Are The Denominations In Trouble?

     In recent years, news outlets have been asking, “Where have all the Christians gone?”[1.  Bruce Feiler, FoxNews.com, September 25, 2009.]  National polls show that an estimated 2,000,000 Christians are dropping out of the Christian denominations annually and, because of that, an estimated 4,000 Christian buildings are closing each year, and an estimated 18,000 ministers and staff are losing their jobs.

     These events show that today’s Christian denominations are in serious trouble.  Of course, it’s true that a few large congregations are still growing – mostly the “megachurches,” of which there are only about 1,300 among 300,000 American congregations.  (The reason the “megachurches” are growing is that some of the survivors of the closing smaller churches are migrating to them.)  The result of this decline is that the overall pool of U.S. Christians is shrinking nationally – from a high of 91 percent of the population several decades ago, to a low of 71 percent of the population today.  And sadly, that decline is continuing and gaining speed.

     Researcher David Olson, in his book, The American Church Crisis, documented this shrinking of Christianity with facts, figures, charts, and graphs.[2.  Olson, David T.  The American Church Crisis.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 2008.]  He collected computerized data on 200,000 Christian congregations over a 16-year period, and his book confirms what I’ve discovered myself in my own 30-plus years of research into the problem.

     The truth is, only about 16 percent of the American population still attends regular weekly worship services – and that decline is also continuing and gaining speed.  As another view of the same problem, national surveys show that church attendance is lagging behind the rate of population growth in all 50 states.  In other words, the population is increasing, while church attendance is declining, in all 50 states.

     But even without such surveys, we can all can sense that Christianity is losing its influence because of the rapid coarsening of the American culture:  The open, bold, proud, vulgarity of today’s books, movies, radio, TV, and conversations.  But the big question is:  What’s causing this decline in denominational attendance?

     The answer is clear once we recognize it.  Today’s denominations aren’t designed in a way that promotes First Century style Spiritual growth.  Today’s denominations were founded in Medieval times and, compared to the informal, small group, Spirit-guided lifestyle of the early Christians, today’s rigid and ritualistic denominations simply aren’t structured for Spiritual effectiveness.

     What can be done about it all?  The answer is once again obvious.  Christians who want the same peace, healing, hope, and purpose that the Early Christians enjoyed must return to the basics of First Century Christianity.  The details of how to do that are revealed in the “True Stories” and “Ask Owen” pages of this blog.  And in the pages of my book, Saving Christianity.  And in the episodes of our “Saving Christianity” podcast.  (See links to these resources in the side menu of this page).

     In summary, the solution to the problem can be stated this way:  “If we do everything Spiritual that the Early Christians did; and if we don’t do anything unspiritual that the Early Christians didn’t do; we’ll have the same miraculous, supernatural lifestyle that they had.”

     That motto applies to every Christian, and to his or her loved ones.  So let’s all work to make its principle a habit in our lives.