For generations many ministers have maintained the fine balance of overseeing churches and speaking out against the ills of society.
Historically, national figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson, as well as local activists, have helped correct injustices, promoted freedom and developed advancement opportunities.
Today, some ministers can still be found preaching for their congregation on Sunday, then crusading for various causes in their community Monday through Saturday.
Can combining the demands of full time ministry with the stress of full time community activism lead to both efforts suffering? Is having an active focus on both spirituality and social issues even biblical?
Indianapolis pastor Dr. David Hampton, noted that the model for ministry is Christ, whom he believes did not separate spiritual and social concerns from each other.
“With him it was both,” said Hampton, pastor elect of Light of the World Christian Church. “You don’t separate the church and the community, because the church is the community. Jesus said ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’, but if you only love your members, that’s not a good witness. The church extends far beyond the four walls.”
Dr. James Jackson, pastor of New Beginnings Fellowship Church agrees that it is appropriate for a pastor to divide his time between church leadership and social causes.
“At the end of the day it is the social causes that deal with the people and ministers to the people, and when it is all put together it’s ministry,” Jackson said. “I find it very difficult to put social issues and ministry into different categories. They are all a part of ministry.”
Jackson added that there are several biblical precedents (examples) of pastoral involvement in social causes.
“It started from Moses recognizing the plight of his people, all the way to Jesus dealing with the poor and oppressed in his community, who were under the corrupt Roman government,” Jackson said.
Pastor Charles Simmons, senior pastor of Berean Bible Church believes that social activism can interfere with being an effective church leader. He says a pastors main calling is to be the shepherd of a local congregation.
“If he’s out in the community doing civil rights or running for office or whatever he’s doing, he’s taken away from his primary calling,” Simmons said. “He can teach his congregation about social issues and how they can get involved, but his primary calling is to equip them to help share the gospel of Jesus Christ, feed the poor, visit people in prison and things like that.”
Hampton, an Indianapolis native, was active in community affairs while serving as a minister at various churches in Indy. After moving to New York, he became even more involved in its fast-paced community. While serving as pastor of the historic Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, he was on the board of an inner city high school.
Hampton also became a national board member of civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton’s organization, the National Action Network (NAN). After returning to Indianapolis to join Light of the World, Hampton became a founding board members of NAN’s Indiana chapter.
“What I learned is that from city to city, the basic problems are the same,” Hampton said. “You have the same issues no matter where you are: economic injustice, an educational achievement gap among Black children and the ‘prison pipeline.’ Those are the big three issues that must be addressed.”
Jackson also makes time for involvement in social community initiatives, including an ongoing effort on the Far Eastside involving churches working on challenges in that area.
“I believe the best way for a pastor to bless a community is to make sure that we are sensitive to their needs, aware of their needs, and to rally resources to meet their needs,” Jackson said.
Nelson Granade, an author and pastor who speaks nationally on pastoral leadership topics, agrees with Hampton and Jackson about the importance of being involved in the community.
He noted, however, that many of today’s pastors are facing challenges those in earlier generations seemed to face less often, including a general decline of pastoral influence in some urban communities.
“When you combine this decline in status with the stress of leading a congregation, it is tempting for pastors to focus on their congregations and forget community involvement,” said Granade, who wrote the book Lending Your Leadership: How Pastors Are Redefining Their Role in Community Life.
Hampton has noticed that some ministers choose to engage their community with various social causes, while others are more concerned with matters that affect their church directly.
“It is a lot like being among doctors. Some doctors are general practitioners, while other doctors focus on specific areas of medicine. That doesn’t make one doctor worse than another, it just means they have a different focus,” Hampton said. “The same scenario is true for pastors. Some pastors are called to go out and engage in a protest, or something of a civil or political nature, while others are not.”
Hampton added that there are two main schools of thought about the roles of a pastor: the “priestly” role, which involves church leadership, and the prophetic role, which is also concerned with humanity outside the church.
“The priestly position is our pastoral role, but we also have a responsibility to be prophetic,” Hampton said. “In fact Dr. King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'”
Granade said many people, whether they are with a church or not, count on the priestly role of pastor, but also the prophetic role of community leadership, “to bring injustices to the light.”
Lionel Rush pastor of Greater Anointing Fellowship Church of God in Christ, explained the difference between the roles.
“Priestly ministry is when preachers go to God for the people,” he said. “Prophetic ministry is when preachers go to Pharaoh and say, ‘let my people go.’ They go to the power players in the city and say ‘these are God’s people, treat them well.'”
Simmons said a minister pastors a local congregation, not whole the community.
“The congregation is looking to him and paying him for biblical teaching and leadership,” Simmons said. “So if he is out in the community, he is not able to be effective at what he is called to do. I never heard a preacher say I’ve been called to be an activist. They announce that their calling is to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that people might be saved.”
Hampton believes that pastors, and people in the community in general, should support each other, regardless of whether they place more emphasis on the priestly or prophetic side of their ministry.
“God needs to use all of us,” Hampton said. “So we shouldn’t knock each other down or compete with one another. Just let the next man do what he’s called to do.”
