(RNS) — Do congregants want their pastors to voice opinions on political issues or candidates?
Data from the State of the Church Initiative, a study my company, Gloo, commissioned from the research company Barna, revealed that most churchgoers say no. While not surprising, this shows progress from what we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps one of the most dividing episodes in recent memory in the church, the pandemic saw congregants in some cases switching churches to find a congregation that better aligned with their political stances.
Every congregation needs to be shepherded well, especially during divisive political seasons — yet almost half (45%) of pastors report feeling unprepared to do precisely that, according to our study.
Leading a church community well doesn’t mean telling people how to vote or how to feel. But effective pastors in times like these must feel adequately equipped for the complex and nuanced job of imparting peace, unity and intelligent civic participation to their congregations.
How can pastors start to equip themselves to lead in an age of hyper-divisiveness?
Church leaders should try to become more curious, thoughtful and able to disagree well.
Curiosity is a lifelong skill we can all cultivate. And it’s biblical. From Noah to Nehemiah to Paul and Peter, Scripture is full of people who were sure of their faith while being perpetual students of the culture around them. The Apostle Paul went to Athens and, versed in other faith traditions, was able to speak fluently to them about those religions. In his Letter to the Corinthians, he counseled early Christians who were building their communities that they should “be all things to all people so that by all means we may win some …”
Paul challenged pastors to get out of their holy huddles and not be monolithic in what they listen to and read. Curiosity ultimately helps us, not to be pluralistic or easily swayed, but to better understand the people we want to reach.
Maintaining this posture of learning requires humility and openness. When encountering divergent views on social media, pastors can teach their people to ask, “Tell me more about how you formed that opinion,” rather than “Let me explain to you all the reasons you are wrong.”
Pastors can also lead well by being thoughtful. Thoughtfulness means being biblically grounded and running any issues of the moment through a biblical lens — and first and foremost, being a student of Scripture. We are seeing a growing crisis of biblical illiteracy today, with many people becoming more conversant about current events than Scripture. In an age of pluralistic views, generative AI and ebbing familiarity with our sacred texts, pastors and leaders urgently need to reintroduce their communities to the truth and power of God’s holy word.
We need to model, as pastors and leaders, how to come back to Scripture, using it as the north star focus to avoid the trap of weighing in on every single issue from our own perspective. The more we can be thoughtful in how we navigate from what Scripture says, the more we can reach people.
Finally, we can all grow in our ability to disagree well. We’re in an age when people often identify with their politics. Identity becomes especially central to younger generations — it’s hard to disagree with them without coming across as disapproving. Whether it’s on the conflict in Gaza or views on gender and marriage, younger generations reject personally those who disagree with them.
Disagreeing well looks like loving others as ourselves — loving people we don’t agree with. It also requires careful choices about which current topics we address. Whether it’s teaching from the pulpit, conversations after service or comments on social media, our words are part of our witness. When we are too quick to jump in with strong opinions, we may be doing our witness a disservice.
And as leaders model and teach healthy curiosity, thoughtfulness and how to disagree well from a position of understanding, they will be able to send out people into the world able to converse well with friends and neighbors and be seen as peacemakers.
Imagine the kind of impact this could make in our culture.
(Brad Hill is chief solutions officer at Gloo, which develops technology for faith leaders to strengthen connections in their communities. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)