Paul, thanks for writing this. You nailed it. Which isn't a surprise of course. But more of an affirmation. I'm a second career pastor (ELCA Lutheran in the US). And a convert to Lutheranism (From Roman Catholicism). So there's lots of things that I experience and just scratch my head over. But my first career has been invaluable to me (politics). It helped me to study people, to listen, to communicate, and to realize that most people (if not all, including me) do not act rationally or in ways that make sense. This has allowed me to have some grace, but also offer a protection for myself and my family.

I'm now starting my second call. The first was in a white, middle class, suburban setting. It didn't end well after 5 1/2 years. One of the reasons was because of an unhealthy attachment to a former pastor who retired after 30 years of service in the church and stayed. He conflicted with every pastor after him and he had a contingent who was loyal to him. He did no favors staying. He should have been removed by the synod, but that didn't happen. One of the things that our synod now does is a covenant of closure. This means the pastor cuts ties with the congregation and the congregation is not supposed to reach out to the pastor for pastoral things of any type. It's because of the people like the retired pastor in the call I was in that this policy was needed. I actually appreciate the policy because it offers me a protection. Yes, I built relationship with people, but once I finish as pastor somewhere - I'm done there. I need to be released from pastoral duties I'm not being paid for. It's not that I don't care about those folks. It's that the relationship has changed. And that needs to be honored.

Your first point made me think of something that a colleague and mentor told me when I was in seminary - "you're an outsider insider in a church. You're a part of a congregation because of the secrets you know about people, but you'll never be one of them because of your role and you know too much about them." This means it's easy to become a scapegoat as well. I don't even think it's ever personal. It's just a function of the role of leadership. Leaders are always scapegoated - doesn't matter if we are talking about religion, politics, business, sports, or anything else. Someone has to be blamed and it can't possibly be an insider. It's always an outsider that gets blamed. Because if the insider got the blame, then people would have to do the hard work of self-reflection and self-examination, confession, repentance, and transformation. It's so much easier to blame someone else rather than make the investment that results in transformation.

Again, Thank you for writing the article. I have many more years of ministry in me (God willing). It can be frustrating, but I also can't imagine doing anything else right now. After I left my last call, I did some serious discernment about what I should be doing - considered leaving ministry all together because of what I experienced. But God had other plans and I'm really glad I listened. And it helped me to sort out what was acceptable to me and what type of ministry I was willing to go into. It was a narrow window and I thought there wouldn't be a place for me, but again, God had other plans. I know I don't fit a "normal" congregational setting. And I am now starting my call which is not the typical congregational setting. It's urban, diverse, loaded with challenges in a high-poverty and crime setting. And a major part of the call are the public health clinics that the church hosts to care for the neighborhood. It's the best of both worlds for me - hands on ministry with worship. I'm grateful for this call. I can't imagine going back to a "normal" call again.