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The position of Pastor (shepherd) is a calling, and for those who do it well, it is both “a blessing and cursing.” Ideally, they love the people they serve, but they are also, at times, exasperated by the people they love and serve. That is often the way in human interactions of all stripes, including parenthood, as most parents know well.

Job one for pastors and elders is to guard the flock from predators attempting to sneak in or rise up from within to harm the flock. (Acts 20:28-30) They are also called:

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Ephesians 4:12-14)

This can often be difficult, as many in the local body get a fair amount of information – often serious misinformation – from outside sources, away from the watchful eye of pastors and elders. And to be honest, even pastors and elders, being human beings, can take in false information from the same questionable sources. This is truer in our day than at any point in church history. There is just so much untruth out there to stumble into.

There is more. The task isn’t simply to train up doctrine warriors within the flock but to superintend their spiritual growth in other areas, including how the defenders of the faith – apologists – deliver their corrective message to those they see as having been deceived. Apologetic correction must be delivered in a loving manner:

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Pastors have a stressful calling due in large part to the unrealistic expectations and demands of those they are shepherding, as well as the expectations they put on themselves. According to Barna in 2022, 42% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry. In Pastors Share Top Reasons They’ve Considered Quitting Ministry in the Past Year – Barna Group the report notes:

Stress, Isolation & Political Division Factor into Pastors’ Desire to Quit
As of March 2022, the percentage of pastors who have considered quitting full-time ministry within the past year sits at 42 percent. This is consistent with data from fall 2021 when Barna first reported on a sharp increase in pastoral burnout, and it confirms the growing number of pastors who are considering resignation—up 13 percentage points from 29 percent in January 2021.

Pastoring a small to medium-sized flock can be an awful lot like trying to herd cats: we all know that cats have a very strong sense of independence. Added to that, the rapid growth of false teaching entering the homes and lives of the flock – unfiltered – from supposedly trusted sources, such as “Christian” publishers, “Christian” television, “Christian” magazines, etc., may be more than the average or perhaps even the above average pastor to keep up with. There is the Occultism of the Enneagram, Progressive Churches, Deconstruction of the faith, CRT, and a myriad of other things to be keenly aware of and watch out for.

The rise of what we might view as the “apologetics industrial complex” could be of great help to struggling pastors and churches, but there is a wariness about those engaged in the use of apologetics and discernment on the part of many in church leadership. One reason is that those engaged in apologetics have a reputation for fighting at the drop of a hat, and many are more than willing to “drop the hat.” This attitude is not helpful and has soured many on apologetically minded thinkers for that reason. As our friend, Rich Poll, confessed in an article he wrote for us years ago, The Ambush of Discernment | Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc:

We, writing as an apologist myself, have earned a sad reputation outside our circles for being a contentious lot. Many churches are fearful of apologists and budding apologists within their local church and view us as “high maintenance.” This does not help any of us who would also be or aspire to be scholars.

Apologetics is a tool. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is a tool that can be used successfully for evangelism and is also useful for discipleship of believers. It is to be used to clear away objections to the faith and make a positive case for the faith, but we must always keep in mind there is a real person on the other end of the argument. A verse that is often used as a case for apologetics is 1 Peter 3:15, but sometimes only a portion of the verse is internalized:

always being prepared to make a defense

That portion by itself almost feels like an invitation to a gunfight. What precedes and follows this changes the understanding dramatically:

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

How we behave and handle information should be done from a heart that honors Christ and deeply cares for others. Christians are all “works in progress,”  but as much as is possible, our interactions should be done with gentleness and respect. We are to have “a good conscience” as we are engaging others. It can be difficult for human beings to argue a point without rancor, but that is exactly what we should earnestly strive to do.

Before we go on, we must make clear that we work with many wonderful and caring apologists striving to fulfill their calling out of love for the lost and/or deceived. Apologetics can also be a very difficult calling, and in fairness, there are many people, including believers, who see any disagreement with their position to be “divisive” and “mean.” That is just not true. Many formerly sound churches are dying from a lack of discernment – where no one is willing to speak out against popular false teaching, even if they are aware that false teaching is taking hold in the congregation, because they do not want to be seen as divisive.

Over the years, we have made it a point to be part of a local body of believers, to be accountable to that local body, and to become known by the pastor and elders. In fact, a requirement to be part of MCOI is to be part of and accountable to a local church body.

We understand the stresses and demands on local pastors and desire to be a blessing to and serve them and the body in ways that we are able and gifted in. Shepherds are protective of their sheep and should be. Why would we expect them to trust someone who comes across as divisive and argumentative? It most often is not the tool of apologetics that is the problem; it is the attitude and demeanor of the user of the tool that is the issue. Much of the training of budding apologists concerns arguments, tactics, and categories of apologetics¹Dr. Phil Fernandes, President of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, recently published The Fernandes Guide to Apologetic Methodologies that outlines 17 types of apologetics but little if any is spent on the issues of attitude, demeanor, and care for those we are engaging in apologetics arguments. For those who desire to be used as a resource in their home church and local churches in your area, this is every bit as important as the task of defending the faith and exposing serious heresy in the essentials of the faith.

Joy and I are indeed blessed. In our small home church of maybe 150, three are seen as apologists, and a few others are training to do apologetics work. Our pastor loves what we do as a mission and as a resource to help him and the elders guard and equip the flock. We attempt to keep up with the “newest thing” moving through the church and to keep the leadership apprised of problematical issues to the best of our ability. All Christians are members of the Body of Christ, with differing gifts and callings, and we are as accountable to the Lord and one another about our attitudes and demeanor as we are about our doctrine. We are all “works in progress” and need to be ever mindful to approach others, even those with whom we disagree, with an attitude of Christian love and respect. Peter reminds us of this very thing. We are to make our defense of the faith:

with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 15b-16)Ω

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