of all workers incurred debt in order to complete their education, and 11% currently have outstanding educational debt.  Considering all kinds of debt, 23% say they are uncomfortable with their current level.  We have an Economic Vitality Action Team working on a blueprint to help LCMS workers and the church body establish economic vitality.  They are compiling a list of “best practices” that districts are using to help workers with educational loans.

JF:  Are there any other challenges you would like to highlight?

Muench:  If we are truly concerned about ministerial wellness and the condition of wellness in the body of Christ, we’re going to have to pay attention to the health of the relationships.  I’m speaking about the relationships among professional ministers and between professional ministers and the lay leadership of congregations.  Some of our studies identified the prevalence of conflict in the parish lives of those ministers who left parish positions. The condition of these relationships will have a definite impact on our proclamation of the One Message-Christ’s Love.

JF: What should we pray for?

Muench:  That God bless the pursuit of an environment in our church body of “Relational Vitality” experienced in the spiritual wholeness, mental vigor, and exuberant strength of face-to-face relationship.

DSL