I have been pretty discouraged today. I think it has something to do with the last book I am reading for my Book Review for the Christian Chronicle (due to be published in March.) I am working through the book Quiting Church, written by Julia Duin, the religion editor for the Washington Post, and I am becoming discouraged with the state of the church in America.
Although the Barna Group estimates that church attendance has remained the same for over 40 years (around 43% of the population), recent polls have shown that this number is grossly inflated. Realistically only 18-22% attend church regularly (with regularly being defined as once a month!) Statistics also show that only 4% of today's teenagers will be involved in a Bible-based church
by the time they have their own families. The vast majority of people are simply dropping out of church for various reasons: scandals in church leadership, lack of authenticity, lack of leadership/pastoring, etc. Many former church attendees simply see worship and "church" as irrelevant to their daily lives. It doesn't touch on the issues that affect us the most: emotional issues, sexuality, social justice, etc.
One of the issues that is most common is the lack of community within churches today. Intriguingly, there are stats that point to us creating our own problems. There are over 331,000 churches in America. However, 80% of the American church population attend 10% of those churches (33,000). The mega-church is in mega-boom. (At least, theoretically.) Thus, most churches are small but most people attend large churches. They want to be a part of a place where there are dozens of ministries available for every age group, social demographic, and personal preference. They want to lose themselves in the crowd to feel uplifted. Yet the very thing they crave often is the most damaging: they trade in authentic community to be surrounded by a community. They want to feel cared for, and they long to be an integral part of a community of believers, yet we often do nothing about it except quietly walk out the back door, forsaking church altogether.
What is the solution? What is the best way to go about bringing these Christians back into a community with one another?
An obvious choice is planting churches. New churches grow faster than older churches. It is simply the life cycle of the church, and this isn't a negative thing. Church planting isn't a disparaging of the established church. Think of it this way: whatever church you attend was once a church plant. Someone had in mind to reach a new group with the Gospel. (Unless you are a part of a church split, then the divisions get tougher!) Yet if we plant churches that look exactly like EVERY OTHER CHURCH then I think we have missed the point. We need to be a place where authentic community takes place. And as our unchurched population is telling us, that obviously doesn't seem to be happening in the vast majority of churches in America. So how can we reach this unchurched population? How can we encourage them to become a part of an authentic community with God? How can we help them not forsake the community of believers?
I believe we need to approach this problem with missional eyes. People are struggling to understand God in the midst of their situation. They long to feel connected with God, and they need the encouragement of other brothers and sisters in Christ to spur them on. They need AUTHENTIC community. Essentially, we need a church like Cheers!
Many of you remember this early '80's sitcom. I love the theme song that introduced the show:
"Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go...
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name."
Now, granted, I am not advocating changing the Lord's Supper from crackers/juice into beer/peanuts. But we need to be realistic: there is more authentic community at the local bar than in our church gatherings. We need a church where people are always glad you came and everybody wants to know your name.
How do we go about doing that? How can we create authentic community? I think it is the most important question that we, in our endeavors, can attempt to answer. So, what are your thoughts? Mine will be coming soon.
4 comments:
Daniel,
In your theme of the Church being like Cheers, you left off my favorite verse from the song:
Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead;
The morning's looking bright;
And your shrink ran off to Europe,
And didn't even write;
And your husband wants to be a girl;
Be glad there's one place in the world
Where everybody knows your name...
haha
Seriously though, this is a tough subject. I believe, to an extent, churches are always going to be at a disadvantage. People crave entertainment, and though many are caving in to try and appease potential church goers, we'll never entertain as well as the world.
We'll never be able to have fellowship quite as high spirited as what you find at the local bar, because at the local bar, people go to the bar of their choice because it IS where they fit in well. Church is that way to an extent, but let's face it, we are not going to turn ANYONE away. It would be morally wrong. Churches will always have annoying people, and people who don't see eye to eye. We're not coming together because we're all alike in personality, but because we're all alike in our need for a savior.
We'll also continue to be inefficient and occasionally wasteful, because 1. we're run by volunteers, and 2. we have to value the people involved and can't just fire them or boss them around when they aren't doing something the best way. Love must take priority over efficiency, and good intentions must often be accepted as a fitting excuse for sub par performance.
I know that must have been a depressing book, but even though our church may not feel like a bar's environment from a fictional TV show, I have witnessed a lot of people have their lives changed for good in our congregations; imperfect though they are.
Because I cannot make decisions for all churches, this is one of those issues that I think we have to trust God, that somehow this all falls within his plan. He knew what he was setting up, and he's always been content to allow his followers to have thorns in our flesh which remind us that we can't do it on our own, and that in the end, we still need his mercy. I think that's true individually as well as corporeally.
I'm sure I haven't solved any of your problems, but I would just say, "Yes, there's a lot we could do better, but there's a lot that we are doing well, and somehow God is in the middle of it all."
Best wishes in writing your book review.
Mark
Mark, thanks for your comments. Now, I'm not advocating setting up a keg in the corner and encouraging members to stop by to "socialize" after church! (I know you didn't take it that way.) And I think you are right, churches ARE always at a disadvantage reaching people because Christianity, at its best, is counter-cultural. It is a group of people with a belief in God who claim that the world isn't all as it should be. That message, while generally accepted by most people, is still a message of discomfort for most people.
I agree, I think many of our churches are doing a great job of interacting with our society and our culture, providing a place of comfort, community, and closeness with God. But many of our churches are not. My question is simply this: How can we do a better job at reaching our community, providing a place for them to encounter God and others who are wanting the same thing?
Thanks for your insights. I would value anything else you come up with as well.
haha...don't worry. I didn't take you that way.
(BTW, another classic song along this line is Tim Wilson's "First Baptist Bar & Grill". You should look it up on iTunes)
As far as what we can do that I think will help:
1. We must create environments where people feel like they can ask their honest questions and receive genuine responses. People should not have to fear being chastised as they try and discern what God's will means in their life; particularly when they've come to learn more about God.
2. We should set and communicate high standards. Expository preaching is something that I see as an important component, where we continually affirm God's Word as our standard for doctrine and action. We should not be afraid to expect better out of people. The statistics seem to indicate that high expectations are something that draw people, rather than push them away. People like to be challenged to be better.
3. We should strive to have settings to be together outside of the assembly. We need to encounter each other for work days, meals, outings, retreats, etc., to remind ourselves that most of us are actually pretty likable, and are real people.
Those are some more of my thoughts.
I'll look forward to seeing what other people weigh in with.
Mark
I don't think we can create authentic community without first being an authentic community.
What you're talking about as far as the "Cheers" church is called a "Third Place" a term coined by Ray Oldenberg. I did a series on this a while back (click to check it out). The thing about a third place is that it every one is different. There is no recipe for creating one.
One of the components of a third place is that there is no formal set of criteria for inclusion or exclusion. This is not true of Christianity, in the strictest sense, but we can position ourselves in a way that removes many of the unnecessary criteria which are often heaped upon people before they even walk through the door.
You can ask any question you want. You can dress any way you want. You can believe what ever you want. And we will still welcome you with open arms. Without that attitude the church has no hope of creating authentic community, and until we experience that kind of acceptance and love ourselves we will never be able to offer it to someone else.
Post a Comment