Outreach was accomplished by getting people to come to church services thirty years ago. That is not so today.  I remember some of the classic outreach ministries I led thirty years ago. They were all designed to get people to visit church services as a first step. Today, many barriers must be addressed in order for someone to be receptive to come to our churches.

We are out of clichés about change or the pace of change. Sometimes we forget how much particular vocations have changed in a short time. In fact, in thirty years pastoring has changed in ways we likely would have never predicted or imagined.

In early 1984, I began serving as a pastor for the first time. I would ultimately serve four churches as a pastor and nine churches as an interim pastor. In 1984 I was a young 28-year-old pastor without a clue. Today I am 58-years-old, and I’m still not sure I have a clue. So much has changed. So much has changed in pastoring in just thirty years. Let’s look at major ways the pastorate has changed in that time.

1. Thirty years ago, most people in the community held the pastor in high esteem.Today most people don’t know who the pastor is, nor does the pastor hold any position of prominence in most communities.
2. Thirty years ago, most people in the congregation held the pastor in high esteem.Though I cannot offer precise numbers, there is little doubt that church members as a rule don’t view pastors with the same esteem as they did thirty years ago. That is one major reason serving as a pastor is becoming increasingly difficult.
3. Leadership skills are required more today than thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, I could preach sermons well and care for the congregation, and I would be deemed at least an adequate pastor. The demands and the expectations of the pastor are much higher today. Many of those demands can only be met with at least decent leadership skills.
4. Interpersonal skills are required more today than thirty years ago.  Pastors thirty years ago could get away with some personality quirks because they were generally held in such high esteem. No more. Pastors are supposed to relate near perfectly to everyone.
5. Outreach was accomplished by getting people to come to church services thirty years ago. That is not so today.  I remember some of the classic outreach ministries I led thirty years ago. They were all designed to get people to visit church services as a first step. Today, many barriers must be addressed in order for someone to be receptive to come to our churches.

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