80% of Protestant churchgoers want pastors to address hot topics: survey

[Michie]

Four out of five Protestant churchgoers in the United States believe pastors should address current issues, according to a new report.

According to a Lifeway report released Tuesday, 80% of Protestants “believe a pastor must address current issues to be doing their job,” while 16% don't and 4% are unsure.

Some 62% of respondents said their pastor addressed current issues either “every week” or “almost every week,” while 23% said they spoke about them “at least once a month,” and 12% said they spoke about them “rarely” or “several times a year.”

Continued below.

80% of Protestant churchgoers want pastors to address hot topics: survey

Four out of five Protestant churchgoers in the United States believe pastors should address current issues, according to a new report

www.christianpost.com

 

[PloverWing]

It's a tricky balance. 1) The week's lectionary readings aren't necessarily going to be addressing what's going on in the news. Very occasionally, when there's been something huge going on, our priest will mention a current event from the pulpit, because it's something that just has to be talked about, but I wouldn't want him setting aside the lectionary in favor of current events every week. 2) People tend to disagree about current events, as it's sometimes hard to know what the right thing is when you're in the middle of it. So the pulpit might not be the right place to talk about some issues, making pronouncements in a setting where the people can't (politely) talk back. Perhaps, instead, a discussion group on a weekday evening? My parish has had a "social justice book club" for the last few years, meeting in the evenings, and it's given us a forum in which to discuss issues of race, gender, poverty, and so on, in a setting that allows for multiple viewpoints and exploration of complicated nuances.

 

[RileyG]

It's a tricky balance. 1) The week's lectionary readings aren't necessarily going to be addressing what's going on in the news. Very occasionally, when there's been something huge going on, our priest will mention a current event from the pulpit, because it's something that just has to be talked about, but I wouldn't want him setting aside the lectionary in favor of current events every week. 2) People tend to disagree about current events, as it's sometimes hard to know what the right thing is when you're in the middle of it. So the pulpit might not be the right place to talk about some issues, making pronouncements in a setting where the people can't (politely) talk back. Perhaps, instead, a discussion group on a weekday evening? My parish has had a "social justice book club" for the last few years, meeting in the evenings, and it's given us a forum in which to discuss issues of race, gender, poverty, and so on, in a setting that allows for multiple viewpoints and exploration of complicated nuances.

Yeah, even in the Catholic Church the homily is related to the readings. That makes sense.

 

[Vambram]

Pastors and preachers and teachers in churches should give biblical principles and teaching regarding moral issues that are being decided in the various levels of the political realms and in the different levels of government.

 

[jas3]

Yeah, even in the Catholic Church the homily is related to the readings. That makes sense.

The only time I've heard a Catholic priest reference politics in his homily was on the Feast of the Holy Family where he talked about the secular world's attacks on the family structure, referencing specific leftist movements, and made the point that you can't be a faithful Catholic and support those movements. While I wouldn't want a priest to feel like he has to "stay relevant" in his homilies, I thought in that instance it was appropriate to address the elephant in the room.

 

[lismore]

Hello!

Interesting Q. From the highest profile church leaders, the Olsteens and Bergoglio's and on there seems to be a trend of evasion and obfuscation when asked about even basic doctrinal questions that a five year old could answer.

Pastors/ priests may be reluctant to talk about topical issues for several reasons.

2 Timothy 3 says there will be terrible times in the last days and goes on to say:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).

These are the days we are living in.

To begin with these is such a difference of opinion in churches today due to the decline of the Biblical Worldview, many churchgoers seem to have a different opinion on just about every issue- even look at this forum for example, there are members who oppose abortion and members who believe it should be allowed. And that could be said for fifty different issues. Whatever position you believe on whatever issue you can find a 'Christian' celebrity author with a book espousing that view, all at loggerheads and all sold in Christians stores and websites with seeming legitimacy. If a pastor spoke out on a hot button issue it would just generate disagreement, people who disagreed would decamp to a different church, find a pastor who said what they want to hear. Even within the same denomination you could find another parish, pastor or priest with a radically different view on any subject. I think every denomination is being influenced by the culture, younger people can have radically different social views than older people. There has been a cultural and doctrinal shift away from a Biblical worldview within the church for decades now. A pastor who speaks out with Godly/biblical truth is more than likely to lose people and lose revenue, at least to face uncertain times, so there's a temptation to keep quiet.

Another reason is legal. Much of what the bible teaches is not popular in today's culture, but it's also illegal in many countries. LGBTQI issues for example.

Another reason might be social. In these last days if you stand for God or God's word you more than likely will stand alone against an avalanche of hate. You'll have people across the country or world going out of their way to attack you, but few indeed will speak up to defend you. This might be disconcerting, when you realize how few true believers there actually are or how reluctant many of them are to stick their heads above the parapet.

A final reason might be that some of these hot button issues are now so complex that pastors might not be equipped to speak on them. The foundation of God's word has been long since undermined as the source of truth for the church, so where do Pastors get their source of authority from anyway? God's word makes the simple wise, (Psalm 119). Anything else just reveals a fool as a fool.

God Bless All

 

[RileyG]

The only time I've heard a Catholic priest reference politics in his homily was on the Feast of the Holy Family where he talked about the secular world's attacks on the family structure, referencing specific leftist movements, and made the point that you can't be a faithful Catholic and support those movements. While I wouldn't want a priest to feel like he has to "stay relevant" in his homilies, I thought in that instance it was appropriate to address the elephant in the room.

One June, my parish priest preached on pride month and how LGBT behavior cannot be accepted, and marriage is between one man and one woman.

 

[mourningdove~]

A final reason might be that some of these hot button issues are now so complex that pastors might not be equipped to speak on them. The foundation of God's word has been long since undermined as the source of truth for the church, so where do Pastors get their source of authority from anyway? God's word makes the simple wise, (Psalm 119). Anything else just reveals a fool as a fool.

I think this ^ is a bigger reality than we realize.
Excellent point.