Thursday's Çatch: 'Are 64% of Pastors Losing the Ability to Preach?' And More

Are 64% of Pastors Losing the Ability to Preach?
64% of pastors are now using AI for sermon prep. That number isn’t the problem. How it’s being used might be.

Universities across North America are bringing back oral exams because students are turning in perfect papers — and then can’t explain a single word of them when questioned face to face. Professors aren’t doing it to catch cheaters. They’re doing it because students are actually losing the ability to think.

Nobody in the church is asking whether the same thing is happening to pastors.

The Reality of Church Hoppers: A Pastor's Honest Perspective
Summer often exposes a quiet reality in many churches: some members begin shopping for a new congregation. In this episode, Josh and Sam address why this happens and how leaders should respond. If you’ve faced it, you are not alone. Every long-tenured pastor has.

7 Deadly Statements of Church Members (and How To Respond)
Most churches do not collapse because of a scandal. They decline one sentence at a time. Words have meaning, and when church members repeat certain words often enough, those words begin to reflect the priorities and passions of the church itself.

The Myth of the 'Stable Church'
There is a hopeful spirit among United Methodists today despite challenges. People know that the future will be rooted in a strong Wesleyan ethos but that things must change just as John Wesley changed, often reluctantly, to meet changed circumstances. One goal I had in writing An Aura of Hope: United Methodism’s Next Chapter in the United States was to offer church leaders clues that can guide them in discerning God’s next faithful step for their congregation. A recurring theme of the book is an invitation for congregations to focus on the people God has given them in their communities. Thus, ministry does not so much begin with serving members but rather membership begins with ministry with the people God has given us we do not yet know. Most churches will discover that this model was exactly what church life looked like in their first years of existence.

United Methodists Bolster Ties in Canada
The United Methodist Church and The United Church of Canada, which share Wesleyan roots, have formed an interim covenant as they work toward full communion. Adding urgency to the growing cooperation is migration of United Methodists to Canada. The move also comes as the Council of Bishops prepares to hold its Leadership Gathering in Canada with the blessing of The United Church.

‘The Office of Pastor Is Limited to Men’—Albert Mohler’s Amendment to SBC Constitution Passes Initial Vote.
Before the conclusion of the morning session, Registration Secretary Don Currence reported the amendment passed.

“At the time of that ballot, it was 11,671 messengers registered, with 8,074 messengers casting ballots,” Currence shared. “In favor, there was 6,028 votes in favor, which represented 76.66%. As for opposed, there was 2,026 votes, which represented 25.9%.

He added, “There’s 20 disallowed votes, which was 0.25%.”

A change to the SBC constitution requires a two-thirds vote by messengers at two consecutive annual meetings. Messengers will vote at the 2027 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis to decide if the Truth and Unity amendment will be adopted into the constitution.

Also See: Bulletin: Debate cut short on Mohler amendment; SBC approves amendment strengthening ban on women pastors

Willy Rice, Florida pastor and abuse crisis skeptic, elected SBC president
Rice’s win is a triumph for critics who argue that the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has lost its way in recent years.

Trump’s meeting with Orthodox Christian patriarch sows confusion
The Greek Orthodox leader expects to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month.

Overture to require monogamy for clergy prompts pushback in PCUSA: 'Spiritual coercion'
A proposed rule to mandate monogamy among ordained clergy, including those in homosexual relationships, has prompted pushback from three committees of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The overture, which was submitted by the Presbytery of Sierra Blanca in New Mexico to be considered at the PCUSA's General Assembly later this month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, would amend the denomination's Book of Order to require clergy "in any relationship of a sexual nature" to be "living in a monogamous one."

Americans growing more conservative on sex, gambling and divorce: Gallup poll
The percentage of Americans who believe that sex outside of marriage and birth control are morally acceptable has declined, as a new survey shows the public embracing more conservative attitudes on hot-button social issues.

Gallup released the most recent installment of its annual Values and Beliefs Poll Tuesday, finding that attitudes on a range of moral issues have shifted in a more conservative direction compared with the previous year.

What CAN Women Do in the Church?
According to the surely never-wrong Al Mohler, no female should ever function in a pastoral/preaching role over a man. Yes, she can serve in the church, but she cannot have the title of pastor or exercise any spiritual authority over any male.

So, what follows here is something I wrote a long time ago as I wandered in the world Mohler espouses, while also going deep into biblical studies, including gaining expertise in Greek and Hebrew. I did leave out some relevant details to protect loved ones.

Why sophrosyne, an ancient Greek virtue, matters more than ever in the age of AI
For the Greeks, sophrosyne was an ideal second to none. It’s just as important today, in an age of internet addiction and misinformation – but harder to come by.

Leading Faithfully in a Changing Church: An In-depth Interview with Karen Stewart
How can church leaders navigate a rapidly changing cultural landscape while sustaining meaningful, faithful, and adaptive ministry? In this interview, Jonathan Page is joined by Karen Stewart as they discuss her new role at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, her decades of experience in local church ministry and organizational leadership, and her vision for reimagining innovation, intergenerational engagement, and leadership formation for today and tomorrow’s church leaders.

The Biblical Role of a Pastor: 5 Facts Most Church Members Get Wrong
Ask 10 church members to describe the role of a pastor and you may get 10 different answers. An employee. An errand runner. An executive the board brought in to keep the customers happy. Scripture disagrees with every one of them, and the gap between what the Bible teaches and what congregations assume is quietly damaging churches.

Should Pastors Preach for Conversions?
In the churches where I first came to know Jesus Christ, no service was complete without an invitation, a time for people in the pews to respond to the message by making their way down the aisle. During weeklong revival services, “Just as I Am” inevitably ran out of verses before the preachers ran out of steam. With every head bowed and every eye closed, the preacher would call for “one more, just one more” as the pianist continued to play. As a child, I watched those visiting revivalists through half-closed eyes, waiting for the furtive nod that would bring the invitation to an end.

Whatever you may think about invitations in general or about those preachers’ particular methods, one thing is clear. They were not afraid to preach for conversions. Calling for conversion was part of what they did and how they lived.

Neither were the preachers and prophets whose words the Holy Spirit preserved in the pages of the New Testament.

Perspectives: What IS scripture, pt. 1
It’s no secret that the United Methodist Church has undergone a disheartening and divisive split over the last several years. Indeed, the tensions that eventually produced the present schism existed long before my birth and were sewn, sometimes incoherently, into the original 1968 union.

In truth, my heart grieves this division because I think the so-called traditionalists (now largely represented by the Global Methodist Church) and the so-called progressives actually need each other. I think the progressives need the traditionalist emphasis on scripture and historic orthodoxy, and I think those traditionalist-evangelicals need the justice-oriented emphasis of their progressive siblings, not to mention the reminder that the tradition is not a monolith. So I, for one, did not rejoice when our denomination split. Not least because I have friends, companions, and colleagues on both sides of the fracture.

Equipping Men for Spiritual Leadership at Home and in the Church
Equipping men for spiritual leadership requires a shift in our approach—moving from program-based training to relationship-based development. Aaron Summers offers guidance for building intentional mentoring relationships, prioritizing character formation, and creating a culture where men are equipped to lead and multiply leaders in the next generation.

5 Spiritual Dangers of Skipping Church (and When It’s OK)
Empty seats tell a story. Walk into almost any church on a Sunday morning and you will find names on the membership roll that have not been in the room for weeks. My own denomination’s annual reports show the same pattern year after year. Millions claim membership, yet far fewer actually gather for worship on a given Sunday.

That gap is more than a statistic. For people who profess Christ but regularly skip church, it is a spiritual hazard. Scripture treats gathering with God’s people as essential to the Christian life, not as one option among many.

How Can We Sense God’s Leading in Our Lives?
A reader sent me this question: I really want to follow Christ but at times I become anxious searching for God’s Spirit within me. How can I hear God’s voice and know that He is clearly speaking to me?

Knowing God’s voice, I think, comes from abiding in Christ, as we see in John 15. A vital part of that is His Word abiding in us. Confession of sin is also important, so our relationship with God isn't hindered by our sin. The wisdom and input of others—not just any others but very godly others—is certainly helpful. But in the end, there is a supernatural aspect to following God’s leading that’s more than knowing what the Bible says and listening to others.

Image Credit: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Marion, NC