Church Leadership Radar - Saturday, May 16, 2026

Your Ministry Week in Review for Saturday, May 16, 2026 — hosted by Ted Rhoades.This week in church leadership: four stories that deserve more than a headline, plus a bright spot that will make you sit up straighter.The Pastor Pipeline Crisis: Seminary enrollment for ministry degrees has dropped 14% in five years, and four in ten clergy have seriously considered leaving ministry. A new federal regulation tying financial aid to graduate earnings data could make it worse — squeezing the pipeline from both ends.Young Men Returning to Church: New data shows a measurable uptick in young male church attendance — a notable reversal of a decade-long trend. The question is whether churches are ready to actually disciple them when they walk in.The Wellness Experiment Is Failing: A Religion News Service essay makes the case that people who traded church for yoga, meditation apps, and spin class are lonelier, more anxious, and spiritually emptier than before they left. The substitute ran out of steam — and the church has a genuine opening.Gen Z Is Asking Different Questions: A Christianity Today piece from a Bible professor at Bushnell University captures a theological shift: Gen Z students aren't asking why bad things happen to good people. They want to know when bad people will get what they deserve. That changes everything about how you preach, teach, and present the gospel to young people.Bright Spot — St. Paul's by-the-Sea: An Episcopal church in Ocean City, Maryland is under municipal pressure to close its homeless shelter. Their response? "We will not back down." In 42 nights, they've served 892 individuals. That's the church being the church.Sources Referenced:Axios: Seminary enrollment and clergy burnout dataReligion News Service: "We Traded Church for Wellness. Now We're Paying for It."Christianity Today: Gen Z theology piece from Bushnell University Bible professorSt. Paul's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Ocean City, MD📬 Subscribe to the Church Leadership Radar newsletter🎙️ Healthy Church Staff Podcast