A recent survey among the membership of the Presbyterian Church (USA) revealed the following differences between the clergy and the membership.
Almost half of members (46%) and elders (49%) identified themselves as Republicans. Only 23% of pastors gave that designation. Half of the pastors (50%) identified themselves as Democrats. 25% of pastors identified themselves as independents.
That can raise the question of whether the pastors are out of step with their membership. The accusation has been made before that too many pastors push a liberal agenda. However, the study also reveals that the political preferences of members and clergy have remained relatively stable since 1987. So the question I would ask is why is it that so many members who see themselves as identifying as Republicans politically are attracted to pastors who tend to identify themselves as either Democrats or Independents. Remember that if you combine the number of pastors that align with the Democratic party and those who choose to see themselves as independent, you find 75% of Presbyterian pastors in this category.
I recently served as an interim of a church who saw themselves as conservative and they and I saw myself as a liberal. We joked about it but we both benefited from that relationship. The next interim they chose also saw himself as more liberal.
Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, recently defined fundamentalists as people who refuse to listen to anyone else. My guess is that there is a whole body of believers who are not fundamentalists and recognize the value of listening to people with different ideas and understandings.
Both clergy and members understand that their beliefs are not perfect and that they need to be challenged in a respectful way as they continue their journey. When both clergy and members can accept that their differing perspectives contribute to the enrichment of the whole, and recognize that they are united by a common commitment to Christ who transcends all of their beliefs, then the church has the possibility of hearing a word from God that challenges and redeems us all.
