What happens when our pastors say what we don’t want to hear?

Last updated on: March 17, 2020 at 11:52 am by Rob Dalrymple

What happens when our pastors say what we don’t want to hear? 2020-03-17T11:52:50-08:00 Rob Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What do you do when your pastor says something you don’t want to hear?

I don’t know if you are all like me, but I can’t really think of anything wrong in my life. No real sins that I am dealing with. My moral, theological, and political views are all in line with Jesus’. So, if a pastor has something to say to me during a weekend service that I disagree with, then it must be that he/she is mistaken.

Seriously though, what should we do when a pastor says something we don’t want to hear? Leave! Go to another church. (I am being facetious, of course. I hate the notion of church shopping and I am frustrated with how easily people leave one church and head to another)

Okay, in all seriousness, we all have issues! The simple fact is that from time to time the Word proclaimed should ruffle my feathers! I should be convicted in my heart. How about if I say it this way: If the preacher does not get under my skin at times, then I dare say that he/she is not preaching the Word! (what is humurous at this point is that some of you are about to stop reading because I keep referring to the preacher as he/she and you don’t like the idea of women preachers so you will just stop reading this post!).

I expect the preacher to say things I don’t agree with.
The simple fact is that we don’t all agree! So what if he/she expresses his/her opinion on a matter and it happens to conflict with what I think? This should be fine. We can all learn from each other. I may not be convinced of someone else’s opinion, but what is wrong with hearing the other side?

Nothing is wrong with it! In fact, hearing opposing viewpoints is often critical in fostering understanding. I may not agree with you but at least I understand where you are coming from. I may not agree, but I will respect you.

But for some reason it seems as though Christians are more and more resistant to hearing differing opinions. We have always had a strain of narrow-mindedness in the Church. But today it seems even more intense. We just don’t want to hear ideas that we don’t agree with.

But, doesn’t being a Christian mean that we understand that we don’t have it all figure out?

We make it very hard on our pastors.
You need to understand that as a pastor this is hard. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to exercise caution over what not to say, what to say, and how to say it. Sure, sometimes it is important to not speak. My job is to lead the sheep; not to beat them. I am to guide them and help them along on this journey towards Christlikeness.

Now I fully respect the fact that the pulpit is not the place to have a conversation. Some matters are simply best left for other settings—a classroom, small group, or even a private conversation.

But, sometimes I wonder if I am just a coward: only saying what I think the people want to hear. And I hold back. I resist the opportunity to proclaim important aspects of the Gospel to the church.

Let’s be honest that one of the reasons we pastors are afraid to speak up is that we know that when we do we will have lots of angry congregants. So it is just not worth it.

When the pastors are afraid to dissent from the popular opinion in public, the net result is that we become further entrenched in our convictions. As a result, we have less understanding and less opportunities for peace.

Previous Post

July 8, 2015

July 08th, 2015

Next Post

July 27, 2015 How to More Effectively Share your Faith

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 000 1 Cor 11:17-34 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 10 Commandments 2 Corinthians 2 John 2 Peter 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3 John 666 Abortion Acts 2:42 Ahmaud Arbery AIPAC All Saints Day America antisemitism BDS Beast Betting Bible Bible study Biblical Interpretation Biden Book of Acts Boycott Campus Protests Catholicism Ceasefire Chavez Ravine Christian Nationalism Christian Zionism Christianity Today Christmas Church Colossians Communion Convict Leasing Covid-19 Craig Blaising creation Crucifixion Daoud Nassar Deception Deconstruction Democracy Devotional guide Discipleship Easter Eden Education Election End-times Ephesians Eschatology Ethnic Cleansing Evangelicalism Evangelicals Evolution Fall Famine Fascism FIFA Freedom of Speech Galatians Gary Burge Gaza Gaza; Genocide; Boycott Genesis Genocide George Floyd Global Warming God's will Gospel Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Government Grace Great Prostitute Hamas Harris healthcare Hebrews HeGetsUs Holy Spirit Holy Week Honor Father and Mother ICJ Immigration Indigenous peoples day Iran Israel Israel Palestine Itamar Ben Gvir James Jesus Joel Willits Jude Just war Justice Kamala Harris Kingdom Of God Kings and Queens land of Israel Law (OT) Lazarus Les Miserable LGBTQ+ Love Luke Mahmoud Khalil Man of Lawlessness Mark Mark of the Beast Marriage Martin Luther King Jr Mercy Mexican Repatriation Military-Industrial-Complex Ministry Mission Money NAFTA Nakba Netanyahu New Creation New Testament Nicaragua Nicodemus Non Violence Occupation Pacifism Palestine Parable Paul Peace Pentecost Peonage Philemon Philippians Politics Poor Power Prayer Pride Month Priests Pro-life Propaganda Prophesy Prophet Qatar Queen Elizabeth Racism Reconstruction Redemption Reformation Resurrection Revelation Roe v Wade Romans Romans 13:1-7 Rome Russia Sabbath Samaritan Seals Sermon Settlements Slavery Spiritual gifts Taxes Tent of Nations Terrorism The Beast Theology Titus Torture Trump truth Ukraine Uncategorized Veteran's Day War Warsaw Ghetto wealth Wedding Women World Cup 2022 Worldview Worship Wrath Yemen Zionism

Select a Month September 2026 May 2026 February 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 September 2017 July 2017 May 2017 November 2016 October 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Sabbath" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Offering Rest Worship Holy Day

Support this
Column