Several weeks ago I wrote of cliché book report sermons.
Books make good jumping of points for sermons, even reports can help frame a sermon. But the sermon should be more than what one has read.
I offer an example of a preacher using written material as a jumping of point, but also using personal experience and theological reflection to bring the message home. but John Cullinan writes about Engaging Our Theological Diversity. But John uses stories from his personal experience to discuss his understanding of theological diversity, check out a audio file of his sermon How We Walk Together.
This is no book report sermon, Preacher John speaks from his own authority!
There is also a written manuscript.
The New Generations: October 2005 Archives
The Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) oversees the credentialing of Unitarian Universalist ministers, working as a committee appointed by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees but with its own mandate elaborated in the By-laws of the UUA, the MFC develops the standards for ministerial fellowship, and interviews candidates in the light of those standards. In recent years the professional ministry of the UUA has been awarded fellowship in three separate categories: Parish ministers, Religious Education ministers, and Community ministers.
At its September 2005 meeting the MFC began awarding fellowship in Unitarian Universalist ministry without reference to categories. From now on, ministers entering preliminary fellowship are assumed to be able to serve as parish ministers, religious education ministers and/or community ministers.
The MFC still hopes to recognize achievement in a "speciality." If a minister achieves three renewals of preliminary fellowship as a community minister, for example, they will be awarded final fellowship as a community minister. The same for parish ministry and religious education ministry, "specialization" means three annual renewals in a single form of ministry.
But even in this half realized form, this change will help ministers develop new and more flexible ways of doing ministry - we have had ministers teaching in a college and serving a small church, for example, for whom filling out renewal forms under the rules of "three" categories was a nightmare. What was the part time chaplain, who is also the assistant parish minister responsible for religious education supposed to do? Choose one part of their work, and deny the rest?
Yet some ministers wanted the UUA to recognize their speciality, the full time religious education ministers insisted that a "one track" ministry would undermine their distinctive profession. Some community ministers are concerned that a "one track" ministry will eventually mean that the only way to do ministry will be a minister in a congregation. College, hospital and military chaplains will be forgotten, and social justice ministers working in a community organization will be dismissed as "social workers, not ministers."
I understand the concern, but now that at least 250 ministers who are not serving a particular congregation....some are college teachers, some are UUA officials, some are institutional chaplains, some are doing arts ministries, some are doing justice ministries, and many other ways and given the fact that more than 200 ministers who are not settled solo ministers or senior ministers but rather assistant ministers, specialized associate ministers, religious education ministers, part time ministers, or interim ministers, and the fact that we have large numbers of ministers who are retired, or taking a leave for child care, the "norm" of the settled parish minister is actually a minority along with a diverse array of other minorities. No one way of being minister in the UUA in now a majority of our ministers. Thus I don't think we will go back to the old days when "minister equaled parish minister," but rather we will continue to evolve a more diverse ministry with many different ways of doing ministry.
Should the MFC be in the business of recognizing specialization? I don't think so, I think the specialists should recognize specialization. That is not the role of "denomination." Rather it should be left such organizations as the Association of Pastoral Counselors, and the Association of Professional Chaplains. But what about smaller, less established specializations? I think the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association could provide a supportive institutional framework for groups of ministers who have developed advanced skills to have those skills recognized and certified by other ministers who have developed similar skills. Let the MFC certify "ministers in fellowship with the UUA." Let specialists certify specialists.
I celebrate the MFC ceasing to award fellowship in categories, I think it allow our ministry to meet the challenges of the future in creative ways.
Ministry is changing. Change isn't new, but there is less anxiety when we take note of the changes before they are too advanced.
While there is controversy about just what is the oldest profession, it is clear that nearly all human communities set aside some individuals for religious leadership, shaman, keeper of wisdom, priest, sage and more recently the professional clergy. In the United States, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Unitarian Universalists have similar credentialling requirements for professional clergy. Undergraduate education, a graduate level professional school that contributes to formation, a selection process supervised by the faith community, and various kinds of supervised practical experience.
Unitarian Universalist ministry three decades ago was made up mostly of men, mostly of white men, mostly of men who went to theological school soon after graduating from college, and mostof these ministers would then serve congregations of small to middling size. A few had careers as teachers, denomination officials, and chaplains, but it was not a large number.
All of that has changed, and our ministry continues to evolve. We are increasing the number of ministers of color, over half of our ministers are women, our theological students more often than not have had a previous career, and a significant number of ministers will never serve a congregation as the sole pastor.
The Unitarian Universalist Minister's Association has just completed its fall meetings, which included discussions with the U.U.A. staff most closely concerned with ministry. There are changes ahead for our ministry, we discussed some of those changes, and at future meeting we will discuss others. Our whole minstry will be involved in those discussions.
I will post my thoughts on this subject in a series of posts. I would welcome your thoughts.
