Shared pastoral ministry in Europe
The practice of shared pastoral ministry is neither new, nor geographically limited. In my search, I have found couples from California to Florida to New York. I have also interviewed three couples serving together in Europe. A brief excerpt of these interviews is found here. (Russ Dean)
1. Walter and Andrea Klimt have served together in shared pastoral ministry since 1987. They have two children, and serve in Austria in student ministry, and in a church, which they planted two years ago. You can e-mail them at a9209618@unet.univie.ac.at
Walter: Together since 1987. We served in a big church in in Hamburg for five years. Then we moved to Vienna to do student work. Two years ago we planted a church together in this building, and have served together here since then. We also do a lot of work for the Austrian Baptist Union – I am in charge of our Home Mission Department, and Andrea is in charge of all social work in the union.
Walter: We are accepted well by the union. Ten years ago we only had ten churches. Now we have twenty churches in the union, and there are two couples serving together.
Andrea was the first female pastor in Austria. Some churches very conservative while others are very open. Other couples in Germany
Walter: No, we had no models. In Germany in the 1980’s, there was only one female pastor of more than 400 pastors. Andrea started with two other women in 1987, but now there are maybe 10% female pastors, and a lot of them are couples. One reason is the theological seminary. Students study together, learn together, get married.
Walter: The female pastors in Germany have a group, but there is no “support group” for pastoral couples at all.
Walter: There are churches now who want to have couples, but there are not enough couples available. Couples have more gifts, so we can reach more people.
Walter: We are really different. We have different gifts. I like this combination! We can learn from each other. Together we are stronger.
2. One couple, who serve in the US Army, asked not to be identified by name.
Russ: How long have your served together? We served three churches in the states for about ten years.
Russ: Did you have any models? How did you decide to practice shared pastoral ministry? We were in seminary together, and just decided that we could do this. There were no models. We know of one couple in our denomination who is graduating from seminary who would like to pastor together. Of course, there are clergy couples serving in two different capacities.
Russ: How open is your denomination? Women’s ministry is accepted and encouraged by the leadership of our denomination, but there is not as much acceptance from the grass roots level. And, it seems to be more accepted in the Eastern U.S. than in the West.
Russ: Tell me about your current work? My husband serves as an army chaplain. I volunteer. I participate in all aspects of the ministry, even preaching as much as I want. Because of the possibility of being called up at the same time, though, it would be difficult for us both to serve, officially. But, the military is encouraging and wide-open for women’s leadership and advancement. There are many women in the military now, and there is a great need for female leadership in ministry.
3. Emanuel and Ilse Wieser served as the pastors of the Ruschlikon Baptist Church in Ruschlikon, Switzerland from 1979 – 1986. They had a successful and fulfilling pastorate there, but when they moved to Austria in 1986, though Ilse was the first woman ordained to ministry in Austria, they did not find the acceptance for her ministry that they had experienced in Switzerland. For the next ten years, they served, as so many couples must do, working side-by-side in the church, but Ilse was not officially recognized for her work in the church. Currently, they serve at the Mollard Gasse Baptist Church in Vienna, Austria, where Emanuel works as the pastor and Ilse works as a counselor. You can reach them by e-mail at emanuel.wieser@eunet.at.
Russ: Do you have a sense of how the European climate is different from the American climate toward women in ministry, and the acceptance of shared pastoral ministry? Emanuel: Europe is not unified. There are many unions. Some are not supportive at all. The Baptist Union in Italy is supportive, and we know one couple serving together in Germany, though they are not officially permitted on the union level. Many churches are free within our borders to call whomever they please as their pastor(s).
Russ: Amy and I share a working hypothesis that there is something intrinsic to the structure of shared pastoral ministry, which, because it models equality and mutuality, will foster more lay-involvement and better ministry. Is this true? Emanuel: This is a valid point, but this can be expressed in other ways, also. shared pastoral ministry does model some important things, though. For us, ironically, we were able to model these things especially in the church in which Ilse was not allowed to minister, officially. These were simple people, with traditional understandings.
Russ: Would you recommend shared pastoral ministry to other couples? Emanuel: In the long run, I believe it is a more difficult path in ministry. There is a real challenge to keep from pulling each other down with the dual pressures of serving together. Ilse and I were very intense, though there was never any pressure between us, no secret competition. We have a deep appreciation for each other, and fortunately we were able to carry the burden together. Couples should be aware of the expectations and challenges.