Self-supporting bishops

The coming ten years will see the retirement of a significant number of stipendiary clergy as the generation of the baby boomers reaches the age of 65 or 70. As the proportion of baby boomers among Church of England parish clergy is relatively high, it will be particularly noticeable when they leave. Currently the number of parish clergy relative to the population is decreasing and this seems to be a trend that will continue. If this is the case, the pressure on clergy will increase and so it would be wise to explore strategies to relieve this pressure.

When my father retired as a Reformed minister in 1990, one of the lay leaders of his congregation said in a speech that ‘in the kingdom of God nobody retires’. Among those who will retire in the coming ten years there will be many men and women who could have been bishops, but were never given the chance to serve in that way. On retirement, many of them would still have the energy, passion and vision and the pastoral gifts and experience to do so. Could this human resource be used creatively?

As an academic tutor at a theological course which prepares people together for self-supporting and stipendiary ministry, I come across heartache. For some the divide between paid and unpaid ministry is very painful. It does not so much indicate an economic reality as a status hierarchy. Jesus said that ‘where your treasure is there is your heart’. Sometimes those preparing for self-supporting ministry are led to feel less valued because they are not being paid for. Yet, at the same time, the financial and human resources situation means that the Church needs self-supporting ministry more than ever. I think it would give all those who give sacrificially of themselves, their time and their financial resources in self-supporting ministry and mission a big boost if some of their number were to be ordained as bishops.

In the ‘Service for the Ordination and Consecration of a Bishop’ it states that ‘Bishops … are to love and pray for those committed to their charge, knowing their people and being known by them.’ ¹ In the current situation, however, it is easier for a bishop to be known by those in their charge than to know them, just because of the sheer numbers of ‘the flock of Christ’. In this declaration bishops are also to ‘discern and foster the gifts of the Spirit in all who follow Christ, commissioning them to minister in his name’: again, the effectiveness of bishops in this area in current practice is compromised by the size and the number of their responsibilities. The declaration also says that bishops ‘have a special care for the poor, the outcast and those who are in need. They are to seek out those who are lost … ’ Currently there seem to be more bishops in the House of Lords than in council estates or the urban priority areas. In all these ministries, and many others too numerous to explore here, self-supporting bishops could begin to redress some of the imbalances that we find in current patterns of episcopal oversight.

One of the aspects of reimagining or reshaping ministry which is one of the quinquennium goals is the recognition of the need to promote diversity in ministry, particularly the ministry of the clergy. ² Although this is expressed in the context of young vocations, the existence of self-supporting bishops would add to the diversity among clergy and could be instrumental in promoting further diversity of ordained ministries.

Some may object to the ordination and consecration of self-supporting bishops because it might devalue the authority of episcopal ministry. The answer to this is surely that Scripture points to Jesus as an example of servant leadership, and the servant-hood at the heart of apostolic church governance. Paul himself is an early example of a self-supporting overseer.

Others may question the ability of bishops to work collaboratively in teams, even though this is now a requirement of all clergy. Here, surely, is an opportunity for bishops to lead by example.

There are also practical objections. One is the problem that a bishop needs a see and sees can only be created by Parliament. But is this problem insoluble? Surely the Church of England could find a way of dealing with the geography of self-supporting bishops. All problems, objections and counter-arguments raise the question of whether the problems outweigh the benefits. When I consider the potential benefits to be gained from ordaining some self-supporting bishops, I think not.

If the Church of England were to ordain and consecrate self-supporting bishops from among recently retired stipendiary priests, or serving self-supporting priests, this would provide dioceses and serving clergy with much welcomed pastoral support, inspiration, guidance and godly teaching.