Accountability

The buzzword in my business is "accountability." No, I am not talking about the church. I am not in a professional capacity at church. I am talking about the corporate world. One of the times I interviewed for a position at the company, I asked about the hiring manager's outlook/goals. He responded with the A word. This person is in my reporting chain, still, and those who work for him have the same outlook. I suffer through verbal beatings, on occasion, when things don't go as planned. Occasionally I deserve it. Sometimes I don't, but it doesn't matter; the beatings will continue until morale improves. My colleagues and I literally fear interaction with superiors. It isn't a fun way to live one's work life.

Many clergy and seminary friends of mine cringe when they hear the A word. They may have had similar experiences to mine in the work world, either through former/current jobs or the jobs of spouses/partners/friends. We shouldn't be measured in the same way as the business world, I hear. How can you measure changed hearts, I hear. In a manner of speaking, they are right. Pastoral work is not making widgets, where one measures the time it takes to do something and compare it to what one believes is the benchmark. However, pastors and clergy candidates should not believe or be led to believe that the intangibles of the pastoral role exempt them from accountability.

In my part of the world, our church leadership requests measurable results in certain areas. Membership, growth, sacramental events, and financials are some of the areas of interest. I believe that these are important, though we must recognize that the nature of some ministry is that positive metrics will never be achieved in these categories. A balance must be found between tangible and intangible results.

Accountability needs to be more seriously thought through and applied to the ministry function. In the UM world, we need better ways of defining and measuring successful ministry, and we also need to have a way to move unsuccessful pastors on to other things. There are too many ineffective pastors out in the church -- those who coast to retirement, those who do not adapt to new needs, those who joined the UM system only for guaranteed appointments, and (add your own description here).

Accountability is important, though it should not be the be-all end-all or ministerial evaluation.

Your prayers for me and my staff this week are appreciated.