An article in last week’s New York Times asked this interesting question: is there a bias against single pastors?

As a woman in leadership, I have been part of (and often helped facilitate) discussions about unique opportunities and challenges for women in leadership, so I was intrigued to think about the same for singles in leadership.

Several questions emerged for me as I read this article:

-How pervasive is this bias?

-Is it more challenging to be a single woman, or a single man, in ministry?

-How much of this bias is, as expressed in the article, because churches want the free labor of the spouse?

-Is it more challenging to be a single 40 year-old looking for a ministry job than a single 20 year-old?

-Is the bias against singles in leadership increasing or decreasing?

-What are some of the unique opportunities of leaders who are single?

And here’s the biggest: wouldn’t it be great if the church led the way in being an affirming community of all, including folks who are single?

How about you? What questions does this raise for you? Any hints of answers to these or any other questions from your own experience?