The Orthodox Leader

In his essay from a couple of weeks ago in the Wall Street Journal, Dilbert creator Scott Adams argues that business students (“B students” in his words) would benefit far more from classes in entrepreneurship than in the sciences, mathematics, and classics. While I disagree with the first paragraph (in the implication that some students don’t benefit from entrepreneurial thinking), the rest of the article has much to say about the value of developing entrepreneurial skills. I think an entrepreneurial mindset is absolutely critical for anyone in church leadership, clergy and lay, whether in an established parish or a mission.

With that in mind, it seems to me that there’s a one-sidedness in our Orthodox pastoral preparation, similar to what Adams suggests is happening with “B students.” It’s an imbalance that favors the spiritual and intellectual development of pastors at the expense of learning the value of financial sophistication, prudent risk-taking, leadership cultivation, conflict management, and the basket of talents commonly known as “people skills.” Read the rest of this entry »

Owen White, the Ocholophobist, has put forth a draft of a proposal for the process of clergy selection somewhat in response (I think) to my own Making of a Pastor – Part I article.

I agree with the general thrust of his proposal—greater maturity and development of candidates (later ordination) , more involvement at the local level, a fuller set of evaluation criteria—even as I disagree with some of the specifics (particularly the strong lay bias of the evaluating group). Any further comments I have will be presented later.

In reading that proposal, it occurs to me that my original post might be construed as a swipe against my own brethren in the priesthood. That’s not my intent. Please bear with me as I develop the series and speak of the weaknesses of our current process of preparation. Some of these weaknesses have profound implications, especially the issues to be taken up in the next article. A fair assessment will also speak of the strengths of our current system, and I’ll try to do that where possible. I don’t see a lot of strengths, though. We have strong pastors in spite of the system, not because of it.

I’m working on Part II of the Making of a Pastor now. Stay tuned.