Baptist churches may soon face clergy shortages like other faith traditions. Emily Brown, in a February 2022 Relevant article, “The Great American Clergy Shortage is Coming,” noted: “Roughly 3,544 Catholic parishes in the U.S. lack a parish priest,” and “in…
Leaving church, part 3: ‘Opposition to leadership’
In the face of opposition to leadership, successful leaders never give up or walk away. At least, that is what leadership experts tell us. Instead, these experts suggest persistence and dogged determination as appropriate responses to opposition. This viewpoint is…
Leaving church, part 2: The Great Baptist Resignations and COVID
The recent surge of COVID cases led one of my (Carol) pastoral colleagues to lament, “It feels like we are living a terrible version of the film Ground Hog Day.” In Columbia, Mo., where I live, we have more COVID…
Leaving church: So many Baptist resignations
This is the first in a series based on new research by Pam Durso and Carol McEntyre conducted among Baptist pastors who have left their congregations during the pandemic. In May 2020, during the early days of the global pandemic,…
Do not lose heart while tending the soil of God’s work, speakers urge CBF assembly
Faced with concurrent pandemics of health, politics and racism, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches have not lost heart but have pressed on amid the challenges, CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley said in an address to the group’s General Assembly Aug. 27….
Regathering for worship, processing our pain and remembering our baptism
As a pastor who is trained in both social work and ministry, I have been thinking about how to offer collective pastoral care to my congregation as we process the pandemic together. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult season…
Raging at God after my 67-year-old father died of COVID
My dad was a vibrant and healthy 67-year-old when he caught COVID-19 and died a few weeks before Christmas. It was an abrupt and jarring experience for my family. I was left heartbroken and enraged. I was angry at this…
CBF Governing Board adopts strategic plan along with budget reduction for 2021
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Governing Board adopted a 2021 budget that calls for a 10% reduction in expenditures, which will primarily be achieved by staff adjustments. Meeting in executive session by Zoom conference Oct. 1, the 16-member board adopted a 2021…
Minister ‘fought herself’ to accept generous church maternity leave policy
Carol McEntyre says she had to battle her own work ethic and guilt to take advantage of a generous parental leave policy at First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., where she is pastor. Many women clergy serve at churches where…