Parshall Partners

Pastoral Concerns

         If you were to sit down with your pastor and ask him what are you biggest concerns regarding the U.S. Christian Church, what do you think he would say?  One survey gives us a pretty clear indication of how he just might answer.

         Barna surveyed 547 pastors and asked them to identify what they felt were the biggest problems facing the Church in America.  72% of those surveyed said that the watering down of the Gospel posed the biggest threat.

         After that, several issues fell above the 50% mark. culture’s shift to a secular age, 66 percent; poor discipleship models, 63 percent; addressing complex social issues with biblical integrity, 58 percent; prosperity gospel teachings, 56 percent; reaching a younger audience, 56 percent and political polarization in the country, 51 percent. 

         Three issues hovered between 40% and 50% for those surveyed.  They were:

 Negative perceptions of the church    
 Diminished influence of churches in the community
 Church leader burnout/exhaustion.

         Each pastor was also asked individually about the biggest concerns they had for their own church.  The two issues topping the list were reaching younger audience (51%) and declining or inconsistent outreach and evangelism (50%).

            I was particularly concerned to read that only 23% of pastors saw the issue of religious liberty and freedom as a concern.  Most pastors are overworked and overwhelmed with the work of shepherding their own church.  They often find themselves subject to the tyranny of the urgent which sets their agenda and drives their schedule. 

         Because of the long hours and even longer demands on their time, pastors, according to this survey, appear to be failing to recognize the fragile nature of religious liberty in this country.  Being in Washington, I can attest to the truth that is we lose our liberty to preach the Whole Truth of the Whole Gospel to the Whole world, all other pastoral concerns would vanish in an instant.

         The issue of evangelizing also is troublesome.  According to Barna, “Half of pastors also agree that “declining or inconsistent outreach and evangelism” is a major issue facing their local church (50%). Of all the pastors who affirm this statement, exactly two in five (40%) say it falls within their top three concerns, with 14 percent agreeing it is their largest concern.”

         When over 90% of Christ-followers have reportedly never shared their faith with anyone, an abandonment of the mission of evangelizing by the local church only serves to foster the notion that the Great Commission is somehow no longer great.

         A.W. Tozer made a strong statement regarding the vacillating nature of the local church.  He wrote:

“The church goes along with everything and stands against nothing – until she is convinced that it is the safe and popular thing to do; then she passes her courageous resolutions and issues her world-shaking manifestos – all in accord with the world’s newest venture – whatever it may be.”

         The clear teaching of the unchanging message of the Gospel should first and foremost define the local Church.  Teaching others how to share that message, outside the Church, should be the second charge. 

         It’s a Church model that has worked for over 2000 years and it’s a model that still serves us well today.

         Those are my thoughts.  I’m Janet Parshall.