This isn’t only true in situations where there is sin or scandal, but also when leadership choices simply don’t end up resulting in outcomes pastors and church leaders were hoping for.
Too often, pastors blame the failure of a ministry initiative on the lack of spirituality among their congregation, or the surrounding culture. In so doing, pastors convey their apparent belief that they are infallible and that if a ministry initiative doesn’t live up to expectations, it is the fault of the people rather than the result of a leadership decision that was unwise, uninformed, or simply just didn’t work out.
Perhaps even worse is when pastors instead refuse to acknowledge that the direction they have set isn’t working. They hold out hope that if they just stick to what they’re doing, things will pick up.
There is a place for perseverance, and pastors ought to always convey a sense of hope. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean becoming willfully ignorant to shortcomings or areas for improvement. When pastors are unable to rightfully call out reality for what it is, they lose credibility.
3. Speaking as an Expert in Areas Where You Have No Training
In the age of social media, some feel that it is the responsibility of every leader to respond publicly to every important issue of the day—in real time. But it isn’t.
When pastors miss that point, they may find themselves speaking authoritatively to matters about which they have no education, expertise, or credentials. When they do that, and do it often, it can be incredibly harmful to their credibility.
Most pastors are not experts in critical theory, epidemiology, psychology, or economic theory. They should not pretend to be.
The primary focus of a pastor ought to be the spiritual health and growth of his own congregation. Sometimes, that means speaking to an issue that is a prevalent topic of public conversation. Nevertheless, pastors would do well to remember that they are primarily shepherds, not news commentators.
4. Acting Differently Online Than You Do in Person
In conjunction with weighing in on topics outside their expertise or purview of authority, pastors would do well to be careful about how they engage in conversations online. Pastors who behave poorly online lose credibility in person.
On occasion, I have interacted with a pastor or church leader in person whom I found to be incredibly gentle, kind, and likable. Only, it came as a shock to me, given the fact that I followed them on social media and found their online presence to be nothing short of maniacal.
So the question quickly becomes, which person is the “real” one—the apparently kind and sane person standing before me, or the raving lunatic I saw online? Regardless of how well they present themselves in person, I tend to have an inherent lack of trust for a person who is not the same online as they are face-to-face.
While they might not ever express it, the people in your congregation likely feel the same way.
