Pastoring the Church into the Twenty-First Century.

This study attempted to examined how well seminary training prepares ministers for their role. A questionnaire-survey was developed and completed by 400 senior pastors of mainline denominational churches in California. Close-ended items were analyzed statistically and responses to open-ended questions were evaluated and categorized. Findings indicated: (1) 15 skills identified by the study were all judged to be essential for the senior pastor's role in the church; (2) seminary education was not seen to adequately prepare pastors with these essential skills; (3) there was a gap between the perceived needs of the pastor and perceptions regarding seminary training in seven of the skills (including staff building, financial planning, and time management); and (4) perceived needs and seminary training appeared to match in four of the skills: counseling, communication, social trends, and interpersonal skills. The paper provides detailed analyses of responses to each question. Ten recommendations drawn from responses to the open-ended questions are listed, as are suggestions for further research. The survey instrument is appended. (DB)