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Thursday, May 08, 2008
A Local View of Church Growth
A couple of my favorite blogs have been talking about church growth recently. I've joined the discussion in a couple of my recent posts.
To talk about church growth, you have to talk about church membership.
Shepherds have a unique perspective on membership. Ezekiel 34 charges shepherds with going after strays -- they still belong to the flock. Those whose membership some people question are the very ones at the forefront of the shepherd's mind. Those are the sheep most needing his care. So the "membership" of the church might vary depending on whom you ask!
In our congregation, counting membership is harder than it should be. I wonder whether other congregations have the same difficulty. We have people moving in, moving out, and moving around. When people move in, we help them find one of our family groups to join. We try to keep track of the membership roll through our family groups. There are two difficulties with that. First, we have people who have been attending for awhile but have not actually joined a family group. Second, people move around between family groups--sometimes resulting in them being counted in two different family groups, and sometimes resulting in people not being counted in either group. And occasionally, we don't learn about someone leaving the congregation until after the fact, making it impossible to be as thorough as we would like to be as shepherds. We have recently assigned one of our deacons to help with making sure people are connected to one of our family groups, and that we provide a proper welcome and orientation for new arrivals. And we are working to better equip our family group leaders to maintain effective connection with the members of their groups.
From time to time, a few folks leave for one of the other area congregations. Our congregation is racially diverse, but has a higher percentage of African Americans (a little over 50%) than the community. Most often, those who have moved from our congregation to others in the area have been white. We have seen other congregations lose their diversity as a result of people moving around to find a place where they feel more comfortable. We do not want that to happen in our case, but it could happen. The best defense against that, as far as I can tell, is to build family, to make sure people's spiritual needs are met, to teach about the need for diversity, and to reach out to all segments of the surrounding community. At least we are trying to do those things.
From the old Atlanta Church of Christ, there are at least four groups now meeting in Gwinnett County on Sundays. Members are still moving from group to group. Some of that movement is cultural. Sometimes there is more to it than that. The cause can be something good or something bad. But whatever the cause, the Body of Christ does not lose a member when someone leaves our congregation for another congregation of Christians. It does make it more difficult to care for the sheep due to a lack of continuity.
A dozen or so members of our congregation have moved to one of the other area congregation over the past few months. Obviously I would prefer that these people had been satisfied to stay in our congregation. I can't speak for the underlying motives of these folks, but some of them have been looking for something and not finding it for several years now. As a shepherd, I'm interested in making sure people who leave our congregation are immediately connected to another congregation where their spiritual needs will be met. I'm also interested to make sure that any problems or issues motivating their move are addressed. The leaders of their new congregation have those same interests.
The Body of Christ neither grows nor shrinks when a Christian moves from one congregation to another. For meaningful numerical growth, we need to be reaching the lost in the community. That is happening once again in our congregation. Links to this post
To talk about church growth, you have to talk about church membership.
Shepherds have a unique perspective on membership. Ezekiel 34 charges shepherds with going after strays -- they still belong to the flock. Those whose membership some people question are the very ones at the forefront of the shepherd's mind. Those are the sheep most needing his care. So the "membership" of the church might vary depending on whom you ask!
In our congregation, counting membership is harder than it should be. I wonder whether other congregations have the same difficulty. We have people moving in, moving out, and moving around. When people move in, we help them find one of our family groups to join. We try to keep track of the membership roll through our family groups. There are two difficulties with that. First, we have people who have been attending for awhile but have not actually joined a family group. Second, people move around between family groups--sometimes resulting in them being counted in two different family groups, and sometimes resulting in people not being counted in either group. And occasionally, we don't learn about someone leaving the congregation until after the fact, making it impossible to be as thorough as we would like to be as shepherds. We have recently assigned one of our deacons to help with making sure people are connected to one of our family groups, and that we provide a proper welcome and orientation for new arrivals. And we are working to better equip our family group leaders to maintain effective connection with the members of their groups.
From time to time, a few folks leave for one of the other area congregations. Our congregation is racially diverse, but has a higher percentage of African Americans (a little over 50%) than the community. Most often, those who have moved from our congregation to others in the area have been white. We have seen other congregations lose their diversity as a result of people moving around to find a place where they feel more comfortable. We do not want that to happen in our case, but it could happen. The best defense against that, as far as I can tell, is to build family, to make sure people's spiritual needs are met, to teach about the need for diversity, and to reach out to all segments of the surrounding community. At least we are trying to do those things.
From the old Atlanta Church of Christ, there are at least four groups now meeting in Gwinnett County on Sundays. Members are still moving from group to group. Some of that movement is cultural. Sometimes there is more to it than that. The cause can be something good or something bad. But whatever the cause, the Body of Christ does not lose a member when someone leaves our congregation for another congregation of Christians. It does make it more difficult to care for the sheep due to a lack of continuity.
A dozen or so members of our congregation have moved to one of the other area congregation over the past few months. Obviously I would prefer that these people had been satisfied to stay in our congregation. I can't speak for the underlying motives of these folks, but some of them have been looking for something and not finding it for several years now. As a shepherd, I'm interested in making sure people who leave our congregation are immediately connected to another congregation where their spiritual needs will be met. I'm also interested to make sure that any problems or issues motivating their move are addressed. The leaders of their new congregation have those same interests.
The Body of Christ neither grows nor shrinks when a Christian moves from one congregation to another. For meaningful numerical growth, we need to be reaching the lost in the community. That is happening once again in our congregation. Links to this post
Thursday, May 01, 2008
ICOC Progress Report
Mission Memo is running a series of articles on the membership statistics for ICOC congregations. Today's article, the third in the series shows some fascinating charts comparing the number of growing congregations to the number that are not growing. The charts clearly show that the declining growth in the ICOC did not begin in 2003, but years earlier.
In 1998, 80% of the ICOC congregations reported growth in membership. But between 1998 and 2002, the number of churches reporting growth declined steadily to only 60% of congregations. That was a significant drop in only four years.
The Atlanta congregation was one of the best performing large congregations in the ICOC during those years, baptizing a combined 1,551 people in 1999, 2000, and 2001. The congregation also gained a net 138 people from move-ins, as more people were moving into Atlanta than moving out. Yet 848 people left the church during those three years. For every 10 people who were baptized in those three years, 5.4 people left the church. And remember, that was one of the best performing ICOC congregations. Many congregations were losing members almost as fast as they were gaining them.
Viewed against that backdrop, the good news in this year's report is all the more remarkable. Despite the fact that the number of baptisms is dramatically lower than in the late 1990's, many of these congregations are holding their own. No longer are members leaving these churches in droves. The bleeding has stopped.
There are some obvious reasons for that. The focus of many of these churches over the past few years has rightfully been on shepherding, taking care of the weak, feeding a more balanced diet of Bible teaching, and developing a deeper understanding of grace. As a result, people are feeling cared for and cared about. They feel safe. And so they are not leaving. These churches are healing.
What is even more exciting is that many of these churches are once again reaching the lost. Baptisms are happening once again, with increasing numbers. And these new Christians are coming into a healthier church.
As the Mission Memo chart shows, only about half of these congregations grew in 2007. But the trend is in a good direction. I believe our best days are yet to come. Links to this post
In 1998, 80% of the ICOC congregations reported growth in membership. But between 1998 and 2002, the number of churches reporting growth declined steadily to only 60% of congregations. That was a significant drop in only four years.
The Atlanta congregation was one of the best performing large congregations in the ICOC during those years, baptizing a combined 1,551 people in 1999, 2000, and 2001. The congregation also gained a net 138 people from move-ins, as more people were moving into Atlanta than moving out. Yet 848 people left the church during those three years. For every 10 people who were baptized in those three years, 5.4 people left the church. And remember, that was one of the best performing ICOC congregations. Many congregations were losing members almost as fast as they were gaining them.
Viewed against that backdrop, the good news in this year's report is all the more remarkable. Despite the fact that the number of baptisms is dramatically lower than in the late 1990's, many of these congregations are holding their own. No longer are members leaving these churches in droves. The bleeding has stopped.
There are some obvious reasons for that. The focus of many of these churches over the past few years has rightfully been on shepherding, taking care of the weak, feeding a more balanced diet of Bible teaching, and developing a deeper understanding of grace. As a result, people are feeling cared for and cared about. They feel safe. And so they are not leaving. These churches are healing.
What is even more exciting is that many of these churches are once again reaching the lost. Baptisms are happening once again, with increasing numbers. And these new Christians are coming into a healthier church.
As the Mission Memo chart shows, only about half of these congregations grew in 2007. But the trend is in a good direction. I believe our best days are yet to come. Links to this post
Friday, April 25, 2008
Churches in Decline
Jay Guin has just posted an interesting article discussing the membership decline in Southern Baptists churches. His article prompted me to do a little research. What I've learned is not all that surprising, but should concern anyone who seeks the spread of the gospel.
Mainline churches of all types in America are in decline. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly half of American adults [leave] the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.
On the other hand, non-denominational churches are growing.
From the USA Today:
Closer to home for us in the Restoration Movement, the independent Christian churches have experienced a reduced growth rate in 2007. The Christian Standard publishes an annual issue with commentary on the state of their largest churches, including all congregations averaging more than 1000 in attendance for the year. The report indicates that in 2007, the megachurches baptized 6.4 per 100 in attendance, down from 7.2 per 100 in 2006.
Churches of Christ have been in decline since the 1990's, according to statistics gathered by KairosChurchPlanting.org.
Mainline churches of all types in America are in decline. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly half of American adults [leave] the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.
On the other hand, non-denominational churches are growing.
From the USA Today:
Looking beyond the membership and attendance numbers, baptisms are also down. From Yahoo News:
The 2008 Yearbook of Canadian and American Churches, produced by the New York-based National Council of Churches, recorded growth trends in 224 churches, with a combined membership of 147 million Americans...
Only the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Catholic Church, Southern Baptists, Mormons, the Assemblies of God (2.8 million) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (1.4 million) reported increases; all others either posted declines or flat membership from 2005.
The number of people baptized in Southern Baptist churches fell for the third straight year in 2007 to the denomination's lowest level since 1987, and membership dipped slightly as well.Baptists in 2007 baptized 5.6 people per 100 in attendance (based on 345,941 baptisms, 6.15 million attendance).
Closer to home for us in the Restoration Movement, the independent Christian churches have experienced a reduced growth rate in 2007. The Christian Standard publishes an annual issue with commentary on the state of their largest churches, including all congregations averaging more than 1000 in attendance for the year. The report indicates that in 2007, the megachurches baptized 6.4 per 100 in attendance, down from 7.2 per 100 in 2006.
Churches of Christ have been in decline since the 1990's, according to statistics gathered by KairosChurchPlanting.org.
These studies provide some troubling facts for church leaders to ponder. And clearly they are pondering. Article after article seeks to identify why the churches are declining, and to propose a solution. Many of the proposals, in one form or another, advocate adopting more of the modern culture in order to relate to more people, especially to the young. Some churches are experimenting with different kinds of music, different worship styles, different kinds of programs.
Those things can be helpful if done with discretion. But the scriptures call the church to be different from the world (Rom 12:1-2). And history tells us that churches that become like the world decline into irrelevance. If you haven't read The Churching of America (1776-2005) by Roger Fink and Rodney Stark, now would be a good time to do so. In that book, they present an important lesson of history:
The churching of America was accomplished by aggressive churches committed to vivid otherworldliness.We need to stop being distracted by the pleasures of this world, and by doctrinal disputes on the fringes of the gospel. Jesus taught that a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached to the world. Maybe he was on to something. Links to this post
Monday, April 21, 2008
Separation of Church and State
Based on an anonymous phone tip that now appears to have been a hoax, 416 children have been taken into state custody from a polygamous sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). While investigating the tip, the law enforcement officers observed pregnant minors in the LDS facility. Based on the apparently pervasive marital practices of this religous group, a decision was made to remove all these children from their homes. At issue are the practice of polygamy, arranged marriages of minor girls, and pregnancy of minors. And yet...
How many of us could go back two or three generations in our own ancestry, and not find that we are descended from a 15 year old mother? Or that we are descended from an arranged marriage? Is that somehow unethical, or un-American?
Of broader concern to me is the ethical issue of government interfering with the practice of religion. Where will this kind of government action take us? Will a church continue to have the right to exclude homosexuals from the ordained ministry? Or, to exclude women from the ministry? Will parents have the right to teach their religion to their children? Or to home school their children? Will the American people consent to their government regulating religious beliefs and practices?
The polygamy issue is complex. Utah has quite a bit more experience in this area than does Texas. These Texas officials are in uncharted territory. They've opened Pandora's box, and they have no idea what is inside. They may find that their cure is worse than the disease.
Today, the issues are religious practices that many (including myself) find bizzarre and repugnant. I wonder whether that will still be true about the issues tomorrow.
I'll close with a quote I've lifted from my daughter's blog:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- First Amendement to the Constitution of the United States of AmericaThe recent mess in Texas should make people with minority religious beliefs nervous.
Based on an anonymous phone tip that now appears to have been a hoax, 416 children have been taken into state custody from a polygamous sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). While investigating the tip, the law enforcement officers observed pregnant minors in the LDS facility. Based on the apparently pervasive marital practices of this religous group, a decision was made to remove all these children from their homes. At issue are the practice of polygamy, arranged marriages of minor girls, and pregnancy of minors. And yet...
Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist who has studied children in cults....acknowledged that many adults at the ranch are loving parents and that the boys seemed emotionally healthy. When asked whether the belief system really endangered the older boys or young children, Perry said, "I have lost sleep over that question."You wont' find me defending the practices that are under government scrutiny in this group. But the indiscriminant removal of such a large number of children from their homes (both boys and girls,) without specific evidence of danger in each child's case, raises serious questions. Just how far can government go to eradicate unpopular religious practices? Did they really think the boys were in danger? If so, on what evidence, and on what legal grounds?
How many of us could go back two or three generations in our own ancestry, and not find that we are descended from a 15 year old mother? Or that we are descended from an arranged marriage? Is that somehow unethical, or un-American?
Of broader concern to me is the ethical issue of government interfering with the practice of religion. Where will this kind of government action take us? Will a church continue to have the right to exclude homosexuals from the ordained ministry? Or, to exclude women from the ministry? Will parents have the right to teach their religion to their children? Or to home school their children? Will the American people consent to their government regulating religious beliefs and practices?
The polygamy issue is complex. Utah has quite a bit more experience in this area than does Texas. These Texas officials are in uncharted territory. They've opened Pandora's box, and they have no idea what is inside. They may find that their cure is worse than the disease.
Today, the issues are religious practices that many (including myself) find bizzarre and repugnant. I wonder whether that will still be true about the issues tomorrow.
I'll close with a quote I've lifted from my daughter's blog:
In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;Links to this post
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
(Pastor Martin Niemöller)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Command, Request, or Invitation?
One reason for the inadequacy of the Command, Example, and Necessary Inference hermeneutic is that it does not make any distinction between commands, requests, and invitations. Anything of the grammatical form of a command is presumed to be mandatory, and failure to comply is seen as disobedience.
A Greek verb in the imperative mood can be a command or prohibition, a request or entreaty, or reluctant permission. Commonly cited examples of these different uses of the imperative mood are:
In the next example, Lydia invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house:
Jesus invited the weary and burdened to come to him to find rest for their souls:
A similar invitation is extended by the Spirit and the bride (the church):
Paul used the same kind of verb to appeal to the Corinthians to accept him.
Now let's look at another often-discussed passage:
The last example we will examine is just a bit different from the others:
These examples illustrate that the scriptures convey a lot of shades of meaning. There surely are mandatory commands in scripture. But not everything in the form of a grammatical command is intended as a mandate. Sometimes God is giving us an invitation rather than a law. The context often supplies the answer directly. But in other cases, it is not so obvious. Understanding the meaning of scripture requires spiritual discernment. What is God's nature? What kind of relationship does he seek with us? And therefore, what is he trying to say to us in these passages?
A Greek verb in the imperative mood can be a command or prohibition, a request or entreaty, or reluctant permission. Commonly cited examples of these different uses of the imperative mood are:
- Command: Mark 2:14 Follow me!
- Request: Matt 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
- Permission: 1Co 7:15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so.
Joh 21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast."Here Jesus was inviting the disciples to join him for breakfast, using the aortist tense and the imperative mood to convey an invitation.
In the next example, Lydia invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house:
Act 16:15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.Again, the invitation was in the aortist tense and the imperative mood.
Jesus invited the weary and burdened to come to him to find rest for their souls:
Mat 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Jesus invited the weary into his rest, using the aortist tense and the imperative mood.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
A similar invitation is extended by the Spirit and the bride (the church):
Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.The invitation to take the free gift of the water of life was extended using the aortist tense and imperative mood.
Paul used the same kind of verb to appeal to the Corinthians to accept him.
2Co 7:2 Make room for us in your hearts.Paul is urging and pleading -- not commanding. Again, the verb is in the aortist tense and imperative mood.
Now let's look at another often-discussed passage:
1Th 5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.Once again, the verb is in the aortist tense and the imperative mood. Paul is making an appeal or perhaps an invitation to greet one another with a kiss. It would hardly make sense to say "Kiss one another or face the consequences!" Instead he is urging them to show affection -- implying that they should feel affection for one another. To greet with a holy kiss without that affection (obedience "because I said so") would be hypocritical. Instead the Thessalonians were being urged to have affection for one another, and then to show it.
The last example we will examine is just a bit different from the others:
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!Here, rather than aortist imperative, Paul used the present imperative. Still, it makes no sense to say "Rejoice or face the consequences!" This was an invitation, not a mandate.
These examples illustrate that the scriptures convey a lot of shades of meaning. There surely are mandatory commands in scripture. But not everything in the form of a grammatical command is intended as a mandate. Sometimes God is giving us an invitation rather than a law. The context often supplies the answer directly. But in other cases, it is not so obvious. Understanding the meaning of scripture requires spiritual discernment. What is God's nature? What kind of relationship does he seek with us? And therefore, what is he trying to say to us in these passages?
1Co 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.Without spiritual discernment, we will miss the point. And sometimes we have done just that.
Labels: Hermeneutics
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Monday, April 07, 2008
Have We Lost Our Way?
Yesterday, I taught a class on 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, on the subject of head coverings. Really.
I cannot remember ever in my life hearing someone else teach this passage. What possible relevance could the subject of head coverings have for a 21st century American church? Why risk the controversy? Why bring up a difficult subject that may confuse a lot of people? And, above all, why teach the congregation that we may have been neglecting a command of scripture for generations?
The reason I taught the class is pretty simple. I am teaching a series on the book of 1 Corinthians. I suppose I could have skipped this topic. But elders are admonished not to shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God to the church. If I choose not to teach this passage, I cannot claim to have taught everything I have been called to teach. God devoted half a chapter in 1 Corinthians to this subject for a reason.
But if I teach a passage of scripture, I have no choice but to teach what I believe it says. So that is what I did.
What kind of reaction would you expect to receive from your congregation from a lesson like that? The response of our congregation was one of keen interest, appreciation, and a desire to study it further. After service, the auditorium was buzzing with conversations on the topic in every aisle. Of particular interest to me, two brothers who are native of other countries came up to me afterward expressing their appreciation that the subject has finally been addressed. They were raised believing this teaching. From their perspective, the American churches have lost their way on the topic of women. We have become saturated with the culture in which we live. The church is becoming more and more like the secular world.
We Americans are like frogs in a pot of water. As the temperature rises to the boiling point, we hardly notice. We don't realize that the rising temperature will eventually kill us. To us, everything seems normal. But to these two brothers from other countries, the insidiously gradual secularization of the American church is obvious. We need to wake up to what is happening. Links to this post
I cannot remember ever in my life hearing someone else teach this passage. What possible relevance could the subject of head coverings have for a 21st century American church? Why risk the controversy? Why bring up a difficult subject that may confuse a lot of people? And, above all, why teach the congregation that we may have been neglecting a command of scripture for generations?
The reason I taught the class is pretty simple. I am teaching a series on the book of 1 Corinthians. I suppose I could have skipped this topic. But elders are admonished not to shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God to the church. If I choose not to teach this passage, I cannot claim to have taught everything I have been called to teach. God devoted half a chapter in 1 Corinthians to this subject for a reason.
But if I teach a passage of scripture, I have no choice but to teach what I believe it says. So that is what I did.
What kind of reaction would you expect to receive from your congregation from a lesson like that? The response of our congregation was one of keen interest, appreciation, and a desire to study it further. After service, the auditorium was buzzing with conversations on the topic in every aisle. Of particular interest to me, two brothers who are native of other countries came up to me afterward expressing their appreciation that the subject has finally been addressed. They were raised believing this teaching. From their perspective, the American churches have lost their way on the topic of women. We have become saturated with the culture in which we live. The church is becoming more and more like the secular world.
We Americans are like frogs in a pot of water. As the temperature rises to the boiling point, we hardly notice. We don't realize that the rising temperature will eventually kill us. To us, everything seems normal. But to these two brothers from other countries, the insidiously gradual secularization of the American church is obvious. We need to wake up to what is happening. Links to this post
Friday, April 04, 2008
New Look!
Don't worry, this is still the same blog! I decided it was time for a facelift. This simple setup makes better use of the screen space. And I like the brighter appearance. Now if I can just find time to add the missing series to my Past Series section, and maybe even add some tags to make the archives more useful.
Hope you like the new look! Links to this post
Hope you like the new look! Links to this post
