Overview

Gail Cafferata was heartbroken when the church she pastored voted to close its doors. It may have been the right decision, but it led to a million questions in her mind about her call, leadership, and future. She began to think that other pastors who close churches perhaps go through this same experience. This led her to conduct a sociological study of over 130 pastors in five historically established denominations (Episcopal, Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ) who were called to serve churches that closed. This book tells the results of that study, which consisted of many interviews, and the hard-won lessons learned by these courageous pastors.

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9780664264987

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This insightful, ambitious and compelling book is particularly relevant as we all look at an unknown future, one now complicated by a pandemic and its still unknown effects. Church is changing in ways we never envisioned. Yet we are called to be faithful and to join God's resurrection hope. As this book proclaims, the journey of church will continue. --The Presbyterian Outlook This book will particularly be of interest for denominational leaders--bishops, judicatory leaders, and researchers--who will increasingly face the reality of church closings in the years ahead. Cafferata rightfully resists the urge to provide easy answers, but she does provide an orienting set of insights and complexities that will help many in the Mainline Church ask different and better questions. Seminary leaders and faculty may also benefit from Cafferata's insights on a form of pastoral leadership that stands to be more common in the future. There is no doubt that The Last Pastor is a sobering account, but it is also an important one often ignored. --Review of Religious Research There will be more pastors serving as last pastors in the coming years. For those who do, The Last Pastoris a valuable guidebook offering light, hope, and wisdom for those who mind the tiller of a closing church. --The United Church of Christ's Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data If your church is near the end, The Last Pastorwill help you to: initiate the conversation; look at the skill sets needed in leadership; be aware of the negative reactions that will surface; find the silver linings for pastors and church members; and consider the ultimate ways the church might 'live on' through a number of opportunities that come with closing. In other words, this book can help you move on with your heads held high. --Baptist Standard Cafferata details the diverse experiences of the pastors, noting both their faith and the faith of their congregations. She argues against the notion that closing a church means failure and encourages pastors who close churches to seek help and community. --Faith & Leadership

This insightful, ambitious and compelling book is particularly relevant as we all look at an unknown future, one now complicated by a pandemic and its still unknown effects. Church is changing in ways we never envisioned. Yet we are called to be faithful and to join God's resurrection hope. As this book proclaims, the journey of church will continue. --The Presbyterian Outlook This book will particularly be of interest for denominational leaders--bishops, judicatory leaders, and researchers--who will increasingly face the reality of church closings in the years ahead. Cafferata rightfully resists the urge to provide easy answers, but she does provide an orienting set of insights and complexities that will help many in the Mainline Church ask different and better questions. Seminary leaders and faculty may also benefit from Cafferata's insights on a form of pastoral leadership that stands to be more common in the future. There is no doubt that The Last Pastor is a sobering account, but it is also an important one often ignored. --Review of Religious Research There will be more pastors serving as last pastors in the coming years. For those who do, The Last Pastoris a valuable guidebook offering light, hope, and wisdom for those who mind the tiller of a closing church. --The United Church of Christ's Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data If your church is near the end, The Last Pastorwill help you to: initiate the conversation; look at the skill sets needed in leadership; be aware of the negative reactions that will surface; find the silver linings for pastors and church members; and consider the ultimate ways the church might 'live on' through a number of opportunities that come with closing. In other words, this book can help you move on with your heads held high. --Baptist Standard Cafferata details the diverse experiences of the pastors, noting both their faith and the faith of their congregations. She argues against the notion that closing a church means failure and encourages pastors who close churches to seek help and community. --Faith & Leadership

Author Information

Gail Cafferata received her PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and then went on to serve for twenty-two years as a medical sociologist in universities; the National Center for Health Services Research; Children's Hospital, Boston; and other nonprofits, writing over twenty-five academic and government publications. In 1997 she received her MDiv from Episcopal Divinity School and served a Northern California congregation for nine years before it closed.

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