Our minister announced he accepted a “call” from another church and would be leaving at the end of the year. As one who grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition of “you go where you’re sent” this whole thing confuses me.
At our previous church, when a sizable portion of the congregation had problems with the minister, it was discussed whether the congreagation could un-call (read: fire) him. It was declared that the call was for life, unless he did something so grossly improper he would probably be sent to jail.
From this, I gather that a call from a church is something like tenure for a college professor, i.e., it can’t be revoked, but the person called can end the relationship at any time.
Can anyone with a little background in church bureaucracy clear things up for me? We’re ELCA Lutheran, if it makes any difference.
On seeing the thread title, I had this feeling the question was going to be “how do you know if God wants you to enter the ministry?”
The general idea is that when a given church (i.e., local parish, congregation, or whatever – the body that meets in that particular building with the steeple) finds itself in need of a clergyman, they appoint a committee to investigate. The committee members, en masse, individually, or in subgroups, go out and investigate possible candidates. (The clergy interested in receiving a call elsewhere may have already listed their names with a denomination-based service, assisting the weeding process.)
When they’ve evaluated the possible candidates and settled on one, the governing body of the local church (vestry, official board, session, parish council, or whatever that denomination calls it) passes a resolution to tentatively call Joe Biblethumper. They then contact Joe and inquire whether he’s interested. If he is, they negotiate, agree on terms (he has seven kids and needs a larger housing allowance than was in the original package, for example), and contract for his services. Depending on the individual church, this can be for a term of years or on good behavior, which effectively tenures him – they cannot ditch him without good reason. In Lutheran and Episcopal churches at least, and probably others, the Bishop must consent to any call – which means that after they come to agreement, they submit the name to the bishop for his OK. (Maryland had a case recently where the bishop (a woman) refused her consent to the calling of a priest outspoken against women in the ministry and who had stated he would refuse to acknowledge her authority as bishop.)
In the Baptist church the process is similar to what Polycarp outlined, except that Baptist churches are autonomous. The decision to ‘call’ or ‘fire’ the pastor is made solely within the local church as outlined by that church’s contitution and by-laws. The candidate presented by the search committee usually preaches one or more services at the church before the members at large vote on whether to ‘hire’. The hire vote, if successful, is known as the ‘call’. In the Baptist world the pastor is employed at will. There is usually a section in the by-laws that outlines each party’s responsibilities in the event of a parting of ways (i.e. - the church must vote by 3/4 majority to ‘fire’ the pastor and give XX days notice or the pastor must give XX days notice before quitting, etc.). It’s a free agent market for God!
There was a show that was shown on American TV around 1979, which was a british program called Dave Allen at Large. He loved his ecclesiastical humour. In one skit, a priest enters his room and answers the ringing phone. He gets a shocked look on his face and removes his biretta (or whatever they call that little hat). He says, “It’s Himself!” As he chats, there is a voiceover that says, “Let Long Distance get you closer to someone you love.”
In the Presbyterian church, ministers are free to change jobs as they wish. The process is very similar to looking for an academic job. However, ministers can certainly be “uncalled.” However, it requires mediation by people in administrative positions outside the church and voting by the congregation.
