Sociologists have had to reverse themselves. Americans, it is clear, remain a highly religious people (in name, if not always in practice). The problem facing us today is not secular atheism, but a pluralistic, consumer society, a world of the "spiritual marketplace" (see sociologist Wade Clark Roof's book of 1999). People have so many options to choose from, also in their "spiritual life." We live in a world in which the church is just one more consumer option among many.
In such a time, the church is constantly tempted to define itself in terms of market niches. We are a black church, or a white church, or a Presbyterian church, or a Methodist church, or a church for the rich, or a church for the poor, or a church with contemporary worship, or a church with traditional worship—a church for every taste, but a church that has forgotten what it means to be the body of Christ.
In such a world and such a church, pastors almost inevitably begin to think of themselves as mere providers of religious services. They are supposed to respond effectively to every need that comes down the pike. They are supposed to guarantee that their congregation will be an attractive, consumer choice, where more and more people will come to invest their time and give their money. Pastors easily feel that they must be all things to all people.
As Joseph Small in our denomination's Office of Theology and Worship has written:
[Pastors] are presented with a bewildering and unstable bundle of images depicting the essence of ministry . . . preacher . . . teacher . . . community builder . . . programmer . . . marketer . . . therapist . . . change agent . . . caregiver . . . manager . . . the list goes on! . . . [There] is an absence of a coherent, cohesive pastoral identity. (from the Company of Pastors Day Book)
The problem of pastoral identity is further complicated by the fact that most pastors are genuinely nice people who want other people to like them as much as they like them. People who go into pastoral ministry want to be sensitive to others' problems and needs. We want to be helpful and supportive. We want others to trust us and turn to us in their times of trouble and joy.
