The Making of a Pastor – Part 3
The financial situation into which we thrust our seminarians and clergy leads to a debilitating cycle of dependency. Candidates study at seminary, impoverish themselves to do so, trade self-respect for public aid, make financial and family choices few laymen would ever be expected to make (Can I afford to send my children for swim lessons, or braces? Can I take a vacation not associated with a church event?), and find themselves manipulated by others due to the precariousness of their situation. The last item may be a surprise, but it’s true. Many clergy desperately need every penny of income, giving a ready means of ensuring compliance and control, whether by the laity or by clerical superiors. (In the OCA, we’ve seen how this has been used to punish and reward clergy over the past decade.) None of these make for a strong, vibrant, flexible, and open-minded leadership.
Revisiting issues raised in part 1 of this series, the men who undertake these labors are often self-selected. Some of them go not having counted the cost (Luke 14:25-33, which merits further discussion on its own). Others go because of a calling, entering into the life in a spirit of obedience. Yet others do not go because they see that there is no way to meet the twenty thousand with ten thousand. We would benefit from finding a way to lead the best of these men into Christ’s ministry by affirming the vocation when it is seen and by tearing down this commitment to a life of indebtedness and enslavement that is far, far more than a life of austerity.
This is not just an issue of finances, but rather cuts to the core of leadership. If candidates for ordination are to “rule their own house well,” (1 Timothy 3:4) how is that possible if our own Church requirements result in a mix of financial concerns that leave these men tottering on the edge of disaster, enslaved to money. It’s different from the enslavement of the rich man, but it is enslavement nonetheless.
Next time, I’ll talk about some possible solutions. Your contributions to this discussion are appreciated.
Page 2 of 2 | Previous page
Fr. James Early:
February 12th, 2010 at 12:35 am
For one possible solution, please see my comment on the previous post.
free pc scan repair:
March 12th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
It was a very nice theme! Just wanna say thank you for the data you have apportioned. Just continue writing this kind of post. I will be your true reader. Thanks again.
Jose Jezek:
March 14th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Hey, found your site by accident doing a search on Google but I’ll definitely be coming back. – Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. – Benjamin Franklin 1706 – 1790
hgpcdrnsh:
March 15th, 2010 at 2:08 am
jpwleK bcllfwzbsmkv, [url=http://oyybcltojmpj.com/]oyybcltojmpj[/url], [link=http://imuvnbvllkmu.com/]imuvnbvllkmu[/link], http://tzbxkdkqrcxi.com/
John Ward:
March 26th, 2010 at 2:24 am
I have thought about this many times. When I was a young Altar boy, I wanted to be a priest. I was told by the priest that the Archdiocese would take care of all costs if I were to go to seminary. I did not go, at least not yet.
But, I often wonder about others. I don’t understand why the seminaries charge so much. With the way things are going, I would imagine that it makes it so that men who may not be as well off are discouraged from going to seminary. In my opinion, seminary should be as cheap as humanly possible for the seminarians. I understand that we’re not in an Orthodox nation with a tsar that can pay all the costs, but there has to be something that can be done to make it easier.
It saddens me because I’m worried that there may be some out there who are called to the priesthood, but don’t go due to the costs.
I wish I knew how to solve this.
Fr. John:
March 27th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
One solution would be to rationalize/canonicalize the situation of jurisdiction and POOL RESOURCES wasted on parallel efforts among them. There is plenty of money out there and ways of getting it to our seminarians. But as long as we pursue church life in our current fashion, we will continue to be hobbled.