I enjoyed this article. Apparently, you did too. The most clicked article from Monday’s post:
Seven ways pastoring has changed in 30 years.
After you’ve read the article, here are a few of my comments:
1. The way the position is viewed.
Rainer makes the point that both people in the community and the congregation hold the position in less esteem than they did 30 years ago. I don’t know that it’s been my direct experience, but I would agree based on reading and interacting with others. This, also, from a guy (yours truly) with a view that too much pastoral esteem is a bad thing.
2. Number 5 on the list is huge!
I think this is one thing that has changed a bunch. At our church we still see a good amount of “random visitors”. But, many barriers exist toward churches and leaders today that weren’t in place a while ago. It would benefit the average church member to know this.
3. The influence of social media.
I agree with this one, but not perhaps from the “problem management” aspect. I’ve been on the wrong end of social media attacks, but really that just makes public what used to happen in private. On the positive end of things, I think it would benefit a lot of church members to realize how pervasive social media is in networking and sharing the work of the ministry. There aren’t too many successful churches (and won’t be without a major cultural shift) who don’t have some sort of social media presence.
Think. What stands out to you on this list?
Act. If you’re committed to a specific local church (I’d argue you should be!), do what you can to support your pastor and church leadership.