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Leaving the Adventist Ministry A Study of the Process of Exiting
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Peter H. Ballis
Book Code: C6229
ISBN: 0-275-96229-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-96229-6
256 pages, figures, tables
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 1/30/1999
List Price: $106.95 (UK Sterling Price: £59.95)
Availability: Out of stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • [T]he book will be of great interest to both scholars of religion and those interested in applications of role exit theory.
    —Social Forces
  • Leaving the Adventist Ministry begins with one of the most concise historical overviews of Adventism we have seen to date.
    —Apologia Report
  • Leaving the Adventist Ministry sets forth some powerful arguments and provides some very helpful analysis. Ballis enables the reader to begin to see the complexity of emotions, ideas, and relationships that enter into exiting decisions. All in all, it is important reading for administrators, theological educators, concerned pastors, and sociologists investigating the process of exiting....The church both inside and outside of Adventism can profitably learn important lessons from Leaving the Adventist Ministry.
    —Seminary Studies
  • Endorsement From Ronald L. Numbers
    University of Wisconsin-Madison
    President American Society of Church History:     This deeply moving study of disillusioned Seventh-day Adventist ministers (and their wives) who lost their careers, and often their spiritual and social moorings as well, represents the academic study of religion at its best. It creatively combines sociological theory and meticulous research with personal understanding and heartfelt empathy.
  • Endorsement From Jim Beckford
    Department of Sociology
    University of Warwick:     This book is much more than a study of resignations from the Seventh-Day Adventist ministry in Australia and New Zealand....The combination of careful empirical research, sophisticated theory and clear writing make the book essential reading not only for specialists in the study of sectarian organizations but also for readers who are intrigued by the chequered history of Adventism.
Description: More than 180 pastors exited the Seventh-Day Adventist ministry in Australia and New Zealand between 1980 and 1988--a loss that is equivalent to 40 percent of the total annual Adventist ministerial workforce in those two countries. This volume examines the processes whereby conservative and committed sectarian pastors began to entertain doubts concerning the sectarian cause, questioned their occupational calling, and turned their backs on the ministry. Using the data gathered from in-depth interviews with 43 expastors and from other sources, the author develops detailed case study profiles, which highlight the personal, organizational, and social factors involved in their decision, and the types of experiences they associate with leaving the ministry. The first study of clergy fallout from a sectarian community, this volume makes a significant contribution to our understanding of exiting.
Table of Contents:
  • Radical Departures
  • Adventism and Exiting
  • Adventist Pastors and Expastors
  • Narratives of Exiting
  • Loss of Idealism and Cynical Knowledge
  • Propagating Cynicism
  • Bureaucrats, Scholars, and Friends
  • Charismatic Leadership versus Bureaucratic Authority
  • Wives as Facilitators of Exit
  • Negotiating Exit
  • Adventist Crossroads
  • Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 98-33607
LCC Class: BV672
Dewey Class: 262
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