Historically the church, as it does today, often contends
against extra-Biblical beliefs emerging from the current culture. Generally the
sources are from secular pressures (often from academia, media, or the
government) and then cultural pressures from inside the church. For example, churchgoers may support truisms
that seem Biblically based, but may deviate just enough to promote lies about
God. Such cultural influences have caused even some seminaries to abandon the founding
principles of the Bible!
The impact of these cultural pressures may be
important to pastors because they can dilute the positive influence on
wellbeing that religious adherence has demonstrated, as noted in the medical
and psychological literature.
For
this reason recently we surveyed graduates of three seminaries that hold to
Biblical teaching (Master’s, Denver and Westminster) in spite of cultural
pressures to drift from Biblical teaching. Questions
were based on exhortations derived from Scripture or frequently accepted
attitudes within the church but not directly sourced from the Bible. 200 pastors participated in the survey.
Our results showed that pastors generally believed
it was ‘important’ to ‘very important’ for church members to maintain Biblical
exhortations related to their attitudes towards: one another, the church body
and leaders, their speech and the outside community. Extra-Biblical attitudes,
although perhaps accepted or fashionable within the church, were more often deemed
either ‘not important’ to ‘somewhat important’. Look below at the results.
Table: Average ratings for questions (N = 200)
(Biblical
exhortations are highlighted in gray and
extra-Biblical
attitudes are highlighted in green)
|
Reference
|
Answer
Options
|
Rating average
|
|
My congregation’s attitude towards other members should be expressed
by:
|
||
|
I John 3:11
|
An “agape” type love consistent with the Bible
|
2.9
|
|
Galatians 6:2
|
Bearing one another’s burdens
|
2.8
|
|
James 5:16
|
Praying for each other
|
2.9
|
|
O’Day, 2014
|
Helping others find their spiritual gift(s)
|
2.0
|
|
Colossians 3:16
|
Encouraging each other to godliness
|
2.8
|
|
Easley, 2006
|
Participating in an accountability group
|
1.9
|
|
Ephesians 4:3
|
Maintaining the unity of the body of Christ
|
2.8
|
|
My congregation’s attitude towards the church should be that each
member:
|
||
|
Romans 12:1
|
Serves God through the church
|
2.6
|
|
I Thessalonians 1:2
|
Is grateful for fellow members, lay leaders and
pastors
|
2.8
|
|
Van Auken, 2013
|
Desires more church programs, larger facilities,
greater membership
|
0.6
|
|
Jennings, 2013
|
Desires a greater emotive worship experience
|
1.0
|
|
Thumma, 1996
|
Assures success of church organized programs by
their participation
|
1.3
|
|
Acts 2:42
|
Views it as a source of: prayer, praise,
teaching, fellowship and community outreach
|
2.8
|
0=not important; 1=somewhat important; 2=generally important; 3=very
important
Why are these findings important?
Ø
These results should encourage church leaders because
they demonstrate that a substantial group of church pastors recognize the
importance of maintaining fidelity to Biblical teachings. To our knowledge this
is the first time a survey has shown that pastors trained in a Biblically
adherent seminary maintain a current focus on Scriptural exhortations.
Ø
Church leaders can take comfort that
extra-Biblical attitudes are deemed generally less important by pastors. These
data should encourage both pastors and church leaders to maintain their focus
on strong Biblical teachings that are associated with an improvement in
wellbeing in many religion and wellness studies.
Ø
This should inspire seminaries not to bend their
theological stance with cultural trends. Such seminaries will produce
Biblically adherent pastors who will tend to maintain these teachings, thereby providing
the best chance of promoting physical and mental health.
This study showed that individuals trained in
seminaries that teach Biblical principles continue to hold to those principles
once they become pastors. As shown in
the medical literature, these principles contribute to improved wellbeing.
Thank
you for taking time to visit my blog. I look forward to seeing you again next
week.
WC
Stewart
1.
MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of community service to personal
wellbeing. Community Ment Health J 2014;50:577-582.
2.
Stewart WC, Adams MP, Stewart JA, Nelson LA. Review of clinical
medicine and religious practice. J
Relig Health 2013;52:91-106.
3.
MacIlvaine WR, Stewart WC. The apologetic value of
religion and wellness studies.
Christian Apologetics Journal 2013;11:65-83.
4.
Dehning DO, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength
of religious adherence to attitudes regarding diabetes. J
Christian Nurs 2013;E1-E11.
5.
MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of religious adherence to quality
of life measures. Complement
Ther Clin Pract 2013;19:251-255.
6.
Stewart WC, Sharpe ED, Kristoffersen CJ, Nelson LA,
Stewart JA. Association of strength
of religious adherence to attitudes regarding glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
Ophthalmic Res 2011:45:53-6.
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