Latest / Challenges of Faith Radio Program / Is your Pastor teaching about today's issues? Ep 3431

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Is your Pastor teaching about today's issues? Ep 3431 · Challenges of Faith Radio Program

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Challenges of Faith Radio Program, I'm Gary Kantz.
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  Speaker 1: Here on episode 3431. You know, according to Aaron Wells
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  Speaker 1: over at Lifeway Research, churchgoers want to hear pastors address
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  Speaker 1: current issues. Say what? Many American churchgoers expect their pastor's
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  Speaker 1: sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.
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  Speaker 1: The American church corps are looking for more than biblical
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  Speaker 1: explanation from their pastor every week. Many expect the sermons
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  Speaker 1: to help them understand and address modern cultural issues. Four
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  Speaker 1: in five U.S. Protestant church corps, which is 80%, believe
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  Speaker 1: that a pastor must address current issues to be doing
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  Speaker 1: their job. according to a LifeWay research study. Few, 16%, disagree,
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  Speaker 1: and 4% are not sure. As American culture increasingly includes
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  Speaker 1: fewer overtly Christian elements and more non-Christian ideas, churchgoers are
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  Speaker 1: hungry to know what the Bible says about life's issues,
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  Speaker 1: said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay research. Four in
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  Speaker 1: five U.S. Protestant church goers, which is 80%, believe that, again,
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  Speaker 1: that a pastor must address current issues if you're doing
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  Speaker 1: their job. The church goers seem to distinguish between addressing
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  Speaker 1: cultural issues and endorsing political candidates. A previously released Lifeway
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  Speaker 1: Research study of Americans found 29% believe it is appropriate
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  Speaker 1: for pastors to endorse candidates for public office during a
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  Speaker 1: church service. Christians who attend a worship service at least
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  Speaker 1: once a month are more likely than other Americans to
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  Speaker 1: believe endorsements during church services are acceptable. But still, only
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  Speaker 1: a third, 35%, agree. If Protestant churchgoers are looking for
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  Speaker 1: direct endorsements at church, they're going to be disappointed. Just
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  Speaker 1: 2% of pastors say they have endorsed a political candidate
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  Speaker 1: during the church service this year, according to an additional
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  Speaker 1: LifeWay research study of U.S. Protestant pastors. But for churchgoers
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  Speaker 1: wanting pastors to address issues, most feel like their church
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  Speaker 1: meets those expectations. Around 3 in 5 say their pastor
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  Speaker 1: addresses current issues within a sermon around weekly, including 27%.
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  Speaker 1: who say that happens every week, and 35% almost every week.
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  Speaker 1: Another 23% say it happens at least once a month.
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  Speaker 1: Only a handful of churchgoers say broaching modern topics happen
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  Speaker 1: less frequently. Around 1 in 4, 7% say they hear
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  Speaker 1: a sermon addressing current issues several times a year, while
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  Speaker 1: 6% say that rarely happens. Just 1% say their pastor
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  Speaker 1: never addresses those topics in a sermon. and 2% are
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  Speaker 1: not sure. Churchgoers notice that most pastors are not just
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  Speaker 1: preaching from the Bible as a historical document, said McConnell.
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  Speaker 1: Pastors seek to explain the original meaning and context, but
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  Speaker 1: then apply those principles to issues and situations today. Such
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  Speaker 1: application of the biblical text helps churchgoers recognize its relevance
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  Speaker 1: and Church courts under the age of 50 are more
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  Speaker 1: likely to hear their pastors broach modern topics each week.
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  Speaker 1: Those aged 18 to 34 percent and 35 to 49,
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  Speaker 1: 41 percent are more likely than those 50 to 64 percent,
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  Speaker 1: 25 percent, and 65 and older, 17 percent, to say
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  Speaker 1: their pastors' sermons address current issues every week. African American
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  Speaker 1: church courts, 40 percent, are also among the most likely
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  Speaker 1: to say they hear culturally relevant issues in sermons every week.
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  Speaker 1: Those at the largest churches with 500 or more in
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  Speaker 1: worship attendance are among the most likely to say their
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  Speaker 1: pastors rarely address current issues, 13%, while 80% of churchgoers
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  Speaker 1: believe pastors must touch on these topics as part of
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  Speaker 1: their role. Some are more likely to see this as necessary.
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  Speaker 1: Take a moment, take a sip of my water. Methodists,
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  Speaker 1: 96% and those who attend Restoratist Movement churches, 89%, are
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  Speaker 1: among the most likely to believe pastors must address current
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  Speaker 1: issues to be doing their job. White churchgoers, 82%, and
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  Speaker 1: those of other Communities who are not African American or Hispanic, 87%,
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  Speaker 1: are also among the most likely to see this as
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  Speaker 1: a requirement. Older churchgoers, those 65 and older, are among
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  Speaker 1: the most likely to disagree that pastors must address current
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  Speaker 1: issues as a part of their job, 22%. Congregants may
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  Speaker 1: want to hear from their pastors on the concerns of
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  Speaker 1: the day because they broadly trust those leading their churches.
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  Speaker 1: More than 9 in 10 U.S. Protestant church goers, 91%,
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  Speaker 1: say they completely trust the pastor of their church. Only
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  Speaker 1: 5% disagree. 2% are not sure, and 2% say they
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  Speaker 1: currently do not have a pastor. Of those who have
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  Speaker 1: a pastor at their church, 92% of church goers trust them.
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  Speaker 1: It can be assumed from these numbers that most of
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  Speaker 1: those who have lacked trust in their pastor have either
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  Speaker 1: found a new church or no longer attend their church
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  Speaker 1: once a month or more, said McConnell. Yet most half
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  Speaker 1: of churchgoers with a pastor, 47%, indicate their trust in
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  Speaker 1: their pastor could improve since they did not strongly agree
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  Speaker 1: that they could completely trust the pastor of their church.
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  Speaker 1: Some churchgoers are more trusting of their pastor than others.
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  Speaker 1: Men are more likely than women to completely trust their pastor,
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  Speaker 1: 93% versus 89%. Church scores with evangelical beliefs are also
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  Speaker 1: more likely than those without such beliefs to be trusting,
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  Speaker 1: 95% versus 87%. White church scores, 93%, and those aged
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  Speaker 1: 50 to 64, 95%, are among the most likely to
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  Speaker 1: completely trust the pastor of their church. Additional education can
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  Speaker 1: raise distrust among church goers. Those with a graduate degree, 9%,
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  Speaker 1: are more likely than those who have a high school diploma,
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  Speaker 1: or less, 4%, to say they don't trust their pastor.
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  Speaker 1: The question is, how about you at your own place
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  Speaker 1: of worship? Do you trust your pastor? Well, do you?
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  Speaker 1: Are they teaching or preaching that which is applicable to
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  Speaker 1: the Word of God? Or have they compromised or watered
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  Speaker 1: it down for you?