Sustainable church: Practices that make for a lifetime of service

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the sustainable agriculture movement has challenged conventional agricultural practices dominating U.S. food production after World War II. These modern practices have demonstrated themselves to be unsustainable. Land and soil are destroyed, farmers abandon their farms, and the life of rural communities is eroded. Wendell Berry and other new agrarian voices call for an ecologically sound food system that takes into account the quality of life of the farmer, the land, and the community. Similarly, conventional ministry practices have taken their toll on both congregations and clergy as the heavy programmatic nature of church life has taken hold during that same period. Pastors and congregations interested in more sustainable ways of ministry might learn from the agricultural metaphor. What are those practices churches and ministers are finding to be good for the clergy, good for the congregation, and good for the communities in which they serve? What might sustainable church life look like? This article investigates the particular needs that must be addressed for clergy to serve in an effective and healthy manner over the course of a lifetime in ministry while sustaining healthy congregational life in the midst of the community served by the church.