Jeffery MacDonald, in an op-ed piece in the August 07 issue of the N.Y Times, speaks of the cultural change that is pressing in on clergy.
The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people.
As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy.
The trend toward consumer-driven religion has been gaining momentum for half a century. Consider that in 1955 only 15 percent of Americans said they no longer adhered to the faith of their childhood, according to a Gallup poll. By 2008, 44 percent had switched their religious affiliation at least once, or dropped it altogether, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found. Americans now sample, dabble and move on when a religious leader fails to satisfy for any reason.
It may sound noble to say that I didn’t enter the ministry to be a success but rather to be faithful, but the truth is that it is hard to be faithful when those that offer you the salary to live want you to satisfy their interests rather than challenge them to make sacrifices for a higher purpose. I think this pressure is real across the theological spectrum. Liberals to conservatives know the pressure.
How do you live with integrity in the pastorate? Let’s explore that in the next few days.
