Feeling doubts yet strong in faith

(This blog post is an exploration of an issue- I’d welcome feedback, and may end up changing my mind later on.)

Different pastors have different personalities. That comes across in preaching style and in pastoral care. It is helpful for there to be a range of personalities and styles, as each may be particularly helpful for different congregations and members.

But we probably have a pastoral ideal. And I wonder if one pastoral ideal that is dominant in some parts of the online world is actually unhelpful. Let me explain what I mean. In some circles, the ideal pastor is a man of immense faith who never doubts God’s word. Perhaps we think he has such a close supernatural connection that he knows God’s will in counselling individuals and in leading the church, coming like Moses down from the mountain time with God to give clear instructions to the Israelites. Perhaps we think in terms of someone who does not even begin to be drawn along by the currents of the present age, but stands firmly on God’s word without any doubts, brushing aside non-Christian doubts, eviscerating the arguments of the non Christian world.

There is something attractive about the strength and faith of that picture. In a world of change, where it sometimes seems the church simply follows the world 20 years late, the unyielding strength and faith of such Christian leaders is appealing. The confidence and simplicity of this approach makes it particularly appealing in an online setting. To have Christian leaders who are strong and firm in faith and never doubt is like an anchor for Christians struggling with life and the world around to hold on to.

And yet. I think this is not the model of the New Testament. Jesus, the great leader, sympathises with us, has been tempted in every way, and yet stands firm. That is what makes him a perfect High Priest. ¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Hebrew 4:14-15

If strength of faith alone were what is needed in a Christian leader, then weakness seems a problem. But it seems what weak and doubting people need is someone comes near in our weakness and temptation, sympathises with us, and yet does not sin. We need, if this idea is extended, Christian leaders who feel the force of our doubts, and yet does not lose hold of faith in Jesus and trust in the Bible as God’s good word for us.

To put it another way, it is not the Christian leader who is the anchor but Christ, as he is revealed in the Bible, who is the anchor. And our job is to be a rope connecting the unchanging truths of Christ to people in their changing circumstances and doubts. We must be connected to the anchor or we offer no firm place. We must be connected to people in their real doubts and struggles. And sometimes joining those two will be easy- the rope is not under tension, the sea is calm. At other times, in the storm, joining those two will be hard, and we’ll feel the tension, the pull of both ends. But in the end the flexible rope holds the boat to the unmoving anchor. The pastor who can truly sympathise with the doubting Christian, who can understand the doubts, and who with that understanding, and even fellow feeling, can nonetheless cling to Christ and help the doubting Christian see Christ’s truth and goodness, that is the pastor who follows the way of Christ.

[This position is quite deliberately not in line with Christologies that deny any internal element to Christ’s temptation, as if Christ saw external temptation options (avoid the cross in Gethsemane for example) but felt no internal pull or doubt. I am assuming that the complexity of the human mind means that Jesus really felt the challenge of weighing alternative options claiming truth, felt the pull not to suffer, but always trusted God’s word and followed his Father’s path.]

If the exploration so far is true, we need pastors who struggle with doubt and yet keep holding on to faith in Jesus as revealed in the Bible. Letting go of faith makes the pastor useless. A pastor who sympathises with the doubting but offers no truth, no sure hope, is no longer an undershepherd of Jesus. But we also do not let go of the human condition, and the doubts and struggles of our age. We are useful because we share those doubts and struggles and yet also hold onto Jesus in them and bring that connection to the doubting and struggling.

For some pastors, this dynamic may mean being a bit more open about the struggles and doubts they have, and showing how faith in Jesus is worked out. For other pastors, it may mean doing more work to connect the doubts back to faith, and to be able to show others how to take hold of the anchor, Christ. For some pastors, this dynamic may actually mean engaging more sympathetically with the doubts and currents of this culture. If you have not felt the pressures and concerns of the people around you, how can you speak the truth well. I think this was one of New York pastor Tim Keller’s gifts- he spoke confident faith in Jesus in a way that made professional New Yorkers feel like he really understand their doubts and struggles, that he really could walk the journey to faith in Jesus from their starting point.

And perhaps I am in danger of creating my own pastoral ideal- in pushing back against one over-confident and simplistic ideal, I am creating my own ideal. Perhaps even today we need both our weeping Jeremiahs and our flint-faced Ezekiels, both our doubting Thomases and our fearless Peters. I’d be happy to hear from others on their experiences and thoughts, either as congregation members or as Christian leaders. Is the pastoral ideal: Feeling doubts yet strong in faith?