In terms of books that encompass the trials that pastors face today none articulate it better than in the book The Resilient Pastor by Glenn Packiam. His book gives a bird’s eye view into the current issues that pastors and the church are facing, along with the hope that we have for the future. Packiam’s book is also reinforced by data that was collected by the Barna Group, giving insight on what pastors, Christians, and non-Christians think and feel across the nation. The book also talks about burnout that pastor’s that people experience and some ways to help get back on the right foot. Packiam breaks down 4 major issues that pastors face today: vocation, spirituality, relationships, and credibility. He also breaks down 4 issues that the church as a whole faces today: Worship, formation, unity, and mission. After presenting these issues, he talks about hope.
Before Packiam gets into the problems pastors face, he talks about the world that the church is trying to reach. He talks about the decline of Christianity’s influence in culture, how a form of pluralism seems to be developing, and how individualism has become a commandeering trait where everything revolves around us. Packiam gets into vocation and reminds us that our primary calling isn’t our calling for ministry, but the love that Jesus shown us by dying on the cross. He made note that calling alone will not be enough to sustain us, but God’s love for us will. For spirituality, Packiam marks the importance of being connected with God. We have different tools available to us. It is good to change up our practices and how we do our disciplines from time to time, and through this we discover other methods that bring us closer to God. The example that Packiam used was praying the Examen prayer. Thankfully, we have access to God 24/7 and we always have the opportunity to experience his presence wherever we are. Packiam notes that pastors nowadays are denying themselves time with family and friends and instead investing all of their time into their ministry.
Although we should do everything for the glory of God, having intentional intimacy (having set time with friends and family) is important. Although we are called to give everything for the ministry of the Gospel, we cannot deny ourselves connection with friends and family as these things are important for people (we cannot and should not forget that we are people who have these needs). The credibility of pastors in the world has gone down and that can be for many reasons. Some of it has to do with the individuality. People would rather find an answer to their questions that suits them best than hearing an answer from a pastor they may not agree with. Others reasons have to do with mistakes other pastors have made. The remedy for that is honesty and integrity. If you mess up/say something wrong, claim ownership of it and correct yourself. Hiding or glossing over the mistake can lead to a bigger problem. Being wrong isn’t the end of the world. Pastors aren’t perfect, and they aren’t expected to be.
When Packiam talks about the issues the church faces, he talks about what had transpired over the past couple of years with COVID and George Floyd. Digital worship was discussed and how some haven’t returned to church after services went digital. There is also confusion (or lack of consensus) of what a service should be about/what it should focus on. Some say experiencing God is the focus while others say making disciples and reaching the lost. This part also talked about what non-Christians expect from the church. Their expectation can be boiled down to the church should help people. When you ask those same people if they think the purpose of the church is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they tend to disagree with that statement. Despite this, there are non-Christians that will still come to church to learn about and get closer to God. The other predominant issue that the church faces is how un-unified the church looks. We tend to fight about different theological views and the way the church should be involved in the community. The path forward with this is to not shy away from partnerships with other churches. People came to Christ during the days of the early church due to how they saw Christians live and how they loved one another and those around them. That is what we must do if we wish to further unity: love each other as Christ loved us.
The hope we have for tomorrow is that the love God has for us does not end. Through this love, it is possible to have connections with other churches and still possible to lead others to Christ. Thankfully, the hope of Christianity does not rest on the shoulders of the church or the pastors, but the hope is the love through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Author’s note: This book has a lot of statistics and information that one post cannot do justice. I would highly recommend reading this book and taking time to dive into it deeply.
