On Being Quaint

I have been called a lot of things during my career as an ordained clergyman, but until this week I have never been called quaint. I feel like I have been labeled a hobbit. A new book published last week by Glenn Packiam uses the word “quaint” to describe clergy.

In his book entitled The Resilient Pastor, the Barna senior fellow examines the newest surveys and confirms what pastors already know — that ministers are not as respected and influential in American society as we used to be. In summarizing his findings Packiam writes: “Pastors, for the most part, are peripheral and ornamental. Quaint, but not entirely necessary. Kind, but not wholly credible.”

Ouch! That hurts! Especially that “ornamental” part. It sounds like irrelevancy. Clergy do not want to be thought of as irrelevant. But, alas, I think he is speaking the truth, which is why it hurts. Most people in today’s society view clergy as anachronisms. They are “quaint,” like a country cottage or a New England white clapboard church. It doesn’t help that I live in in the country and served such a church!

One interesting aspect of the research is that clergy concur with the study’s findings. We are aware of the trend, and we are part of it. Pastors do not find their fellow clergy as trustworthy as they used to be. I find clergy increasingly unreliable in many areas: science, history, politics, sexuality, ethics, and even spirituality. Many seem vulnerable to conspiracy theories.

Part of the problem is the lack of education. Many pastors these days lack a basic undergraduate liberal arts education, much less a graduate theological education. Consequently many pastors are unknowledgeable of science and history, as well as biblical and theological scholarship. Not trained to think critically, these pastors follow the trends of popular evangelical culture and its celebrity pastors.

Even seminary-trained clergy have seen the writing on the church wall. They know that to be “successful” they need to play the game. They have to give the people in the pews what they want. Increasingly church folk want what they hear on Christian radio, television, and online. I find such clergy “not wholly credible,” to use Packiam’s phrase.

Now about the “quaint” label. As I think about it, perhaps I am quaint. If so, I am okay with that. Quaint is defined as “unusual or different in character or appearance.” Synonyms are “unusual, bizarre, eccentric, curious, peculiar, queer, odd, whimsical, strange, and outlandish.” I am okay with all those designations. I will wear the slur of quaint as a badge of honor.

Even “peripheral” is not such a bad term. Jesus was on the periphery of the religion of this day. He hung out with the people on the margins of society, yet his influence was not marginal. Seeking to follow my Lord, I am definitely on the periphery of today’s Christianity. Does that make me “peripheral?” If so, I am glad. I would not have it any other way.

I am connecting with a wider range of people now than I ever did when I was in mainstream ministry as a fulltime pastor. I reach more people with my books, podcasts and videos than I did with my weekly in-person sermons and Bible Studies. So call me quaint. Call me peripheral. Call me “unusual, bizarre, eccentric, curious, peculiar, queer, odd, whimsical, strange, and outlandish.” But please don’t call me ornamental.