The Congregation

TheCongregationdescribes the fictional experiences of Reverend David Thomas duringhis initial six years as an ordained minister, while serving aspastor of a fictional congregation, the First Presbyterian Church ofGinsburg, Missouri. His graduation from adenominational college and seminary provided David with an excellentfine arts and theological education; however, neither institutionattempted to teach him what to expect about his pastoral role. Only by confronting himself inhuman relationships could he begin to learn about how religionfunctions in society. What he learned offered little motivation tospend the remainder of his life working in a role defined byinstitutions and customs. His marriage to Mary, a teacherin the local high school, provided the motivation for him to reasserthis vow to spend his life telling the story of Jesus. The expectationof their first child calmed David’s inner vocational turmoil andstimulated a renewed dedication to his initial vows.Growing more content with thedemands of his role, the news that Mary and their unborn baby haddied in an automobile wreck, compelled David to evaluate hisvocational commitment and to make decisions leading in othervocational directions. Accordingto the author of TheCongregation,fiction may offer tools more effective than formal essays incommunicating ideas about the role of the leader of a religiousgroup. In his 2005 publication, TheChristian Pastor’s Work,Donald Corley stated that a history of the Christian movementsuggests that Christian pastors always have faced tensions related totheir social situation. TheCongregation isa fictional treatment of this idea. 3