3 Traits of Faithful Pastors in a Convulsing Culture

Pastoring has always been difficult—and yet it has unique difficulties today.

The last decade has seen a lot of cultural disruption and convulsion. This convulsion has produced paradoxical results: ministry in our moment has become both increasingly precarious and increasingly opportune. In some ways, ministry is more difficult now, but we also see unique opportunities because of the tensions.

While some pastors are burning out from exhaustion and others are burning it all down with theological compromises or moral failures, many pastors are faithfully pushing forward. Many pastors are doing biblically-driven, gospel-centered, and mission-focused ministry. If that’s you, then you’re on the right track. And if you’ve drifted, there’s no better time to realign your priorities than now.

I also want to encourage Christians and church members to evaluate faithfulness in their pastors (and themselves) by a big-picture, long view of faithfulness. We should use the lens of Scripture, the gospel, and the mission as our reference. If these things are in order, many other matters fall into place, no matter what our preferences might be.

These three characteristics are all related, but each has a unique role in the ministry and calling of pastors. Let’s look at each one more closely.

Table of contents

1. Faithful pastors are driven by the Bible more than the culture
2. Faithful pastors are centered on the gospel more than partisan politics
3. Faithful pastors are focused on the mission more than the moment

1. Faithful pastors are driven by the Bible more than the culture

Christian ministry should be deeply rooted in the inerrant Word of God. Pastors should be trained in the Bible, and in turn we should be training and discipling people in the Bible. This is the heartbeat of pastoral and Christian leadership:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2)

For many pastors, this looks like formal theological education. I love all of our Bible-driven seminaries and schools of Christian higher education, like the Talbot School of Theology, where I’m the dean. Talbot and many others take the Bible seriously. That’s a nonnegotiable. But whether or not we do formal education, we must be students of the Word. “Bring the books” (2 Tim 4:13), Paul asked when in prison.

We must be biblically driven as pastors and church leaders. Pastors are not to be commentary machines, offering their opinion on every single issue. In fact, pastors should not comment on every single thing. As a pastor, I want the Bible to shape what I’m communicating. Then when some things do rise to the level of needing attention, we let the Bible drive the discussion.

Being driven by the Bible more than the culture doesn’t mean we don’t engage culture. Just the opposite. We engage the culture—and we let the Bible set the agenda.

My calling—and yours—is to teach and lead from Scripture. Tools like Logos (which means “Word” in Greek!) have long been used by pastors to engage deep study of God’s Word—and Logos is now more accessible than ever. I’m really glad about that, as more pastors and Christians can dig deeply into serious study of the Bible.

2. Faithful pastors are centered on the gospel more than partisan politics

At the core of the work of pastoral ministry is the work of discipleship: growing Christians in maturity by preaching Jesus.

We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Col 1:28)

However, many pastors have run into opposition here from Christians being discipled by cable news and shaped by social media more than the Bible.

The influence of these things forms—or deforms—people in many ways. Discussions on these platforms quickly become quite toxic, amplifying our worst impulses through anonymous accounts. We have even seen pastors exposed for using anonymous accounts to divide their Christian brothers and sisters. We show our captivity as our lives are increasingly oriented around partisan politics. Our politics have taken on religious importance in our culture, a trend that has in turn made our politics, and our culture, less healthy.

Our political discourse casts all issues as either “Right” or “Left.” But pastors and Christians should interpret everything in light of the gospel, not partisan wedge issues. This gospel-centrality will put us at odds with both sides of the political debate at different points.

I’m ultimately more concerned with how people view the gospel than how they view my political opinions. The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16) and the “most important” thing (1 Cor 15:3). So, we should never betray our gospel focus for political influence or partisan lobbying.

3. Faithful pastors are focused on the mission more than the moment

We’re in a disrupted, precarious, and opportune time. We see all kinds of division and fragmentation in churches, evangelical groups, and more. We get pressure from all sides. The disruption presents both danger and opportunity, confronting us with the key question, “Will the church stay focused on the mission or get sidetracked?”

Although these pressures are not unique to this moment, our moment presents several notable temptations that can sidetrack pastors from the mission.

A. Our moment tempts us to compromise theologically

As Jesus told us, “No one can serve two masters” (Matt 6:24). We’ve seen some pastors walk away, deconstruct, and reject biblical truth. On the other hand, some have turned their churches from discipleship and biblical teaching into pockets of partisan political activism. When we lose the truth, we lose the mission of showing and sharing the truth.

B. Our moment tempts us to give up in exhaustion and discouragement

Some pastors have seen tremendous growth and fruit in recent years, but many others have been exhausted since COVID, feeling the stinging arrows of discouragement repeatedly. But the fruit of the moment doesn’t dictate the calling of our mission. We are on the mission Jesus has given us, and the results are ultimately up to him. So, as Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.”

C. Our moment tempts us toward moral failure and sin

We’ve seen the fall of more prominent Christian leaders in just the last several months. Such massive and catastrophic failures start with small compromises. So we must guard our hearts and continue to seek the holiness of God. We’re all sinners in need of grace, but as saved sinners, our lives must increasingly match the magnitude of our message and mission. As we’re reminded, “Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim 4:16).

Our moment has challenges, but it also provides us with opportunities for the gospel—if we stay focused on the mission more than the moment.

Conclusion

I remain encouraged. I’ve read the end of the book: Jesus wins. Jesus has already won the victory. The kingdom has broken into the world (Mark 1:15). And Jesus will complete that victory when he returns: “For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25).

Jesus has won. Jesus wins. Jesus will win.

So, Christians, pray for your pastors to stick with the Bible, the gospel, and the mission. Look at them through the lens of these characteristics.

And pastors, let’s stay where God has called us, biblically-driven, gospel-centered, mission-focused, not settling for less important things.

Resources from Ed Stetzer

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