The wise preacher reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:7b that there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” But if you are a pastor, elder or ministry leader then you may feel the tension of discerning which one you need to do at any given moment.
Adding to the tension of speaking or remaining silent is the awareness that we are not equipped to speak to every issue. Barna’s State of the Church research in 2025 stated, “Only one in five pastors (20%) say they are equipped to lead on ‘politics and civic engagement,’ with 45% of pastors saying this is the realm they are least equipped to lead.”
Similar research from Barna in 2019 revealed that pastors feel pressures from the pew as to what they say about current matters.
While most pastors feel it is an important part of their role to help congregants understand the sensitive social and cultural issues of our day, such topics are, well … sensitive. We wanted to know if pastors felt limited or pressured when it comes to speaking about controversial topics. Half of Christian pastors say they frequently (11%) or occasionally (39%) feel limited in their ability to speak out on moral and social issues because people will take offense. The other half of pastors say they only rarely (30%) or never (20%) feel limited in this way. When asked to identify the source of the concerns, pastors are much more likely to say that they feel limited by those inside the church than those outside. In other words, the reactions of those in the pews are most on the minds of today’s pastors.
No faithful pastor or ministry leader needs to speak out about every issue that is making social media headlines. That is not the job description for shepherding the flock. There are times, however, when not saying something could be a dereliction of duty. How can we decide when to speak and when to remain silent? Here are three considerations:
1. When the issue is clear and the timing is urgent, we need to speak. One example is speaking up for the unborn. Children are being murdered in the womb at the rate of one million per year in the U.S. and more than 70 million worldwide. Christian leaders must speak up for the unborn. The issue is clear and the timing is urgent. Babies are being killed daily. Those in ministry leadership need to help church members understand what is at stake. When our elected leaders are considering legislation that will weaken protections on the unborn, or when there is an opportunity to strengthen those protections, then the people we lead need to hear from us. We need to speak.
2. When the issue is clear, but the facts are muddied, we need to seek more information: Conscientous reporters live by the adage that it is better to be right than to be first, meaning the first to break a story—or in our case the first to speak out on social media about the issue of the day. Recently, President Trump made a racist post on Truth Social. It was a video clip at the end of another video about election fraud, but it was a dishonorable depiction of President Obama and his wife Michelle. There was some confusion as to whether the post was intentional or accidental. President Trump later condemned the racist content but was unwilling to apologize for posting it. Many pastors and ministry leaders spoke out about this matter because those we lead need to know where we stand on racism. The issue was clear, but it took time to gather the facts.
3. When the issue is unclear, that may be a time for silence. There are multiple issues impacting our culture, and the number seems to grow daily. Most, though not all, of the ministry leaders I know are not experts on such things as economic policy, immigration policy and foreign policy. Faithful pastors, elders and ministry leaders have their hands to the plow and their eyes on the word of God. They are striving to be faithful to their God-ordained ministry assignment and should not be expected to speak about every issue that has outraged a portion of our population.
No matter how hard you try or how careful you are, you will not speak out enough for some and too much for others. In Galatians 1:10 Paul the Apostle stated, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” When it comes to speaking out or remaining silent, we must stop trying to please people and seek to please the One who has saved us and assigned to us a specific ministry. Every pastor, elder or ministry leader must prayerfully consider the issues of the day, seek counsel on the ones that are not obvious and decide under the guidance of the Holy Spirit whether it is best to speak up, wait for more information or remain silent. The Lord who called you will guide you, and He is able to sustain you.
Dr. Todd Gray 