A Conversation with Brian Williams, Lilly Endowment Inc.

Church dynamics are changing, lay leadership is evolving, ministry models are taking new forms, and at the center of it all is clergy wellness. To get a denomination-wide view of the church and ministry today, the Pension Boards interviewed Brian Williams, Program Director of Religion for the Lilly Endowment Inc., on his witness to this changing landscape.

Last summer, I took the first sabbatical in my 15-year ministry career. (Sabbatical tip #1: Pray that the Holy Spirit will not call you away from your congregation at year seven!) Although I’m no expert on the subject, my sabbatical was full of fun and adventure, and my return to ministry has brought renewal for both me and for my congregations. Think of this list below not as advice on what you should do, but as things I tried and would do again. Not tips for you, but tips from my experiences. I hope they help you to plan, inspire you to dream, and lead you to renewal.

It was the fall of 2022. I was sitting at a table in the church fellowship hall along with several Council Members. It was that time of the year when we discussed the budget for the upcoming year. Each committee took about five minutes to give their report, and when it was time for the treasurer’s report, I was hard struck by the words I heard. With well over $2 million in endowment funds, the treasurer wanted the church to become even more frugal and make staff cuts. They said, “Most churches don’t have a full-time pastor anymore.”

Recently I was asked to share my thoughts on the topic of saving for retirement and what type of questions I receive during pension counseling sessions. I reflected on the experiences that brought me to my current role as a Pension Counselor with the Pension Boards-UCC.

I recently saw the Broadway play “Home,” written by Samm-Art Williams and directed by Kenny Leon. Once called the “road trip of the soul” by the Washington Post, the play follows a man named Cephus who is trying to find a place to belong when his sweetheart, Pattie Mae, marries another man, setting him off from the rural south to the North, trying to find that place called home.