Years Of Ministry Research Articles

Collaboration Between Psychiatrists and Clergy in Recognizing and Treating Serious Mental Illness

Collaboration Between Psychiatrists and Clergy in Recognizing and Treating Serious Mental Illness

Examining the relationship between burnout and age among Anglican clergy in England and Wales

Previous research examining the links between age and burnout has found that there was a significant negative correlation between age and both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Two theories are often advanced to account for this: those who suffered from emotional exhaustion or depersonalization at a younger age may have left the job either on grounds of ill-health or to seek alternative employment; older workers may have learned how better to pace themselves in their work in order to minimize opportunities for burnout. The present study sought to evaluate these two theories. A sample of 340 Anglican clergy in England and Wales, who had all served one year in ordained ministry, completed a modified form of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, alongside a variety of socio-demographic questions, including age and years in ministry. The results show that it is chronological age, and not years in ministry, that is negatively correlated with the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization subscales of burnout. It is concluded that in order to reduce the incidence of burnout among clergy, particular strategies need to be introduced for the care and support of younger clergy.

Iain G. Nicol: Celebrating a Faithful Doctor of the Church

The articles contained in this special issue of the Toronto Journal of Theology honour lain G. Nicol. This Festschrift is occasioned by his retirement from Knox College after more than twenty-five years of ministry in the church and academy. When lain came to Canada from Scotland, he brought with him, among many other things, a commitment to the importance of education for a life of faith lived in fullness. We thank the Scots for giving us one of their own. He has been and continues to be a blessing to the church and academy in Canada. Though it is with sadness that we bid farewell to lain in his professional teaching ministry, we are delighted that retirement will afford him greater freedom to pursue his research interests and his congregational ministries in Canada and Scotland.

The Printed Pulpit: On Harry C. Meserve

The pulpit may be the most influential platform of communication ever de signed. Certainly the sermon is among the strongest expressions of the verbal arts. However, preachers also run the risk of exhausting their congregations in a myriad of ways. Length is probably the best example. As the adage claims, "The mind can only absorb as much as the seat can endure." Harry Meserve was an effective preacher. He knew how to edit himself. Consequently, his message stuck, lingering as a mental echo. In fact, I first heard his name mentioned in the sermon preached at my ordination to the priesthood. The preacher was The Rev. Thomas O. Edmunds, a professor at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. Tom's sermon included several long quotations from one of Dr. Meserve's which was published in an anthology, Sermons from an Ecumenical Pulpit. As an ordination present Tbm also gave me a year's subscription to the Journal of Religion and Health. Harry of course was the editor and eventually a very influential figure in my career. Harry Chamberlain Meserve died two years ago in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was 86 years old and his life was well-lived. He was a brilliant thinker, a superb writer and a wonderful human being. He was also a dear friend and a mentor to many, myself included. Dr. Meserve grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Phillip's Academy Andover, Haverford College, and Harvard Divinity School. He received an honorary doctorate from Meadville Theologi cal Seminary and served several Unitarian churches during his sixty years of ministry. He was also the Director of Programs for the Academy of Religion and Mental Health and the founding editor of its quarterly, the Journal of Religion and Health. He encouraged a host of prominent people to contribute to the Journal, including Arnold Toynbee, Paul Tillich, Gordon Allport, Ira Progoff, Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, Kenneth B. Clark, Ramsey Clark, and Seward Hiltner.

Burnout and Leisure

The purpose of this study is to determine whether leisure behavior, leisure satisfaction, leisure attitude, and self‐determination are associated with decreased burnout. A systematic stratified random sample of 438 clergy (55% return rate) was used to collect the data. In path analysis, results indicate that leisure behavior and leisure satisfaction had an inverse effect on all 3 components of burnout, while leisure attitude had no effect. Self‐determination predisposition contributed inversely to 2 components of burnout. Similarly, age and years in ministry had a direct, inverse relationship with the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of burnout. Number of years employed with the present church was also negatively related to emotional exhaustion. All 3 variables (age, years in ministry, and years with the present church) were positively associated with leisure behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

A Model for Analysis of Incarnational Ministry in Post-Christendom Lands

Why are Western Protestant missionaries who work in areas of the world where Christian churches date back many centuries so ineffective? Is it really necessary and unavoidable that we be seen as members of sectarian and cultist groups by the post-Christendom peoples we seek to win for Christ? This article considers the ways in which our missional paradigm and ministry methods combine to shape the way we are perceived by others. Based on lessons learned from years of ministry in France, it provides conceptual glasses through which we may discover new perspectives on the incarnation of the gospel in countries marked by Christendom.

Training in the Early Years of Ministry: A Cause for Concern?

Training in the Early Years of Ministry: A Cause for Concern?