When Pastor Rich Villodas asked his followers on X yesterday to name the most difficult part of being a pastor right now, navigating politics and a polarized culture was one of the top responses.
“Fellow pastor, if you could name the most challenging aspect of pastoring today, what would you say?” Villodas asked on Aug. 13.
In addition to cultural division, other themes in the answers included the high expectations put on pastors and the difficulty of pastors making space to lead from a place of internal peace.
Fellow pastor, if you could name the most challenging aspect of pastoring today, what would you say?
— Rich Villodas (@richvillodas) August 13, 2024
Pastors Share Their Thoughts With Rich Villodas
Rich Villodas was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is the lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in Elmhurst, Queens. He is also an author who recently released “The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls,” which he discusses with Dr. Ed Stetzer and Daniel Yang on a forthcoming episode of “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast.”
A user named Justin Sainton replied to Villodas, saying, “American election cycles.” Villodas responded, “I feel this.”
“Polarized, divisive culture is exhausting,” said Matt Markins, president and CEO of Awana. “We’ve lost our ability to find common ground which makes basic communication a challenge.”
“Helping (or challenging) people [to] separate their political party/preference from their Christianity,” said Cory Demmel, a pastor in Cape Coral, Florida. “I’m with you, Cory,” Villodas said.
“Specific to today?” asked Mike Miller, a senior pastor in Jacksonville, Texas. “The conflation of faith with politics.”
“Politics and Race,” said Josh Crans, a lead pastor and elder in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
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“The pressure of always having a response to everything happening in the world and fitting into [people’s] political molds,” said Justin Blankenship, a lead pastor in Purcell, Oklahoma.
