There was an article in a recent issue of Christian Century magazine that tracked attendance patterns among four large mainline Christian denominations, including the ELCA. (Check out the link on our Facebook page.) As you might guess, the news isn’t good. Since 2001, fewer folks are attending worship...and those who are attending are doing so less frequently. The result is that many congregations...and the denominations of which they are a part...are slowly withering away.
The reasons for this (or at least the opinions as to the reasons for this) are legion and often contradictory: changing social habits, conflicted and drab congregations, a faithless retreat from traditional values and teachings, a stubborn clinging to traditional values and teachings, folks who just attend out of habit, not enough discipline among young people, kids’ sports on Sundays, etc., etc. There’s probably at least a grain of truth in most of these (and the many others unmentioned here). But simply finding something to blame...while it might make us feel good for a moment...doesn’t move us forward.
Grace, of course, is not immune to these challenges...even though we’ve seen modest growth in worship attendance and excellent financial support for our ministries. We should not take for granted that this will last forever. So how can we buck the national trend? Here are a couple thoughts:
First: let’s be honest about the fact that being Christian in American society is not automatic or inevitable. We are a pluralistic culture with a lot of options by which folks can work out their spirituality, and many of those options are not Christian. The person who visits on Sunday morning may not really be looking for church. They may be looking for help or taking the first step in a long search for hope and meaning. How, then, shall we welcome them?
Second: we must remember that the church is not a place; it is a people. Yes, I know that we’ve already heard that (and probably could sing a Bible school song or two about it). But our behaviors and language betray us. We talk about where we go to church, rather than who we are as church. This is not just word play; it’s a huge difference in attitude. For example: I go to Meijer to buy groceries, but sometimes I go to Miller’s. Places (while they may be important) are not as powerful as our identity as a people. Who I am...my identity as a brother in Christ with all of you...is a more powerful, attractive and faithful concept than location. We don’t just go to “the barn church on 51;” we are the barn church on 51.
And finally (for now): since identity is so important, than so too are the relationships we build and the purpose which binds us together. It’s a fact: We are the body of Christ in this place, joined to each other in love and in the greater purpose of living God’s good news for the sake of our neighbors and our world. That’s good news. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t want the gratification of being part of something greater than himself. Human beings are built for purpose and relationship. So how perfect is it that purpose and relationship are precisely what the church is all about? Do you suppose God knew that as He shaped the church?
Well...I’m out of space, and have just scratched the surface. But let’s make this a topic of conversation: How can we more faithfully be the purposeful, relational, and thus attractive community God has called and made us to be? As we begin to answer this question, I’m sure we’ll discover that the church is not “going down.” Instead, we are being called to a continuing reformation...one that enables us to speak the Gospel ever more clearly to the world around us. That sounds pretty exciting.
