The serious economic downturn is giving new meaning to Luther’s famous quote at the Diet of Worms, “Here I stand. I can do no other.”
New census data, reported on Fox News indicate that Americans are less and less mobile due to the deteriorating economy. In fact, “American families are staying home more than at any time since World War II thanks to the housing bust and unemployment that has kept young adults and retirees from moving elsewhere, the Census says.”
These data are similar to those reported in July of 2010 in a study reported in the Washington Post. To quote from that story:
With many people locked in homes by underwater mortgages, only 1.6 percent of Americans moved between states in a one-year period that ended in March 2009 -- a labor stagnation not seen in half a century. Though household mobility has gradually declined for more than two decades, the recent sharp downturn has caused economists to worry that it could harm the already struggling recovery.
Recent conversations with district presidents have confirmed that much the same type of inability to move is prevalent among pastors, teachers, DCEs, deaconesses, and other church workers in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. This phenomenon has been growing behind the scenes for some time and it can have serious implications for our Synod. When a pastor, for example, is contemplating a call he has received and begins to consider the fiscal ramifications of accepting the call, he may well ask himself: Will I be able to sell my current house? Can I afford to sell my current house for what I would receive for it? Will my wife be able to find employment?
To church workers: Are you feeling this way? Are you functionally immobile due to economics?
Has your congregation or school encountered functional immobility due to economics in calls that have been issued?
Are workers who conclude that they are functionally immobile due to economics simply lacking in faith? Should they move full-steam ahead with the understanding that “God will take care of it?”
Your comments are welcomed!
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I have not personally been so impacted but am all too familiar with workers who have, especially since my wife is a Realtor who has worked with a number of them. And, though given my previous cautions, I must say that how God has taken care of it in some instances has been rather remarkable in this economy.
I would also admit to feeling some apprehension should I receive a call. Even with a talented Realtor wife, its a very, very difficult thing to sell a house right now.
On the matter of the worker's faith--God works through his people. Church members and school parents need to be mindful of that. They cannot ride the coattails of their worker's faith.
We've moved 11 times in forty years of ministry and marriage because new challenges to serve and design & build programs called. I would consider a call again.
I would hate to think that any church worker, once convinced that God was leading him or her to accept a Call, would turn down that call solely because of the economy. However, it is definitely a factor that the worker should consider and pray about, and the calling congregation should take into consideration.
I have to agree with Doug that it's a balance. God gave us reason as well as faith. Determining whether or not to take a call is not easy. For us, renting has been the way to go short term. What does the future hold? Only God knows. The one sure thing is that God provides. It's just not always what or how we expect.