Every now and then, we will hear a talk in general conference or the local ward about the merits of “unpaid clergy.” Anyone can serve, they say. Sacrifice is the key to devotion. Our church must be extra true because people don’t even need to get paid to serve in it.
But when compared to the intentional, often extensive process that paid clergy members from other religions go through, the idea of an unpaid clergy starts to lose its appeal.
Other churches require rigorous education, often a master’s degree in divinity. They complete an internship under the supervision of other clergy members. They are interviewed and must agree to a specific standard of practice. And they are able to do all of this because they know they will be paid.
Unpaid, in almost every instance, means untrained. As anyone in the church will acknowledge, bishops, stake presidents, area authorities, and onward are often completely untrained when entering into their leadership callings. They are tasked with the spiritual and mental well-being of their membership, yet such a high-stakes calling is left to the dentist down the road or your aunt’s financial advisor.
Often, the argument for calling untrained clergy is that God will qualify them. We are told that once the mantle of the calling is placed upon them through proper priesthood authority, God will give them the skills, knowledge, and discernment to know how to operate in their leadership capacity.
But the church doesn’t do this with other types of health or well-being. Spiritual and mental well-being is easily sourced through unpaid, untrained leaders whom God can qualify one day to the next, but physical health requires a trained, competent doctor. Apart from fringe members, it’s unlikely you’ll find a leader in the church who tells you to visit a doctor who is unpaid and untrained to help with your physical illness. Instead, we hear talks about the blessings of modern medicine and tout the merits of a prophet who saved countless people’s lives through his extensive knowledge and training in heart surgery.
Beyond the lack of training, the toll that such leadership callings take on the man and the man’s family is staggering. This unpaid position he didn’t ask to fill now requires him to be gone from his family multiple nights a week and all day on Sunday on top of the job he is already working to provide an income. I have heard from many different clients in my therapy practice feelings of an “absent” father due to his excessive obligations to the church. These men who might not have been disconnected from their families otherwise are now forced into disconnection because there simply isn’t enough time in the day.
All of this leads to burnout. Placing a man in a position of responsibility for the well-being of his membership and not paying him or training him leads to burnout. It leads to this man feeling inadequate, stressed, and overworked. It leads to his wife feeling the same. The members who look to this man for support are left with “bishop roulette” because no standard of care or training exists. All they can do is hope they get a “good one.”
From the earliest days of the church, the idea of seeking out trained professionals to help with specific needs was encouraged. Dallin H. Oaks said, “The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings. When a person requested a priesthood blessing, Brigham Young would ask, ‘Have you used any remedies?’ To those who said no because ‘we wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed,’ President Young replied: ‘That is very inconsistent according to my faith. If we are sick, and ask the Lord to heal us, and to do all for us that is necessary to be done, according to my understanding of the Gospel of salvation, I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed. It appears consistent to me to apply every remedy that comes within the range of my knowledge, and [then] to ask my Father in Heaven … to sanctify that application to the healing of my body.’”
If we believe that using faith alone to treat physical ailments is “inconsistent according to [our] faith,” why do we believe that faith alone is enough to treat spiritual or mental ailments? Why do we insist that God “qualifying” the leaders of our congregations is enough?
I sometimes wonder if it simply comes back to the money. I wonder if the church doesn’t want to invest the money in paying qualified individuals to do the work. If that’s the case, they need to reexamine the costs. The quality of a bishop’s leadership impacts every facet of a congregation, down to a struggling family’s need for food. If he is burnt out or overwhelmed, his congregation will feel it, and everyone, including his own family, suffers as a result.
6 Responses
Callan, you make great points. I would never encourage anyone to talk to a bishop or stake president about spiritual, emotional, familial, or mental challenges. (Or really, any other challenges if it can be avoided.) Their lack of training in counseling means that far more harm than good might come out of such a conversation, particularly if the member believes the bishop does have expertise and special insight because of his mantle. I wish we did have paid clergy — or at the very minimum extensive professional training in counseling for lay clergy. But as you mention, I imagine this will never happen. These men’s lives are already so impacted with career, family, and calling that finding time for real training would be extremely hard (unless the leader is retired). And one always does wonder if money is a factor. I still can’t believe we won’t even pay for cleaners for our buildings, despite the church’s hundreds of billions of dollars.
You make so many excellent points about the problems with unpaid and untrained clergy. As you so well point out, the Thomas S. Monson line “Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies” is just wishful thinking. Also, I have to say that your title is outstanding! It’s a great draw and a pithy summary of your post in just a few words!
I really appreciate your points. I wish we had access to proper spiritual care and psychological first aid. My ward doesn’t even have a plan for supporting queer children.
A UU interfaith worker told me she likes the idea of rotating leaders to prevent being stuck with a leader you don’t resonate with. That could be one benefit of the current system, but I would argue the transience is a downside too. It could be a concern that you want people called by God, not motivated by income, but from my experience meeting divinity students and professional clergy, it’s not much of a concern to me. I would only want paid clergy though if women were included!
Recently my bishop opted into our ward offering a Thursday emotional resilience class for youth. He suggested this can help the kids develop testimonies. He seems to perceive the obstacles to kids thriving at Church very differently than me, and I don’t think its very accurate.
It’s clear to me career plus kids plus a 20+ hour volunteer obligation is not a balanced lifestyle. This needs to change.
I want to scream this from the rooftops!
I think another reason this is seen as a flex in the church is the temple ceremony. Until 1990 there was a preacher character who earned money and was a servant of Satan. The belief that money will corrupt a man’s honesty and ability to follow God is pretty ingrained in our culture. But given today’s multi-billion dollar church, this is quite laughable.
I think one big piece of this problem is that the church organization has adopted American anti-intellectualism, meaning my ignorance is as good as your knowledge. Why would we send potential bishops to divinity school when we can just give them a calling and the Lord will take care of making him a wise leader?
Thank you for writing this. Over the last few years, I have become more disturbed at the lack of trained clergy. I know things aren’t perfect with trained clergy yet, at the same time, training is very sorely needed so that, at a minimum, leaders do not cause harm. In this church, members do not have pastoral care. It would be nice to have that. Also, I appreciate that you point out the toll that it takes. Last summer my husband completed 24 years of callings that required Sunday morning and weeknight meetings. Needless to say, he is burned out and now can’t even think of going near a church without freezing up with anxiety and dread. I knew it took a toll on him and our family; I’m just beginning to grasp the enormity of that toll including how it affected me and our marriage. It wasn’t good. And to those that are wondering, we are getting professional help in therapy to recover.