DALLAS -- Many seminary students pursuing master of divinity degrees are not planning on preaching in the pulpit, which some fear will lead to a pastor shortage.
Fewer than a third of seminary students intend to minister in congregations, according to a study by Auburn Theological Seminary in New York. Details of the national survey were not available.
"What it means to local congregations is a crisis of ordained leadership as the boomers continue to retire," seminary consultant Sheryl Carle Fancher told the Associated Baptist Press.
"Young people who are involved in the church see clergy being criticized or abused by congregational leadership, struggling with personal finances, and worn out," said Fancher, associated director of the Midwest Ministry Development Service. "The picture doesn't look very appealing as a vocational choice."
The Alban Institute, which researches church trends and consults congregations, reports the number of ministers under age 35 has dropped by at least half and up to two-thirds since the 1970s.
Barbara Wheeler, president of Auburn Seminary, said many young seminarians find congregational ministry too confining and are choosing non-church settings. While relationships between pastors and parishioners are rewarding, she said, most socially concerned young people think the church lacks the potential to transform communities.
