Barna: Young Pastors Bring Innovation, Freshness Cut from Established Wisdom

by Jody Brown
February 25, 2004

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(AgapePress) - The number of young senior pastors in America's Protestant churches has more than doubled in two years -- and with them, says a Christian research group, they have brought innovative methods of "tinkering" with the style, but not the substance, of ministry.

The "Baby Buster" generation -- those born between 1965 and 1983 -- tends to get little positive press these days. For example, according to a recent survey by the Barna Research Group, almost half of them (48%) believe abortion is morally acceptable; almost three-quarters (72%) believe it is okay for a couple to live together before marriage; and 56% find sex outside of marriage to be morally acceptable.

But researcher George Barna's group says despite those findings, there is cause for optimism and reasons to pay attention to Baby Busters who are now serving as senior pastors of Protestant churches. In addition to doubling their numbers from about 22,000 to more than 45,000 in just two years, Barna says the young senior pastors -- who would now fall between the ages of 20 and 38 -- are demonstrating "courage and creativity" as they chart new courses for the churches they lead.

According to the survey, which was conducted over a two-year period and was based on more than 3,000 telephone interviews, "Buster" senior pastors are experimenting with communications methods, ministry priorities, education, and other aspects of their church-based work. For example, when compared with older pastors, these younger senior pastors are more likely to incorporate drama, multimedia, and storytelling into their teaching and preaching of biblical truths.

Why is such an approach effective? Barna says it likely because those forms of communications appeal to younger people who "tend to reject external sources of authority in favor of relying on their own experiences and feelings to interpret reality."

'Cultural Bombardment'
The survey also found that young pastors are more attuned than are older pastors to the "cultural battle" for the hearts and minds of young people.

"The research showed that young pastors were significantly more likely to affirm that children are being influenced by magazines, by their peers, by television, and by the political domain," the group reports. But in an interesting observation, Barna says older pastors (the "Builder" and "Boomer" generations -- those born from 1927-1945 and from 1946-1974, respectively) were more likely than younger pastors to believe the church has significant influence in the lives of children and youth.

When it comes to ministry priorities, Barna says Buster and Boomer pastors are equally likely to prioritize teaching and preaching, evangelism, and worship -- but the younger group, perhaps because of their increased sensitivity to the influence of media, is more likely to prioritize ministry to families, youth, and children.

And while the young senior pastors who responded to the survey (338 of the 3,000+) gave themselves good marks for being able to motivate people around a vision, they rated themselves poorly in the areas of pasturing, shepherding, and counseling.

Importance of God's Vision
So what does the study indicate about young pastors in senior positions in church leadership? David Kinnaman, who directed the Barna study, observes that young pastors are "cutting and pasting" from fresh ideas and from established wisdom to form what he calls "a new, era-appropriate portrait of church leadership."

"A handful of the young leaders are making huge changes in their ministry approaches when compared to older pastors," Kinnaman says, "but most Buster pastors are simply tinkering with the style -- not the substance -- of ministry."

He goes on to say, by way of example, that Buster pastors are less likely to use choirs or organs and more likely to use a "turn-and-greet" exercise during the worship experience. But few, he says, have made significant change to the style of music used in worship.

"Only one in four Buster pastors offers contemporary music, while most use traditional or blended worship," Kinnaman says, adding that many young pastors seem to struggle to find balance in worship and music.

"Their expectations about what facilitates true worship -- and even how to assess whether true worship has occurred -- seems to be in a state of flux," he says. "The bottom line is that young pastors have to identify God's unique vision for their church's worship and music, rather than trying to cater to people's preferences or their church's traditions."