Poll: 80% of Churchgoers Want Pastors to Take a Stand

New Lifeway research has revealed that 80% of churchgoers believe pastors should be addressing current events, but only 62% said their pastor does so “every week” or “almost every week” with another 23% stating it’s “at least once a month.” It’s cautiously encouraging to see that so many pastors are addressing hot-button issues on Sunday mornings—those numbers are both very high!

Why do I say “cautiously encouraging”? Well, the study didn’t ask which “current events” pastors are addressing or what kinds of answers they are giving—and given the current state of the Western church, I wonder about that!

You see, this study made me think of one of the presentations that I regularly give. I ask the audience how we deal with the gender issue, LGBTQ, abortion, climate change, racism, and more, and I tell them in advance that the answer to all of these questions is “Genesis 1–11.” Think about it

All of the big, controversial issues of our day are Genesis 1–11 issues.

And yet, while it appears most pastors are addressing current issues from the pulpit, from my nearly 50 years in ministry, I know most pastors don’t preach on Genesis 1–11 or take a position on the age of the earth or a literal Genesis. But the answers to the issues Christians are wrestling with are found in Genesis!

So my challenge to pastors would be to recognize that your congregation wants—and needs, even if they don’t realize it—you to teach them how to think biblically about the big issues of our day. And this means you must be teaching Genesis!

Your congregation needs a biblical worldview. They need to understand how God’s Word applies in our modern era. They need answers to defend their faith and stand firm. They need to be encouraged and equipped to disciple their children to face a hostile world. They need to know how to love their neighbors well without endorsing or glossing over sin.

The New Testament spills a lot of ink warning believers of deceptive false teachers. With the internet and social media, false teaching can spread further and faster than anything in the first century. If they needed to be on guard then, think how much more we must be! And pastors are to be on the first lines of defense, protecting and shielding the flock by faithfully teaching God’s Word, applying it accurately, and calling out false teaching.

If you are a pastor, do not become discouraged and cowardly in addressing the issues of our day. Your flock needs you.

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).

If you want more training on how to uphold truth in your congregations, I encourage you to make plans for next year to attend our 2025 Answers for Pastors and Leaders conference. The theme is Faith like Noah: Upholding Truth in a Wicked World—very applicable to what I’ve been writing about today!

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed Monday on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Georgia Purdom, Dr. Tim Chaffey, and Dr. Jennifer Rivera. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum, broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel, and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:

• Activist transgender child no longer trans.
• Church of England archbishop affirms gay marriage.
• Has a map to Noah’s ark been found?
• And more!

Be sure to join us each Monday at 2 p.m. (ET) on YouTube or later that day on Answers TV for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.