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This is the 10th installment of a yearlong series that follows newly appointed United Methodist clergy as they begin their ministry.
A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert and Joey Butler*
6:00 A.M. EDT June 30, 2011 | PEGRAM, Tenn. (UMNS)
The Rev. Brian Rossbert leads prayer during children’s time at New
Bethel United Methodist Church in Pegram, Tenn. A UMNS photo by Kathy L.
Gilbert.
View in Photo Gallery
Sometime around 1800, a log church was founded just inside the Cheatham
County line – one of the first churches established in Middle Tennessee.
That church was named Bethel Methodist. Now named New Bethel United
Methodist, the church has outlasted most of its neighbors.
Tucked away in a rural community a half hour from Nashville, New Bethel
and a sister church about 14 miles to the east, Centenary, are almost
mirror images: stark white steeples, dark-paneled sanctuaries … and a
few dozen people in the pews on Sunday morning.
The churches also share the same pastor, the Rev. Brian Rossbert, 29,
who was appointed to the two charges after he completed seminary in
2009.
Rossbert graduated from United Methodist-related Wesley Theological
Seminary in Washington, D.C. He said fitting in with the rural
congregations was easier because he grew up in a small town in the
Colorado Rockies.
Rossbert’s appointment is typical for a young pastor.
“Most young clergy get appointed to the bottom of the salary level —
small rural churches,” said the Rev. Lewis Parks, professor of theology,
ministry and congregational development at Wesley.
Small churches don’t expect to have pastors who will stay with them for
more than a few years, Parks said. “I work with small churches, and they
would like to see the continuity of leadership. But often the young
clergy have families and needs, and both parties expect they will move
on.”
That is the case with Rossbert as well. After two years serving the two
rural churches, he has been reappointed to Dalewood United Methodist, a
300-member church in East Nashville. His new appointment begins July 1.
“Brian is exceptional,” said Sandra Kingdon, a member of Centenary. “The
first time I heard him, I told him he wouldn’t be at our church for
very long.
“I hate to lose him. I really do. But, his talents need to be spread more than at our church.”
Unique challenges, benefits
Clergy often may not find a rural appointment appealing. The pay usually
is low, and clergy have to serve two or three congregations to get full
salary support. The pay may be too low for the pastor to start paying
off tuition debt from years of seminary study. Spouses sometimes have
trouble finding good job prospects. In many rural areas, the young
people have moved away. That means few people are the same age as a
young pastor, which can be isolating.
The Rev. Jessica Baldyga, 26, is in her first year at Farmington (Ill.)
United Methodist Church, a town in central Illinois with a population of
less than 2,500 and a median age of 40. She said she definitely misses
her peer group.
“I am by far the youngest adult in the congregation by at least 10
years. It can be tough in a small town where I don’t know a lot of the
people and the common social activity for people my age is to go out to
bars,” she said.
A recent study by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
found less than 10 percent of seminary graduates open to serving in
congregations with fewer than 100 members. An even smaller percentage of
graduates said they were willing to serve in a rural setting.
Krysta Rexrode Wolfe, 23, is in her second year at Vanderbilt Divinity
School in Nashville, Tenn. She is a native of West Virginia and plans to
return there to begin her ministry.
“I’m sure I have multi-part charges in my future,” she said. “I’m from a
rural area and I expect to be put in those places, but some people are
shocked when they get out of school and wind up in a rural place that
they don’t have any passion for or experience in.”
In addition to often being much younger than their congregations, young female clergy may struggle with gender barriers.
Baldyga is Farmington’s first woman pastor. She said congregants often
told her how “cute” she was or how much she reminded them of their
granddaughters before she gained acceptance as their spiritual leader.
Wolfe said not only is she likely to be appointed to a church that’s
never had a woman as pastor, she may also be the church’s first pastor
with a seminary education. She said licensed local pastors in West
Virginia outnumber ordained clergy two to one.
The Rev. Jeremy Troxler, center, directs the Thriving Rural Communities
Initiative at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. Photo courtesy of
Kate Rugani.
View in Photo Gallery
“I know people who’ve never left the county I grew up in,” she said.
“Because I moved away to study at a large school in an urban setting,
when I go back, I have cultural bridges to build.”
Baldyga said she feels called to small churches. “This is a really good
fit for me. It challenges me and, in turn, causes me to still want to
challenge the congregation, which I think is necessary.”
Wolfe agrees.
“I prefer being in a rural congregation where there’s love of neighbor,
visitation and work ethic. Because it’s such a big part of who we are,
church becomes a very comfortable place,” she said. “I grew up with 15
moms, and these women still call me and send me care packages.”
What makes a good rural pastor?
Even though many seminary graduates are not from a rural setting, that
doesn’t mean they won’t flourish there. The experience often is more
about personal values than background.
Baldyga said patience is definitely a virtue for a rural pastor.
“Most often the rural churches are small and you don’t always have a lot
of people who are willing to take leadership in different things.
Sometimes you start new programs and they don’t always succeed because
you don’t have the interest,” she said.
“Having a healthy sense of humility is important, and it’s good to have a
sense of humor,” said the Rev. Jeremy Troxler, director of the Thriving
Rural Communities Initiative at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. “The rural folks I know appreciate someone who can laugh at themselves.
“Above all,” he added, “you need to believe this crazy gospel of ours,
that Christ cherishes everyone in every community, and seeks out the one
that’s lost, and sees great value in even one person showing up for a
Bible study or church event.”
Proud starter church
Members of New Bethel and Centenary knew they would not keep Rossbert
for long and they are OK with that. They take pride in their role as a
“starter” church that serves as a mentor for pastors as they begin their
ministry. Members point to the successes of other pastors who started
in their churches.
“Our little churches are training churches; that’s the role that we
play,” said Terry Kimbro, a member of New Bethel. “Our church has the
same problems as a big church, and it gives our young pastors an
opportunity to learn how to handle those problems on a smaller scale.”
First appointments often take newly ordained pastors to small, rural
churches. Pictured here is New Bethel United Methodist Church in
Pegram, Tenn., one of two churches served by the Rev. Brian Rossbert. A
UMNS photo by Kathleen Barry.
View in Photo Gallery
Rossbert agrees. “They have been able to name that for themselves that
they are starter churches,” said Rossbert. “They do it not only for the
benefit of themselves but also for the benefit of the churches their
pastors go to.”
The Rev. Gray Southern, superintendent of the Durham, N.C., District,
said many churches claim a mentoring role as part of their identity.
“They will go back 30-40 years and tell you who has been their pastor
and where they are today,” he said. “They proudly claim the fact that
they’ve helped shape someone’s identity as pastor.”
Centenary member Sandra Kingdon said: “I think a lot of times our church
is so small that we sort of have to break some of them in. We usually
get the really young ones that are just coming into the ministry and we
also get the retirees.”
When New Bethel had its 2010 homecoming celebration, the Rev. Cheri
Parker, who was pastor at the churches from 1983 to 1990, came back as
guest preacher.
While most pastors stay for only a few years, Parker stayed with the
churches for seven years – the longest tenure of any pastor at New
Bethel and Centenary since the 1950s. She and her husband started their
family while she was pastor.
From the pulpit, she reminisced about having her babies in baskets at the altar beside her when she preached.
“You taught me to be a pastor,” she said. “I will be forever thankful.”
The churches, Parker’s first as lead pastor, were a good match for her. “They were like family to us,” she said.
The Rev. Gail Ford Smith, director of the Texas Annual (regional) Conference’s
Center for Clergy Excellence, echoed Parker’s sentiment. She said the
first congregation she served “knew I did not come to them fully formed.
I wouldn’t be the pastor I am today if not for those incredible people.
“You have to observe and respect the rhythm of that community,” Smith
said. “You’d better go to the school football game on Friday night. At
my first church, I learned how to can, went to cattle auctions, rode in
hay balers. You need to be part of the community. A preacher that had no
intent of living in the community would never be accepted.”
Experience needed
But not all rural churches may be happy about being seen as a training
ground and might feel resentment that they’re relegated to inexperienced
leadership.
Respondents to a March 2010 survey by the United Methodist Rural Fellowship cited a lack of qualified pastoral leadership as a central concern.
This also concerns Wolfe as she prepares for her first pastor role.
“It’s not fair to those local congregations that they don’t have a more
experienced person than me,” Wolfe said. “What do I know? I’ve been in a
classroom for most of my life.”
Wolfe thinks smaller and rural churches are the ones most in need of proven experience at the pulpit.
“Those places are in danger. They’re losing resources, money and
population. The notion that as you gain tenure, you gain larger
appointments is a futile way of doing ministry. We’re basically putting
ourselves out of business by doing that.”
As Rossbert prepares for the next step in his ministry, he says he’s ready for whatever God has in store for him.
“I can’t put my thumb on what ideal ministry would look like. When we
get caught up in the ‘I need to be in the big first church,’ when we
elevate ourselves as pastors to that place, we kind of get in trouble
and we stop serving in the way that is to the glory of God but start
serving to the glory of ourselves.
“I want to be used. I want to be an instrument of grace and peace and love and pastoral presence and the body of Christ.”
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. Butler is editor of young adult content.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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