{"id":1146,"date":"2013-10-16T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/10\/why-nobody-wants-to-go-to-church-anymore.html"},"modified":"2013-10-16T13:53:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-16T13:53:00","slug":"why-nobody-wants-to-go-to-church-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/10\/why-nobody-wants-to-go-to-church-anymore.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
That\u2019s\u00a0the title<\/a>\u00a0of a new book written by Joani Schultz and Thom Schultz. And it\u2019s a question those leaving are more than ready to answer. The problem is, few insiders are listening.<\/span><\/div>\n
And, of course, that\u00a0IS<\/em>\u00a0the problem.<\/span><\/div>\n
In a recent issue of\u00a0Christianity Today<\/em>, for example, Ed Stetzer wrote an article entitled,\u201cThe State of the Church in America: Hint: It\u2019s Not Dying.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0He states: \u201cThe church is not dying\u2026 yes\u2026 in a transition\u2026 but transitioning is not the same as dying.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Really? What cartoons have you been watching?<\/span><\/div>\n
Clearly, the Church\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0dying. Do your research, Mr. Stetzer. According to the\u00a0Hartford Institute of Religion Research<\/a>, more than 40 percent of Americans \u201csay\u201d they go to church weekly. As it turns out, however, less than 20 percent are actually in church. In other words, more than 80 percent of Americans are finding more fulfilling things to do on weekends.<\/span><\/div>\n
Furthermore, somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors every year. Southern Baptist researcher, Thom Rainer, in a recent article entitled \u201c13 Issues for Churches in 2013<\/a>\u201d puts the estimate higher. He says between 8,000 and 10,000 churches will likely close this year.<\/span><\/div>\n
Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s\u00a0the title\u00a0of a new book written by Joani Schultz and Thom Schultz. And it\u2019s a question those leaving are more than ready to answer. The problem is, few insiders are listening. And, of course, that\u00a0IS\u00a0the problem. In a recent issue of\u00a0Christianity Today, for example, Ed Stetzer wrote an article entitled,\u201cThe State of the Church in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"That's the title of a new book written by Joani Schultz and Thom Schultz. And it's a question those leaving are more than ready to answer. 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