Basic HTML Version
)une
1971
"This was not the ministry to which I
had felt a cal!." He saw bis life "would
be wasted as a recreation director for
what essentially seemed to me to be
little more than a U.S.O. for civilians or
a Sunday-morning mutual-admiration
society."
Strong words, perhaps! But can any–
one argue that, in this case, they weren't
justified? As he concluded:
"The majority of today's church
members refuse to care. In this refusal,
most remaining members and much of
their chosen church hierarchy blandly
acquiesce. How then can a minister
rationalize devoting his life to the orga–
nization which results, a superficial
extension of society ?"
The Experience of Priests
Now consider the worries that con–
front thc Roman Catholic Church.
Time
magazine estimated that 4000 priests
doff their collars each year in the
United States alone. In 1965, the ratio
of priests to !ay Catholics was
L
to
1390; in 1970 it had dcopped
1
to
1435.
(Time
magazine, February 23,
1970.)
This crisis gives the incredible picture
of one priest out of every four con–
templating resignation.
University of Notre Dame sociolo–
gist Dr. John P. Koval recently did a
study of 1500 priests. He found that
the most serious stresses given
by
those
thinking of leaving were "related to
authority, moral and social issues, the
slow pace of change, loneliness, lack of
support from colleagues and the desire
to marry."
But surprisingly, the desire to marry
was, for most,
not
the prime consid–
eration. The greatest stresses included
"a lack of leadership from those in
authority ( 40%), disappointment with
the church's stand on certain social and
moral issues (such as) race and birth
control ( 38%) and the slow pace of
change after Vatican II (35%)."
As might be expccted, the root for
dissatisfaction and frustration of príests
and ministers can often be found in
their student days - in the seminaries
and theological schools which taught
them.
Tht
PLAIN TRUTII
What Grows the "Seedbed"?
The very start of problems ís wíth the
types of persons who choose the minis–
try in the first place. ( And, of thosc
who choose thc ministry, it is sorne of
the most able who are the first to
leave.)
The secretary of the board of highcr
33
concept carne
f
rom
theologimu, not
Communísts or avowed antirclígíonists.
lt's rather hard on the credibility gap
of a bright young aspirant to the minís–
try when he hears a theologian give the
followíng reply to the question of
whether he believed in God: "Well,
actually, l'd prefer not to split hairs
Wide World Photo
COMMUTER COMMUNION
-
Protestant minister delivers sermon on long
lsland Railroad morning commuter train.
education of the United Lutheran
Church once commented that far too
many of those seeking the ministry
are "passive and basically insecure
conformists."
He went on to say: "Most are pleas–
ant, well-meaníng, nice, happy, evcn
gregarious, but they have little back–
bone.. . . But what the church
needs
is
valiant leadership in order to become a
potent spiritual force in society rather
than a fringc activity of írrelevant
concern."
A country or people is what its
educators make it. Church leaders are
the products of the scminacies. The
faults in thc churcbes can be traced in
great degree to tbe faults of the theo–
logical programs which produce the
ministers.
How can a pastor point his parish–
ioners to a faith he no Jonger believes
in? And belief - or lack of belief -
most likely stems from his seminary
days. Remember, the "death of God"
about it"!
(Look,
May 16, 1967.)
Presbytcrian theologian John R. Bodo
pointed out that anyone who decided to
attend a seminary "should have a shock–
proof faith." He stated that unless a
studcnt is "already deeply committed to
the God whom Jesus called Father," he
was "not Jikely to survive this shock
treatment."
UPI correspondent louis Cassels
found that the "more famous the semi–
nary, the more corrosive the atmosphere
of skepticism pervading its faculty and
student body is apt to be." He was not
greatly surprised to find that few stu–
dents of a prestige-laden Episcopal sem–
inary engaged in private prayer, because
most just did not believe in that kind of
a personal God.
The practicality of semínary training
has also been questioned by more than
one student and minister. This is
emphasized in a gently humorous but
pointed manner in
Hotv to Become
et
Bishop:
"About the only practica!