A FAILING ENTERPRISE IN AMERICA?

"The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!"  [Chicken Little]

I don't want to be accused of pessimism, but a good dose of reality can be awakening.

A good friend of mine, Rick Anderson, posted an article on Facebook this morning titled:  U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time.  Most won't read it, so I'll provide the highlights:

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time (gallup.com)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• In 2020, 47% of U.S. adults belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque
• Down more than 20 points from turn of the century
• Change primarily due to rise in Americans with no religious preference

The analysis that I found most disturbing had to do with the various generations.  

                                                                   2020 member stats           1998-2020

Traditionalists (born before 1946)            66%                             -11 per. pnts.

Baby Boomers (1946-1964)                       58%                              -9 per. pnts.

Generation X (1965-1980)                         50%                              -12 per. pnts.

Millennials (1981-1996)                             36%                                   n/a

Generation Z (1996-2010)                          28%                                   n/a

[Keep in mind that each year the younger generations are making up an increasingly larger part of the entire U.S. adult population.]

Hal's observations:

1.  Church membership is just one way of measuring religion.  Membership has been de-emphasized in many churches in recent decades.  This may be a factor in the above stats.

2.  The effects of the COVID pandemic are yet to be fully realized and evaluated.  There is little doubt that the impact is significant!

3.  Somewhere in the last several decades the church began to model itself after nightclubs:  low lighting, performance modes of worship, theater seating, use of video and PowerPoint, larger venues, language changes (i.e. Sanctuary/Auditorium, Church/Campus).  One could deduce that these changes have been rejected by the religious populace.

4.  As far back as the 1980's, John Maxwell and others introduced the need for church leaders to transition from pastors to CEO's.  The emergence of mega-churches and highly recognized Christian leaders gradually created a downflow of new structures and methods to even small churches.  One could ask:  Has abandoning biblical models in favor of corporate models hurt our message?

5.  Music/worship changes have been enormous over the past couple of decades.  However, music transitions are not new to the church:  

• Hymns dominated church worship for centuries, 
• Gaithers, Gospel Music and country music (1960's to present), 
• Praise and Worship Music [Maranatha/Integrity] (1980's and 90's), 
• Performance-based contemporary music (1980's to present).  

For centuries we sang our theology;  since back-burnering this practice, has the church become anemic?  

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In August, 2020, David Kinnaman, president of the prominent Christian research organization Barna Group, suggested that as many as one in five churches could permanently close as a result of shutdowns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.  [1 in 5 churches facing permanent closure within 18 months due to COVID-19 shutdowns: Barna pres. | Church & Ministries News | The Christian Post]   We'll see...

But don't be too discouraged.  While the church is clearly struggling in America, it is thriving in many other places across the globe.  For instance, in 2018, nearly 50 million more Christians were added in Africa, making it the continent with the most adherents to Christianity in the world, 631 million.  [Where is Christianity headed? The view from 2019 (religionnews.com)]

Whatever your thoughts on this blog, it is apparent that we need to all be praying for the health and effectiveness of the church in America!  Its challenge seems to be uniquely tied to our country's struggle for unity and survival!