“Free range priests” and models of spiritual leadership

From Faith and Leadership, reporting on how Catherine Caimano serves a parish more like Uber than a pastor:

My relationship with St. Paul’s is part of my overall ministry as a “clergypreneur,” a term coined by my friend the Rev. Jay McNeal. I work in a variety of ways and places, online and in person, with congregations and individuals, to make one vocation from a variety of jobs.

Basically, I am like an Uber driver for your spiritual experience.

At St. Paul’s, I serve two Sundays per month for a flat fee, plus they pay me hourly for pastoral care, Christian education and leadership formation, and other services as needed. I am not a “Sunday supply” priest — basically, a substitute clergyperson — because I have an ongoing relationship with this community. Yet I am also not their official pastor.

I am not in charge of the congregation, I do not attend their leadership meetings, and I do not represent them. The congregation runs the church, and their ministry keeps it going. They contract with me for my own ministry, where and when it works best for them, and for me.

Read more at Faith and Leadership.