By Aaron Earls NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As retail stores hope the holiday shopping season gives their bottom line a lift, American Protestant pastors are less sure the economy is helping their congregation this year. Around 2 in 5 pastors of Protestant churches in the United States (41%) say the economy is having no impact on their church, according to a new survey from … [Read more...]
Half of Pastors See Opioid Abuse in Their Own Congregations
By Aaron Earls NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Like most U.S. pastors, Robby Gallaty knows someone who has been affected by opioid abuse. But unlike most pastors, Gallaty has personally suffered through addiction. Twenty years ago this month, Gallaty endured a near-fatal car accident. When he left the hospital, the club-bouncer-turned-church-leader took with him several prescriptions … [Read more...]
African Americans Have Mixed Opinions and Often No Opinions on Israel
By Aaron Earls NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- American Jews and African Americans often worked side by side during the civil rights movement, including when rabbis walked with Martin Luther King Jr. in the march to Selma in 1965. In more recent years, however, the relationship has become more complicated due to conflicts between the nation of Israel and Palestinians and the … [Read more...]
Retired Pastors Satisfied and Optimistic, But See Room for Improvement
By Aaron Earls NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Most retirement age pastors and missionaries say their current life is close to ideal, but some who have entered retirement say they could’ve been better prepared. In a survey sponsored by Shepherd’s Fold Ministries, Nashville-based LifeWay Research asked 2,451 pastors, ministers and missionaries who were retired or at least 67 years old … [Read more...]
Pastors of Larger Churches More Likely to Regularly Counsel and Disciple Members
By Aaron Earls NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Meetings often fill the calendars of office workers, but pastors say their days are often full of meetings as well. A survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research asked 1,000 Protestant pastors if they regularly have any of six types of meetings. Virtually every pastor (99%) says they regularly have at least one of those work-related … [Read more...]
