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It is easy for mainline congregations to take for granted the presence of an educated church leadership, ever being refreshed by new young persons entering the ranks of the ordained. That may be changing. Today many denominations are facing a new challenge. As their need for more compelling and creative leadership grows, they are seeing fewer young persons enter ordained ministry. Recent research by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership in cooperation with denominational agencies indicates some deeply troubling trends about the numbers and percentages of clergy under the age of 35 among many denominations. |
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Leadership Vignette A pastor discovers the importance of encouraging youth to consider ordained ministry. Because of a national denominational position I held, I was asked to serve on the planning team for a national event for young people to encourage them to consider responding to God’s call to ordained ministry. Our denomination had not had such an event for decades. We worried if enough youth would attend to make it worthwhile. We hoped for at least 500 participants. We had to cut off registrations after over 1,000 signed up. The event was inspiring and encouraging. Many youth from that event went into ordained ministry and are serving today throughout my denomination. But I learned a valuable lesson out the experience. |
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| The Right Question | ||||||||||||||
Often people are offended when things are told about them that are not true. This is understandable. Yet, when this happens, it might be a time to reflect on why such things are being said. A counselor will often ask a person in such a situation this question: What would lead someone to think such a thing about you? |
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Editors: Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Ann A. Michel Copyright © 2006 by the G. Douglass Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Leading Ideas material may be freely distributed with attribution (exclusive of material protected by separate copyright). |
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