“Strategic” Apathy in the Church Toward Israel
By Dr. Tyson Lambertson, ICEJ USA Outreach Director
During my years as a pastor, I learned that certain subjects could quickly divide a congregation. Politics. Racial tensions. Local community controversies. The latest cultural debates. Every pastor knows the feeling. You carefully weigh whether addressing an issue will produce more heat than light. Sometimes the wisest decision is to remain silent until emotions settle. Sometimes a topic simply is not central enough to Scripture to deserve the attention it demands.
I understand that instinct because I lived it.
As pastors, we constantly make strategic decisions about what deserves time in the pulpit and what does not. We only have so many Sundays. We cannot address every headline, every controversy, or every issue competing for our people’s attention. Choosing what to preach is one of the greatest stewardship responsibilities of pastoral ministry.
But over the years, I also realized that what begins as strategic wisdom can quietly become strategic avoidance. Not because we reject a subject. Not because we disagree with it. But because we know it may invite questions, misunderstandings, or unnecessary controversy. Eventually, silence becomes the easier option.
The Unintended Danger of Pastoral Caution
This dynamic has fueled a growing apathy in the church regarding subjects that feel complex or controversial—and I believe that is precisely what has happened regarding Israel.
The greatest challenge facing Israel in many churches today is not opposition. It is our willingness to preach what builds a church while remaining silent about what God repeatedly emphasizes in His Word.
Most pastors are not hostile toward the Jewish people. Most believers would affirm that Jesus was Jewish, the apostles were Jewish, and that the Scriptures emerged from a Jewish context. Yet despite these acknowledgments, Israel remains largely absent from the preaching calendar, discipleship strategy, prayer meetings, and theological conversations of many churches.
This absence is not accidental. It has become a form of strategic apathy.
Many churches have chosen to invest significant energy in countless issues while often neglecting a subject that occupies a central place in Scripture. We develop sermon series on marriage, leadership, stewardship, spiritual gifts, and cultural engagement. Yet many believers can spend decades in church without ever hearing a meaningful exposition of Romans 9–11, God’s covenant with Abraham, or the biblical significance of the Jewish people.
The result is a generation of Christians who know little about Israel and even less about God’s enduring purposes for the Jewish people.
What Is Strategic Apathy?
Strategic apathy is not active rejection. It is passive neglect.
It occurs when leaders conclude, either consciously or unconsciously, that Israel is not important enough to teach, discuss, or prioritize.
The reasoning often sounds familiar:
“Israel is too controversial.”
“People aren’t interested in that topic.”
“We don’t want to get political.”
“There are more pressing issues facing the church.”
While these concerns may seem practical, they reveal a deeper problem. The church has allowed cultural discomfort to determine what receives attention instead of allowing Scripture to shape its priorities. When God repeatedly addresses a subject in His Word, the church cannot afford to remain silent about it.
The Apostle Paul’s Warning
Paul devoted three chapters of Romans to Israel’s past, present, and future role in God’s redemptive plan. That fact alone should cause the church to pause.
Romans 9–11 is not a theological sidebar. It is part of Paul’s explanation of how God remains faithful to His promises.
Paul asks a direct question:
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! (Romans 11:1, ESV)
Yet many churches function as though Paul never asked the question.
The practical message often communicated is that Israel belongs to the past, while the church alone belongs to the future. Such assumptions stand in tension with Paul’s repeated insistence that God’s covenantal purposes for Israel remain intact.
As theologian Gerald McDermott observes, the New Testament never teaches that God’s promises to Israel were transferred to another people. Instead, Gentile believers are graciously grafted into blessings that originated with Israel.
Paul’s warning remains just as relevant today:
Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. (Romans 11:18, ESV)
The church does not exist apart from Israel’s story. It has been graciously grafted into that story.
The Cost of Silence
Silence always teaches something.
When pastors never address Israel, congregations naturally assume the subject must not matter.
When believers never hear about God’s covenant faithfulness to the Jewish people, they lose an important framework for understanding Scripture. The covenants become disconnected from their recipients. The prophets become detached from their audience. The Jewish context of Jesus and the apostles fades into the background. Romans 9–11 becomes optional rather than essential.
Over time, biblical illiteracy creates theological confusion. A vacuum forms, and that vacuum is often filled by cultural narratives, misinformation, or distorted views of Israel and the Jewish people.
Why Israel Still Matters
Israel matters because God says it matters.
The issue is not ultimately political. It is theological.
The same God who called Abraham, preserved Israel, sent the Messiah through the Jewish people, and inspired the prophets has never renounced His faithfulness. The story of Israel serves as an ongoing testimony to God’s covenant integrity.
If God remains faithful to His promises to Israel despite centuries of rebellion, exile, persecution, and unbelief, then believers can trust Him to remain faithful to every promise He has made.
Israel is not merely a subject of biblical history. Israel is a living reminder that God keeps His Word.
A Call to the Church
The church does not need a political awakening. It needs a biblical awakening.
Pastors should teach Romans 9–11. Churches should recover the Jewish context of Scripture. Believers should understand the covenants that shape the biblical story. Congregations should pray for the peace of Jerusalem and stand against the growing tide of antisemitism.
Most importantly, the church should align its priorities with God’s priorities.
Strategic apathy may feel safe. It avoids controversy. It requires little effort. It demands no explanation. But biblical faithfulness requires more.
The question before the church is not whether Israel is popular, politically convenient, or culturally acceptable. The question is whether we will care about what God cares about.
For too long, many churches have chosen silence.
It is time to remember what God has not forgotten.
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