Kerby Anderson

We have idols today, but rarely are they in the form of carved statues and found in religious shrines. A study by Lifeway Research asked Protestant pastors in this county what they felt were modern-day idols.

Two-thirds (67%) of the pastors believe comfort is a desire that Christians have made into an idol. A majority also reported that control or security (56%), money (55%), and approval (51%) are idols that have significant influence on their congregations. They were also asked to choose the potential idol with the most sway over people in their churches. These pastors again pointed to comfort (30%) and control or security (20%) as the most important.

Scott McConnell serves as the executive director of Lifeway Research. “It’s easy to think that those in Christian churches have chosen their God and are faithful to Him.” He also noted that “pastors quickly acknowledge how divided their congregations’ allegiances can be. These gods don’t have a physical shrine, but they compete for the hearts of Christians.”

There were other modern-day idols that were reported by many pastors but not a majority of them. Fewer said that success (49%) and social influence (46%) are idols in their congregations. Even lower on the list were political power (39%) and sex or romantic love (32%).

One interesting statistic was the fact that a smaller percentage (14%) of pastors said none of these idols had an influence in their churches. Differences in age and education were also relevant. Younger pastors, for example, were more likely to say that money is an idol in the church, while more educated pastors pointed to both money and control.

If you are a pastor or a Bible fellowship teacher, you need to look at this survey and consider what teaching you might bring to this issue of modern-day idols.