The article describes the United Church of Christ (UCC), a Protestant denomination and how both ex-pastors and pastors evaluate its ability to meet their professional needs. In 1967, the United Church of Christ decided that the attrition of Protestant clergy, though not critical, was indicative of a new trend. It is difficult to consider clergymen as professionals apart from their roles within a specific church system. Less than one third of the clergymen questioned or 36, considered themselves well prepared for their ministry. Of the remainder, 34 blamed their unpreparedness on the lack of practical concerns taught in seminary. In the UCC, each individual clergyman is a free agent. Thirty-percent of the ex-pastors and 20 percent of the pastors could have stayed in their last positions less than a year. In terms of which activities were most enjoyed and least enjoyed, the rank order shows little difference between the ex-pastors and the pastors. There is a sharp delineation between the expressive tasks of preacher-priest-pastor-teacher and the instrumental tasks of organizer-administrator among both pastors and ex-pastors. In the UCC, there are two sources of role conflict: The difference between the pastor's and his congregation's understanding of his role; and the difference between the pastor's and the organizational hierarchy's understanding of his role.
