When Church Becomes the Black Sheep of the Family

Christendom is dead!  Christendom is very dead! The church is now officially the black sheep of the US family.

I say that but with great care.  I’m not one of these who believes that it’s “us vs them.”  I don’t have paranoid feelings that society is ‘out to get us’ and we are on a holy war against the world.  Not at all.  There is no organized effort in secular society to rid the country of the Christian church.  What is dead is our place of privilege.  We aren’t the number one institution that people look up too.  There was a time when the community centered around us and didn’t do anything to interfere with our activities and such.  There was a time when people would say that clergy were the most respected and look up people in their community and people trusted us.  There was a time…that time is no more.

We have bad memories. The fact is that the US was founded on freedom and religious freedom was crucial to this.  We played around with state churches and persecuted minority groups (such as my own- Baptist).  There was a time when in some places very few people went to church and we could be rather naughty out in the frontier.  But in time the church rose to a place of prominence and privilege.  Then by the mid 20th century we hit our high point and we had arrived.  Sure we had fights over higher criticism and faith/science but by in large we had a nice image overall.  There were those within the church that embarrassed us and fundamentalism and liberalism were issues coming to the top but we seemed to be moving forward.  We built churches so fast your head would spin and we built ‘em big because we just knew we’d keep filling them up.

Then the sixties came and no one trusted anyone anymore.  The death of God was discussed.  Free love shocked the culture.

Then the seventies brought hard times in the neighborhood and people drifted more and more from the church.

The eighties brought the moral majority and Christians began to get into politics and this cost us.  Most churches were now getting older.  The baby boomers had left in large numbers and their kids weren’t coming.

The nineties brought mega churches that played contemporary music and brought back some of those boomers.   The non-mega churches begin to shrink more and more.  The pews got gray.  Suddenly we begin to realize that maybe the church might be in trouble.   Battles over homosexuality raged more and more and denominations fought over many other issues.

Y2K, 9-11.  Welcome to the 21st century! Churches went from gray to white.  Mega churches dot the landscape but many of the early ones are reaching a plateau.  Emerging churches are popping up.  Churches that are interested in social justice, new ways of thinking, and that don’t care much about denominations and the way we used to do became all the rage.  Church doors began to close.  Denominations reported huge losses each year and baptisms dropped.  Churches found they couldn’t find pastors as many younger seminary students opt out of local church work.  Those who can find pastors struggle to pay them with rising insurance costs and benefits and shrinking budgets.  It takes five young families to equal the giving of one senior adult who dies.

So here we are at 2009.

What is going to happen?

Depressed yet?

There is no crusade to rid the country of the church.  There is no war against us.  We just don’t factor into the equation in most cases.  Experts say that at least half our churches are declining and dying.  Churches are shutting down, merging, or spinning their wheels.  Aging facilities and shrinking budgets are the major focus on business in most churches.  Worship wars still rage over style.  Homosexuality is an issue that is possibly dividing many mainline denominations.  Fundamentalism and liberalism have both left many people lacking.  The fastest growing label is the self described SBNR (Spiritual but not religious).

Now to the good news.

There are many churches that are more than surviving but thriving. There are many faith communities that are full and healthy and reaching out.  There are congregations that are helping reach those who need to hear the good news, help with poverty, speaking out for justice, and being a voice for the oppressed.  There are many places that are beacons of hope in their communties.

The reality is that people are hungry for something more and if we are brave enough to offer that something more than our churches will flourish.

They aren’t hungry for a church that is fake, irrelevant, and unrealistic.  They aren’t hungry for slick and shallow.  They aren’t hungry for red tape bueracratic governement style churches.

I believe they are hungry for a message that is transformational, grace filled, and love based.  They are hungry for a message that points people to something more.  They are hungry for community, support, encouragement, and friendship.  They are hungry for Jesus.

I’m really excited about this. I believe now is the time for us to rise above mediocrity and blandness and to become better than we are and to become Christ like.  We have and always still strive when we are outnumbered and on the outs.  Look at the growth in oppressive lands.  Look at how churches thrive and grow in China and poor nations.

God is not dead nor does he slumber!

Take heart.

Now is the time.

Today is the day.

Blessings,
Derik