Formation of leaders for the church varies greatly between different churches, locations, and contexts. There are positives and negatives inside each and every formation style. The formation occurs during courses and internships.
In Iceland, individuals go through six years of education. There are no requirements before entering the program to become a pastor. During the educational period, there are three month long internships that you go through. Upon graduation, you apply for a pastoral position within the Icelandic church. When you apply, the parish interviews you and decides between all applicants which one they would like to be their pastor.
This is in contrast to how the ELCA forms leaders. For the ELCA, you have a four year masters program. Before you can start this program, most often, they require some sort of a Bachelor's degree. For the degree, you take three years of classes, one year of an internship, and a summer unit of clinical pastoral education. Additionally during this process, an individual seeking to become ordained or consecrated in the ELCA must go through a candidacy process to be approved for ordination or consecration and placement upon graduation. After approval and graduation, an individual is assigned a region then a synod and then can begin applying for pastoral positions.
The two processes have both positive and negative aspects, but they work for the context in which they are used.
O Lord,
We give thanks for the formation processes that we go through, no matter the differences. Allow us to be led through the process by you and become better leaders for your church and to serve you.
Amen.
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