We are out of clichés
about change or the pace of change. Sometimes we forget how much particular
vocations have changed in a short time. In fact, in thirty years pastoring has
changed in ways we likely would have never predicted or imagined.
1.
Thirty
years ago, most people in the community held the pastor in high esteem. Today most people don’t know who the pastor
is, nor does the pastor hold any position of prominence in most communities.
2.
Thirty
years ago, most people in the congregation held the pastor in high esteem. Though I cannot offer precise numbers, there
is little doubt that church members as a rule don’t view pastors with the same
esteem as they did thirty years ago. That is one major reason serving as a
pastor is becoming increasingly difficult.
3.
Leadership
skills are required more today than thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, I could preach sermons well
and care for the congregation, and I would be deemed at least an adequate
pastor. The demands and the expectations of the pastor are much higher today.
Many of those demands can only be met with at least decent leadership skills.
4.
Interpersonal
skills are required more today than thirty years ago. Pastors thirty years ago could get away with
some personality quirks because they were generally held in such high esteem.
No more. Pastors are supposed to relate near perfectly to everyone.
5.
Outreach
was accomplished by getting people to come to church services thirty years ago.
That is not so today. I remember some of the classic outreach ministries I led thirty
years ago. They were all designed to get people to visit church services as a
first step. Today, many barriers must be addressed in order for someone to be
receptive to come to our churches.
6.
Thirty
years ago, there were very few “nones.” The 2012 Pew Research project that identified 20 percent of all
American adults as non-religiously affiliated has become a marker of change.
Almost all people claimed some type of religious affiliation thirty years ago
whether they were believers or not. It was not culturally accepted to be a
“none” thirty years ago; there is no cultural stigma attached today.
7.
The
Internet and social media have made pastoring much more challenging than it was
thirty years ago. In many ways, it has
been healthy that the pastors and their ministries are more transparent. For
example, sex abuse of children in churches became a national concern when many
priests and pastors were named as sexual predators. But there is no rule that
someone must speak truthfully on the Internet and, specifically, in social
media. Pastors today must deal with issues about them that travel fast on the
Internet, even if a church member or someone else tells a complete lie.
Some things about
pastoring, of course, never change. The pastor is still called to preach the
Word, equip believers, and provide ministry to congregants and others. But
other aspects of pastoral ministry have changed and will continue to change.
