The Church in the United States is in trouble. Seriously. While many local congregations are doing very well, when one looks at the numbers for the entire nation they are troubling. According to a recent Gallup poll, from 1940-2000 the number of Americans claiming church membership remained fairly stable staying between 73-70%. There were some outliers, but 70% was typical in those decades. Since 2000, however, the number has plummeted to 47%. That is a 34% decline in church membership in 20 years. Those numbers are simply astonishing. It is almost inconceivable to lose that many members at that pace. This is a very, very dangerous trend.
Some will read the data and find scapegoats. Among progressives, there will be a tendency to blame evangelicals’ political leanings. Evangelicals, if they react to the data according to form, will blame progressive theology. Blame, however, will solve nothing.
I propose we do something different. I propose we stop the blame game. An important thinker once wrote, “Immature systems blame. Mature systems take responsibility.” Rather than pointing fingers, I propose we take responsibility for the decline in membership. From my perspective, the first step in dealing with the decline in membership is dealing with ethical issues among congregational leaders. Far too much harm has been done to the Church by breaking of ethical norms. Think of it this way, how much of this decline is directly tied to scandalous behavior? I suspect a lot of it. If every church leader would accept responsibility for his or her own actions, I think it would end most of the scandals and that would make a difference. Here are 7 promises I think every minister and church leader ought to keep.
1) I promise to cause no scandal or harm to the Church by my behavior.
2) I promise to be faithful to the vows I have made to my spouse.
3) I promise to be faithful with the congregation’s finances.
4) I promise I will not harm the church by insisting on my preferences in worship, priorities, or staffing.
5) I promise to be Christlike in the way I face conflict in the Church.
6) I will not speak ill of my congregation’s leadership to another member of the congregation or someone outside of it.
7) I promise to live a life of integrity.
Beyond avoiding scandal, there are other important steps the Church should take. While there are many important exceptions, the Church in the United States has not been as effective at sharing its faith as in generations past. Some of our lack of effectiveness is because we use a language for faith sharing that is passé and a style that is not well-received. Some congregations still share faith by going door-to-door and doing “soul winning.” That tactic is more counter-productive now than helpful. Others congregations, realizing their former tactics are not working, have stopped doing any consistent outreach. This, of course, is unwise. Simply hosting services and hoping people who do not have faith will come is a fantasy. Worse, it is not faithful to the command of God. God has commanded us to share our faith. Most of us have great opportunities to do it, if we will see them correctly. Once we are in Christ, our daily occupations are no longer ends in themselves. Our occupations are opportunities to share our faith. If we are in Christ, we are missionaries. Our occupations have been transformed into our mission field.
Another step we could take to help the Church is to cease our online arguing. One of the worst things we do to our faith is fight about it online. It is a sad day that people will get more exercised over a small theological disagreement than teeming masses who do not know Christ. I know of no person who was ever convinced to change his or her mind via Facebook argument. I know of no person whose theological understanding has been enlightened via Twitter feed. No person has ever been converted by famous pastors telling famous teachers to, “go home.” Jesus did not say, “They will know You are my disciples if you can smack down weak arguments on your Facebook page.” So, lets add another promise:
8) As much as possible, I will be kind in my interactions with others, especially when we disagree.
Mostly though, we should pray. The Church is the group of people entrusted with the mission of God. The Church calls people to worship the Risen Savior, it trains people to obey the commands of Christ, it provides comfort to the grieving, it provides hope for the suffering, it gives evidence to the power of God to change lives. The Church points us to the source of healing, and it reminds us that no earthly ideology has our final allegiance. The Church is vital for the faith and for the world. Right now, things are not going so well for the Church in the United States. When we falter, we go to the source of all of our strength, our Father. So, let’s add one more promise:
9) I will pray for my church and the Church daily.
The Church belongs to God, and God has promised the Church will have everything it needs. We need to cling to that promise now.
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