Where the boys are...

 Over at The Heidelblog, Everett Henes has a post, "Where Are the Young Men? Ministry and the Crisis of Formation"  where he writes about the decline in young men going into ministry. Towards the end he makes a good point. 

The Influencer and the Pastor

The irony is that many young men are drawn to online teachers, influencers, and commentators who appear confident, masculine, and authoritative. Some of those men may say true things, and some may even be useful. But the contrast between the influencer and the pastor is worth considering, especially since everything the influencer does is for engagement.

The influencer gathers attention; the pastor gives attention. The influencer performs authority; the pastor bears responsibility. The influencer is rewarded for being interesting; the pastor is called to be faithful. The influencer can move on when the audience turns; the pastor stays with the flock. The influencer speaks to a crowd he does not know; the pastor must speak to people whose sins, sorrows, marriages, children, fears, and graves he knows. This does not mean that public teaching online is worthless. But we should not confuse influence with office. We should not confuse visibility with shepherding. And we should not be surprised if young men trained to admire the influencer’s platform struggle to desire the pastor’s burden.

That may be one of the most important parts of this whole discussion. The young man who admires theological combat online may not yet be ready to sit patiently with a grieving widow. The young man who loves the idea of masculine leadership may not yet be ready to serve unnoticed. The young man who wants to preach hard truths may not yet be ready to love hard people. The young man who wants to be useful in the kingdom may still need years of ordinary formation. That is not a reason to despise him. It is a reason to disciple him.

Conversely, pastoral ministry also unfortunately tends to attract the kind of men who filled the ranks of our declining revisionist denominations, men who are caring but who tend to be soft on...

Well, you know what I mean.