The Christian Church is Dying: Is Hope Emerging?

Alright, now that I have your attention…. I admit that the headline is awfully melodramatic; on the other hand, it’s also true. What’s more, while this news may come as a surprise to many Christians, it’s been happening, in fits and starts, for the past fifty years.

            The numbers are sobering. Fewer than one in five Americans attends church regularly and, if current trends continue, it will be fewer than one in ten by 2050. Congregations are aging rapidly: only 40% of young people (ages 15-29) are involved in a church today, and 25% profess “no religion” when asked. At any given time, fully one-half of U.S. congregations are in turmoil. Worse yet, the decline of the church is  being accompanied by a decline in faith. The number of people who hold traditional Christian beliefs is in decline. The cold, hard, brutal numbers go on and on, making for painful reading. But only the foolish ignore or dispute the facts.

            As someone who has committed his life to Christ, these trends are painful for me and I want to know why this has happened. You should too, if you care about the faith to which we hold. What underlies these trends? In truth, it is the perfect storm of many factors, including increased literacy, globalization, a resurgence of spirituality over religion, the fractionalization of the church, the sins of the church and more. Fractionalization (better known as denominationalism) is perhaps the greatest underlying cause, containing within itself the seeds of the destruction of the church. Coupled with increasing literacy and the ability for many more people to think intelligently for themselves, dogma and structure and institutional preservation are giving way to an individual relationship with God, SUPPORTED (not dictated) and lived in loving and welcoming community. We can be thankful that spirituality is increasing, because it indicates attention to the deeper and more authentic questions about life, rather than relying on rote dogmatic belief structures. This trend is especially strong among younger people who are, after all, the future of Christianity.

            What does this mean for our cherished religious traditions? Renowned observer and author Phyllis Tickle sees a massive shift which she terms a “Great Emergence,” a once-in-500-year shattering of institutionalized and encrusted Christianity, making way for renewal and new growth  (Episcopal Bishop Mark Dyer). Whatever is emerging is not yet clear, partly because it is growing organically. But a few features stand out: the movement is intensely incarnational and experiential; it is egalitarian, beyond democratic; it has moved beyond viewing capitalism as a virtue; it is radically authentic and holistic, believing that faith must be lived; it espouses that the Kingdom of God is within each of us and available to the world in the here-and-now.

            This just scratches the surface of what’s becoming known as the “emerging church.” If you are interested in the future of Christianity, whether pastor, layperson or someone who hasn’t been to church in a long time, or never, Living Faith Community Church is offering a 6-part Tuesday evening workshop on Emergence Christianity, based on Phyllis Tickle’s work. It will be held at the church beginning on May 21 (appropriately, the first week after Pentecost, the traditional “birthday” of the church!) Please contact the church at 727-474-1492 or livingfaithdunedin@gmail.com for more information and registration (cost is $25 for all six sessions, including a 96-page workbook for you to keep).

Rev. John Ransom is Pastor of Living Faith Community Church in Dunedin (www.livingfaithdunedin.org) and host of the Emerging Spirit talk show series.