The Congregation

The
Congregation
describes the fictional experiences of Reverend David Thomas during
his initial six years as an ordained minister, while serving as
pastor of a fictional congregation, the First Presbyterian Church of
Ginsburg, Missouri.


His graduation from a
denominational college and seminary provided David with an excellent
fine arts and theological education; however, neither institution
attempted to teach him what to expect about his pastoral role.


Only by confronting himself in
human relationships could he begin to learn about how religion
functions in society. What he learned offered little motivation to
spend the remainder of his life working in a role defined by
institutions and customs.


His marriage to Mary, a teacher
in the local high school, provided the motivation for him to reassert
his vow to spend his life telling the story of Jesus. The expectation
of their first child calmed David's inner vocational turmoil and
stimulated a renewed dedication to his initial vows.

Growing more content with the
demands of his role, the news that Mary and their unborn baby had
died in an automobile wreck, compelled David to evaluate his
vocational commitment and to make decisions leading in other
vocational directions.

According
to the author of The
Congregation,
fiction may offer tools more effective than formal essays in
communicating ideas about the role of the leader of a religious
group. In his 2005 publication, The
Christian Pastor's Work,
Donald Corley stated that a history of the Christian movement
suggests that Christian pastors always have faced tensions related to
their social situation. The
Congregation is
a fictional treatment of this idea.