The 2022 American Worldview Inventory of Arizona Christian University revealed some unsettling facts. We’ve already explored what the study reported regarding Christian parents. That is, that only 4% of parents who profess to be Christians adhere to a biblical worldview.
That’s bad. But it gets worse. Turns out that the confusion of our parents mirrors a crisis in the pulpit.
ACU surveyed pastors in a variety of roles, from Senior Pastors to Youth and Children’s Pastors. The research found that only 37% of all Christian pastors surveyed possess a distinctly biblical worldview.
That means that 63% of Pastors are deficient in biblical doctrines and values. And the majority (62%) possess a hybrid worldview called “syncretism.” These Pastors stir into their biblical teaching a host of nonbiblical beliefs.
What does that mean, and why should it matter to you?
The priority for Pastors
Your Pastor’s primary job is to teach the Bible (Eph. 4:11, Acts 6:2, Col. 1:28). In-depth Bible teaching transforms lives, grows us spiritually, and helps us recognize and respond to bad and unbiblical teaching (Col. 2:8).
So, even if he is there at every crisis, even if he is loving and caring and popular, if your Pastor is not teaching the Bible, he is not doing what God has called him to do (2 Tim. 4:2). And God holds your Pastor accountable for how he teaches the Bible (James 3:1).
And to be a qualified Bible teacher the Pastor must have biblical worldview. Merging false teaching with biblical truth jeopardizes his teaching ministry and endangers his congregation.
This blending of beliefs causes confusion and fuels progressive Christianity. Pastors who embrace aberrant teaching will drift from the mooring of a sound, biblical theology in favor of fads and trends in culture. Their “preaching” is designed more to make you feel good or to advocate for social causes than it is to transform lives.
How do you know?
So, how do you know if your Pastor holds a biblical worldview and is teaching it to you? Or how can you tell if he is deficient in a biblical worldview?
You can evaluate your Pastor’s teaching ministry in five areas:
- Is his commitment clear?
A biblical worldview is seeded in a love for the Bible and its truth. In our postmodern culture, where truth is malleable and people choose their own personal truth, the Pastor-Teacher advocates God’s truth. He teaches that truth is not a decision. Truth is revealed in God’s Word (Heb. 4:12).
Can you tell that your Pastor is committed to the Bible as God’s objective, universal truth? For instance, does he use a Bible verse as a springboard to talk about his ideas, or does he preach the text of the Bible? Does he teach that your feelings should guide your decisions, or that you gain wisdom from the Bible?
Without a commitment to the truth of the Bible, your Pastor will tend to echo the culture and lean on preferences and opinions. He’ll pick and choose what he likes and doesn’t like in the Bible.
- Are his causes biblical?
Pet causes are the hallmark of our postmodern culture. Social justice, politics, racism, the environment.
The Bible speaks to all of these areas, and they are important, but the Bible advocates specific priorities that every biblically grounded Pastor will herald as most important. These priorities inform what he says about the issues of our day. So, what are his priorities? What causes are on his agenda?
What does he think is the biggest problem to be solved? Is it sin? Or global warming? Does he teach to transform lives or to affirm your sexual preference? Is his focus on Jesus or on who’s in the Oval Office?
If your Pastor is immersed in a biblical worldview, the causes he advocates will echo the priorities of God as revealed in the Bible.
- Are his beliefs consistent?
Is your Pastor’s teaching consistently biblical? Or do you see him trying to weave together unbiblical ideas with a biblical perspective?
For instance, what does he teach about God? If he claims that the God of the Bible is the one true God, that’s good. But if he combines that with the notion that the God of the Bible is the same as any other religion, that’s unbiblical (John 14:6).
If your Pastor teaches that marriage is a sacred covenant between two people and God, that’s good. But if he also teaches that cohabitation before marriage is acceptable, or that a biblical definition of marriage includes same sex unions, that is inconsistent with a biblical worldview (Heb. 13:4, Matt. 19:1-6).
Or, for instance, if he teaches that people are created in God’s image, that’s good. But if he also sides with the culture on the notion that there are multiple genders, that’s plainly unbiblical (Gen. 1:27).
In other words, some ideas and beliefs advocated in our culture are incompatible with a biblical worldview. If your Pastor merges these ideas with the Bible, or capitulates to the culture in his teaching, his worldview is deficient.
- Does he cultivate disciples?
If your pastor operates from a biblical worldview, he will desire to help people become followers of Christ (Matt. 28:19-20). He can’t get away from it. It dominates his mindset. He’s not motivated by trends and fads. He’s motivated by Jesus changing lives.
So, if your Pastor possesses and applies a biblical worldview, it will impact you personally.
His worldview will shape your worldview, your life and your values, and your understanding of the Bible and how to apply it. His job is to be faithful and teach you the truth. What you do with it is up to you.
So, what would you say matters most to your Pastor: Winning people to Christ, or winning a political argument?
- How does he lead the church?
Finally, pay attention to the values that the pastor fosters in the church.
Pastors are leaders, and leaders have agendas. If he operates from a biblical worldview, your Pastor’s agenda for the church is shaped by the biblical definitions of what it means to be a church, not by his own opinions and preferences (Acts 2:42-47, Matt. 28:19-20).
Does he launch ministries more devoted to the social order and political justice than biblical values? Does he seem more concerned about outward appearances, flash and flair, that substance and depth?
Listen to his preaching. What does his preaching tell you about the values he wants the church to embrace?
One more thing
Our culture is growing increasingly hostile toward a biblical worldview, especially in the areas of sexuality, identity, and objective truth. Now, more than ever, we need Pastors to teach and defend a biblical worldview.
If you have a Pastor who holds firmly to a distinctively biblical worldview, who advocates and defends the truth of the Bible, be thankful. Support him. Encourage him to continue faithfully teaching a biblical worldview, even if it is not always comfortable.
You’ll both be better for it.
Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment..
James 3:1