Without the word of God, none of us here can become a Christian. Apart from the Bible, a Christian can never be called a man of God, a biblical counselor, a preacher, a missionary, a theological educator, or even a Christian teacher! And so, the word of God is basic to our identity as men and women of God.
The tension that I am struggling with, particularly about my experience in higher education is that it appears to me that the current ethos in theological education, pastoral ministry, and missionary enterprise is that certainty of conviction regarding the word of God is considered unacceptable in matters of its necessity, authority, sufficiency, and perspicuity. What is acceptable in our time is the certainty of uncertainty in these matters. The norm is to critique the established construct, and be skeptical about it; doubt is now considered a virtue.
Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, mathematician, and social critic argues in the early 70’s that the question concerning the certainty of knowledge, including theological knowledge is difficult. For him, this question is the most difficult contemporary question to ask that puzzles numerous theologians and philosophers.
Bible-believing Christians, who are on a mission to communicate the knowledge of God to our fellow human beings cannot escape confronting this kind of question. Christianity with its reliance on the Bible has its theory of knowledge and any theory of knowledge faces the question of certainty. Being uncertain about these matters would have serious consequences both in the life and service of the church.
Eleven years ago, on 12 August 2013, a certain Robert Elkington published an article at Verbum Et Ecclesia about the growing trend in pastoral ministry in America. Pardon me for I don’t know any similar article that describes the same trend in the Asian context. Anyhow, the article claims to be based on a survey that describes what’s happening not only in the US but globally.
Pastors in the US are leaving their vocation and moving into a different career path. The’s the initial findings based on the survey. The title of the article is “Adversity in Pastoral Leadership: Are pastors leaving the ministry in record numbers, and if so, why?”
The author reaffirms a widely held notion about the significance of adversity in literature in the first paragraph. Adversity can be a factor in one's personal development as well as in the character and ability of a leader. I'm not sure if Brownstein fairly concludes that many American leaders need to learn how to adjust to adversity.
The article's second section uses a practical theological tool created by Richard R. Osmer to discuss pastoral leadership and the effects of adversity. This useful theological tool aids in the analysis and enhancement of ministry practices for theologians and religious leaders. This tool consists of four activities that are part of a fourfold framework. Three of them pique my interest:
The descriptive-empirical that investigates the reasons behind the present pastor's exodus from vocational ministry.
The interpretation activity that calls into question the systemic pathologies that lead to the widespread stress that pastoral ministry faces in the twenty-first century. A pastor may pose this question personally, saying something like, "Why am I dealing with so much struggle, loneliness, and resistance while I'm trying my hardest to serve God?"
Lastly, there is the practical task of reducing the current outflow from the pastoral ministry by identifying a solution.
A puzzling finding in the research is that adversity seems to shape business and ‘secular’ leaders with seemingly positive outcomes. At the same time, within the ranks of pastors, it appears that adversity causes career termination. Such curious data cannot avoid inquiring about the difference between how business and secular leaders handle adversity and how pastoral leaders handle the same.
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