# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S85 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) SYNOD REPORTS 85 agement, and financial analysis including online self-service fea- tures for faculty, staff, students, alumni, and administrators. ¢ Benefits of implementing this common software system have been the increased levels of collaboration and mutual assistance between campuses. This has led to stronger working relationships and more sharing of professional knowledge. Elmer Gooding, Chairman Board for University Education/Concordia University System Kurt J. Krueger Executive Director, Board for University Education President, Concordia University System R5-03 Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support The Mission The Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support (CMGS) exists to 1. provide opportunity for the continuing education and vocational growth of the church’s workers; to 2. advocate and facilitate care and counsel for the church’s workers to support them in the performance of their official duties; and to 3. advocate and facilitate support for the personal well-being of the church’s workers and their family members. CMGS Purpose Statement The CMGS helps the church’s workers learn and grow, serve well and be healthy, and advocates for the workers and their fami- lies. CMGS Membership changes Within the last triennium, the Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support installed Rev. David A. Muench as executive director; The following resigned their appointments to the commission: Dr. William Duey - Chicago, Illinois (Concordia University rep- resentative) Mr. David Kusch - Livonia, Michigan (commissioned minister representative/principal) Critical Targets and Goal Statements In pursuit of its mission, in October of 2005 the CMGS adopted the following critical targets with accompanying goal statements: 1. Commission Governance—A dynamic, effective strategic plan which is collegially refined and implemented, is guiding the ef- forts of all commission members and staff. 2. Continuing Education for Church Workers—With the sup- port of and in partnership with the congregation, every profes- sional church worker is developing a service and learning plan which will facilitate Kingdom growth. 3, Strategic Alliances—Collaborative teams from LCMS and other entities promote increased wellness, continuing education, and vocational enrichment for the church’s workers. 4. Vocational Transitions—Church workers and their families are intentionally supported in vocational transitions. 5. Wellness Promotion—Church workers and their families are faithful stewards of their total health, emphasizing prevention and self care, and are role models for wellness in their communities. The work of the commission directed toward these targets is or- ganized under the following committee and action teams, consist- ing of experts from around the country: — The Governance Committee was formed, with the primary as- signment to produce the CMGS Policy Manual. The manual was approved at the September 2006 meeting of the commission. — The PALS Development Action Team—Chaired by Rev. Her- bert Mueller, Waterloo, Illinois. PALS (1998 Res. 5-02, 1995 Res. 5-09A) is the acronym for “Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support,” an initiative designed to ease the transition from semi- nary to parish for new graduates and their wives. Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wenger, in their landmark study, Pastors in Transition (Eerdmans Press, 2005), identified organiza- tional/interpersonal conflict as a major factor in clergy leaving parish ministry, and clergy, themselves, identified “support during transitions” as an important element in retaining parish pastors. PALS is an intentional effort to both help new pastors deal with in- evitable conflicts and provide support during the transition. The specific desired outcomes of the PALS initiative are the following: * Pastors whose personal, spiritual, and professional formation is regularly fostered and enhanced. * Pastors and wives who are helped to make a successful transition from seminary life to parish ministry. ¢ Pastors and wives who do not experience the sense of isolation that often accompanies the transition from seminary life to parish ministry. * Pastors whose ministries are more readily valued and accepted by their congregations. * Congregation-pastor relationships that are positive and joyful and that result in extended first-call ministries. * Pastors who continue to develop the necessary skills to give pos- itive and healthy leadership to their congregations. * Congregations and pastors who value continuous learning as an important and ongoing ingredient of pastoral ministry. Since 1998, more than 750 newly placed pastors have partici- pated in PALS. A total of 39 groups are meeting throughout the United States this year (2007), with more than 270 participants. About 70 percent of new seminary graduates elect to join a PALS group, typically consisting of three to twelve “first-call” pastors who meet together on a regular basis, with an experienced pastor serving as the facilitator of the meeting. Worship, Bible study, per- sonal sharing, reflection on ministry and its context, and topic study comprise the bulk of the group’s time together. The collegial bonds that form among the participants during their time together are very important in the transition from seminary to parish. The importance of including pastors’ wives in the PALS efforts has become in- creasingly obvious. Many benefits are reported to flow from the Bible and topical studies and especially from opportunities to process realities of the transition to parish life with other wives dealing with similar experiences. Participants and spouses are overwhelmingly in favor of the concept. More than two-thirds of participants and spouses think their participation has been worthwhile and say they would recom- mend other seminary graduates participate. Funding for the PALS initiative is shared by the Synod, the dis- tricts, congregations receiving new graduates, and the first-call pas- tors themselves. An online survey was used in the fall of 2006 to gather input from pastors who completed the three-year participation with PALS. The following summarizes comments that were received. * The PALS facilitator is the most significant predictor of PALS group success; ¢ PALS offers a safe, nonjudgmental environment; * PALS encourages social connections/peer support; family fel- lowship; * PALS unifies St. Louis and Fort Wayne grads; * It’s beneficial for congregations to be on board with PALS from the beginning; 2007 Convention Workbook