This is the fourth book in the 'Pastoral Trends Series'.
Part 1 is a review of the ministry in 2025.
Part 2 presents an alternative for ministry in 2026.
It covers four topics: 'Christianity: Is it OK to be extreme?', 'Pastoral ministry: Is there hope for the future?', 'Pastoral ministry: Does common sense prevail?', and 'Preaching: Is it nurturing citizens beyond believers?'


"Pastoral Trends 2026" examines the Korean church, which has exhibited extreme right-wing tendencies that should not have been seen since martial law was declared in December 2025, and presents a path for pastoral ministry after 2026.
In particular, in 2025, politics and the Korean church colluded to accelerate the decline in trust in the church.
The Korean church, which has focused on personal salvation based solely on faith, must now accelerate its steps toward the world, so that it can convey God's justice and love to the social injustices it faces.


This book delves deeply into the common-sense ministry that churches need in today's world, and how to deliver sermons that nurture both believers and citizens.
When sermons cultivate not only believers but also citizens, the church presents a direction for pastoral ministry that provides hope for the future.
This book is recommended as a must-read for pastors who quietly devote themselves to ministry, young pastors sensitive to change, and those concerned about church leadership, offering deep insight and practical guidance.

There are three signs that the Korean church is failing.
One is the attack of the modern gods.
Another is the wrong thinking of the church.
Finally, here is the image of an irrational church.

--- p.5

Prosperity theology made sense in the industrial age.
Now that we have moved beyond the information age and entered the age of artificial intelligence, we must pursue a theology that is oriented toward reduction.
Instead of hoarding too much, being intoxicated with power, or building big buildings, we must change to discarding what needs to be discarded, cherishing the small things, and focusing on people.

--- p.7

The far right is extreme.
God is not extreme.
He is sacrificial in saving the world.
Anything taken to extremes becomes violent.

--- p.10

The church must quickly break away from the path of the extreme right.
At such times, the world places its hope on the church.
The church must be extremely sensible.
When we have common sense, we can have hope for saving the world.

--- p.20

The Korean church must view the community and the world through the eyes of women, not just men, within a male-centered vertical structure, not just in 2025 but at all times throughout its existence.
To become a church that welcomes women, who make up half of the world, we must look at the church from a female perspective, not just a male one.

--- p.43

For the Korean church to be purified and mature, voices must rise up.

The church must be prepared to listen and must train itself to listen.
At that time, the church can be reborn as a space of sincere love and consideration.

--- p.45

In the AI ​​era, small groups are something that churches need to become more active in.
Without intimacy between church members, you don't just feel lonely.
The depression becomes severe.
If the world is entering the AI ​​era, the church must enter the era of small groups.
The difference between a church with active small groups and one without is huge.

--- p.51

Pastors should invest time in improving literacy.
This is because literacy holds an absolute position in pastoral ministry.

--- p.64

Anti-communism, growthism, collusion with political power, and the absence of public theology have all returned as problems for the modern Korean church.

--- p.86

What is needed, especially now, is for healthy conservative Christianity to draw a clear line against the violent language and actions of far-right Christianity.
When some far-right Christians promote hatred and division in the name of the gospel, conservative Christians who remain silent are no different from giving tacit consent.

--- p.93

The obedience that the Bible presents is not mere submission or compliance.
It is an active and voluntary change of life in response to the call of Jesus Christ.

--- p.101

Jeremiah endured and persevered until the end in the position God had placed him in, even though it was difficult and tiring.
In our time, we need a spirituality that endures to the end.
We need a spirituality that holds on to and endures truth and reality.

--- p.117

The best strategy for social change is for the church to become the church and for the church to live as the church.
The starting point for the church to become the church is conversion and the rediscovery of discipleship.

--- p.131

The church must stop committing unthinking sin.
If the church does not have the ability to discern what is right and what is wrong while existing in this world, then the church has no value in existing.
To illuminate the dark places of the world, to keep the world from becoming corrupt, and to give it the right amount of salt and flavor, the church must know how to speak the words the world needs to hear.

--- p.144

When pastoral darkness deepens, the church must demonstrate inclusiveness.
Inclusiveness leads the church to restoration.
Change the image of the church.
A person with a broad mind can accomplish great things.
God has done great things because His bosom is broad.
The church must have a broad heart.

--- p.160

Only when a church reaches beyond its walls and exerts a positive influence that meets the needs of local residents and brings about qualitative changes in their lives will it truly become a necessary presence in its community.

--- p.171

Saints raised in the faith of creation must become subjects of public responsibility for restoring and protecting the world that God saw as good.
And the church must stand again as a public community that shares in that responsibility.

--- p.185

For Christians, literacy is the ability to know, see, and empathize with the thoughts, intentions, and feelings of God, oneself, and others through the text of the Bible.
Furthermore, it is the ability to read the world and communicate with the world centered on the Bible.

--- p.197

When families and churches work together to restore solidarity in education, the words and actions of the next generation will be a blessing, not a concern, to others.
You will emerge from isolation, find yourself in God, and grow into a faithful citizen who goes out into the world.

--- p.203

Those called to community are not simply consumers of the same message, but seek to become a "body of faith," building one another up and experiencing God together. In the age of AI, we yearn even more for the value of unity, caring for one another, embracing one another, and harmonizing with one another.

--- p.214

Now is the time for pastors and believers in our time to “carry the burden, not be a burden” before the nation and history.

--- p.231

Church inflammation needs to be improved.
If there's a way to improve this, what would it be? Ultimately, it comes down to people.
If many pastors with common sense are produced and they carry out ‘common sense ministry,’ things will get better.

--- p.243

The primary focus of children's education lies not with the church, but with the family! Parents are their children's first pastors.
It is a living textbook.
When we recover this truth, the faith of the next generation will be strengthened.

--- p.252

The honor of the church is restored when its members live as true citizens.
A true citizen knows that the character of others is as important as his own.
A true citizen pursues a life for ‘us’ rather than a life for ‘me’.
A true citizen is sensitive to the pain and demands of the times.
A true citizen is someone who strives to protect justice and freedom and can connect with anyone.

--- p.269

When the church once again becomes a place where common sense prevails, we will witness the believers who grew up within it stand tall as citizens of God's kingdom, living as light and salt in their own lives.

--- p.282

When a preacher stands on the pulpit, he is no longer a conveyer of knowledge or a program host.
He must become a 'poet' who laments the times with God's heart, sings of a new world with God's promise, and liberates the imagination of the saints to invite them into the reality of God's kingdom.

--- p.299

When a pastor preaches, he must not confine the congregation inside the church.
We must preach so that we can testify to our faith in life.
Specifically, our faith today must be able to exert influence in society.

--- p.300

Pastors should not remain mere answer providers through their sermons.
We must become companions who encourage reasoning and companions of faith who explore community and truth together through questions.

--- p.321

The goal of preaching is to cultivate mature Christians, not immature Christians.
Sermons should help people grow in faith and live as citizens.
In 2026, sermons should not be limited to training believers.
The goal should be to enable people to live as mature citizens.

--- p.333

What the church must prepare is to be a good neighbor to the world.
When the church becomes a good neighbor to the world, the world also becomes a good neighbor to the church.
The church should make 2026 the first year of a good church movement.

--- p.344