I once wrote that the church had become a service industry and as prepared today’s blog that statement came to my mind. If you have ever been a part of a committee or group that is charged with examining the state of church membership or how to bring more people into the church, add to your church roll, then you are part of a very normal percentage of folks who engage in the fill the pew programs that are so much a part of our church culture today, along with the yearly or semi-annual revival. I want to be sure and state that negativism doesn’t help either. So up front, this blog is not about doing away with but adding to the things we can do to add souls to the community of faith. This is not a church bashing blog. This blog is not about numbers or denominations, it is about his people, his creation and maybe if we quit looking at numbers and religion so to speak our task will be plainer. I believe that saved or not saved we are, each of us a child of God, his creation, each just as precious to him as the other. Here is an excerpt from a blog of mine two years ago.

“To grow a church has to have a lot of different programs other than worship itself. It’s all about how you present yourself; make people want to come, offer a range of services that meets every need. Family things, what do you have for the kids, is there a Youth Director, what type of Music Program do you have? Is there a Family Life Center and what does it include? What about the young adults and seniors, do you have programs for them? Now I could go on and on but the point is this. Church today is about the services it can offer to its members. Most of the things I have listed are the ones people ask about. I have never really heard anyone ask, do you preach the gospel of the Living Christ and is the pastor anointed by God preaching the word and led by the Holy Spirit? When I shared this with some friends they had a question for me. What does it matter how large or small a church is, or what services it offers its members, as long as people are saved and their lives are better? Well I can’t argue with that but I do still wonder why the success of a church is determined by its size. Religion is a weird science for lack of a better term. I think I will stick with John 14:6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Back to last weeks post, a re-thought if I may. Growing a church is not easy with all the distractions and other choices that are competing with the church these days. The “nones” we wrote about last week offer a real challenge because they comprise such a large and diverse group. If I were to pick a reoccurring theme here it is that the complexity of this group and the above mentioned reasons dictates that the problem cannot be approached with anything we are now doing. The stats say what we are doing is not working. As if all of these stated challenges are not enough the survey also stated that a significant number of these folks say they are too busy for religion, which reminds me of a sign I saw when traveling the back roads. Small country church, the sign read “ARE YOU TIRED OF RELIGION……TRY JESUS”….

Simple statement or slogan if you wish but I believe within it there is some good advice. We continue to look to numbers, buildings, music, tradition, programs and acceptance of the new norms in society. Struggling to be a part of it while maintaining the values and tenets of our faith. This is in reality is a nice way of saying “looking for loop holes” to justify certain behaviors. Here is an excerpt from a letter I used in a post several months ago. How do you think we as christians are viewed today as opposed to the early church and Roman society?

The Letter to Diognetus, the work of an unknown author, written in about 130, describes Christians to the Romans as follows:
“They dwell in their own countries simply as sojourners…. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven.  They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time, they surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men but are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned. They are put to death, but [will be] restored to life. They are poor, yet they make many rich. They possess few things; yet, they abound in all. They are dishonored, but in their very dishonor are glorified…. And those who hate them are unable to give any reason for their hatred.”

Look closely at the letter above. Early christians did not have the facilities we have now, no need to make a list, simply put…..they didn’t have the stuff to work with that we do. We need to keep building, to add facilities and services and programs to stay in the game so to speak. However, I believe in our zeal to compete we have lost the simplicity of “Jesus” , the power of the message. We must live our lives so as to avoid the temptations of the flesh, we must live in a way that allows us to be “citizens of heaven” here and now. We must obey the laws but our very behavior should exceed that which is expected. Even though we will know rejection and at times persecution we must love all men. We may lose our life but to die for Christ is to live. We may be poor but what we have must be used to enrich the lives of others. We may not have a lot but through Jesus Christ we have all we will need. We may be dishonored here on this earth but we will be honored in heaven among the saints. We may never understand why we are so hated but know well the love of Christ which exceeds all understanding.

We have a story to tell and I believe we have become too busy acquiring “stuff” to point to, when all we really have to do is tell the story…..

I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory,
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story,
because I know ’tis true;

it satisfies my longings
as nothing else could do.

Go tell the story…the stuff will come latter. Hope you return to the pew next week.  jk

Continuing on from last week’s thought that maybe we were looking in all the wrong places when examining the loss of people attending church, got me to wondering about where we need to look. I think most of us can agree that whatever we have been doing, while certainty not a complete failure, still we are not retaining or gaining those souls needed to do the Lords work. From previous discussions in morning bible study, which by the way started this line of thought, three groups come to mind. There are those that have been hurt by the church in some way or another. I am not going to mire this down listing reasons that people are hurt or get mad and leave; fact is they do and you may know someone like this or might even be that someone. There are of course those that don’t believe period. This we will come back to at another time. Then there are the “Nones.” This is an interesting group because they include those that have left, believers and non-believers and those that are not or have never been affiliated with any organized religion. “Nones” is a term sometimes used to refer to those who are unaffiliated with any organized religion. This use derives from surveys of religious affiliation, in which “None” (or “None of the above”) is typically the last choice.

Let’s run the numbers on this. There are lots of different surveys and research articles About the “nones”. I tend to look at Pew Research center. Also part of the information I will share is from an article written by Michael Lipka from FacTank, News in Numbers. This article paired with Pew Research numbers provides an interesting look at this subject.

A growing trend in American religion in recent years has been the percentage of adults who do not identify with a religious group. In 2007 the number was 36.6%. The latest figure, 2014, has that number at 55.8%. I am going to try not to overwhelm you with numbers but they do tell a story. Responses to how they became “nones” is telling. Remember that this group includes religious people who indicate that a lack of belief led them away from religion, Mr. Lipka writes that number to be about 49%. There were other reasons listed such as many respondents said that science, common sense, logic or lack of evidence played a part in their being where they were today. Others interestingly enough simply said they do not believe in God. Quoting directly from the article, “One-in-five express an opposition to organized religion in general. This share includes some who do not like the hierarchical nature of religious groups, several people who think religion is too much like a business and others who mention clergy sexual abuse scandals as reasons for their stance.” One in ten who were raised in a religious affiliation are now inactive. They just went home and stayed there. Oddly enough they still hold certain religious beliefs but have withdrawn from any active practice. Interesting to note that within this group there are sub groups, confusing is it not? Are you beginning to see the point that the task the church is facing is not a simple one by any means. there is no “one program cure” for what ails us. There are the agnostic, don’t believe period, then a rather odd group who describe their religion as “nothing in particular”.

If I were to pick a reoccurring theme here it is that the complexity of this group cannot be approached with anything we are now doing. The stats say what we are doing is not working. I have saved the best to last. A significant number of these folks say they are to busy for religion, which reminds be of a sign I saw when traveling the back roads. Small country church, the sign read “ARE YOU TIRED OF RELIGION……TRY JESUS….

Next week we will continue to explore this issue of losing souls. That’s right, this whole thing is not about numbers or denominations. It is about his people, his creation and maybe if we quit looking at numbers and religion so to speak our task will be plainer. I believe that saved or not saved we are, each of us a child of God, his creation, each just as precious to him as the other.

I welcome your comments, hope to see you in the pew next week.

jk

Things aren’t the same now as they were when I was growing up in the church. The number of people who attend church these days is much less than in my day. Many denominations are losing people and many churches struggle to stay relevant in todays culture and demographics. Received an email from a good friend in reference to last weeks blog which questioned where the church was today and rate of growth or lack thereof. The email was refreshing because it said what many of us won’t. Here is a quote from that email. “I don’t have a clue and pastors really don’t either, how to get everyone on board with dynamic growth and spiritual outreach.” Numbers have become a big thing in judging success in almost all activities and now even church. So, let’s look at some numbers. Pew Research Center November 3, 2015.

“Is the American public becoming less religious? Yes, at least by some key measures of what it means to be a religious person. An extensive new survey of more than 35,000 U.S. adults finds that the percentages who say they believe in God, pray daily and regularly go to church or other religious services all have declined modestly in recent years.

But the Pew Research Center study also finds a great deal of stability in the U.S. religious landscape. The recent decrease in religious beliefs and behaviors is largely attributable to the “nones” – the growing minority of Americans, particularly in the Millennial generation, who say they do not
belong to any organized faith. (http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/)

Among the roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults who do claim a religion, there has been no discernible drop in most measures of religious commitment. Indeed, by some conventional measures, religiously affiliated Americans are, on average, even more devout than they were a few years ago.”

Not as bad as some say, but make no mistake, there is little comfort in the numbers to those who see their church or denomination losing people.

“The falloff in traditional religious beliefs and practices coincides with changes in the religious composition of the U.S. public. A growing share of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, including some who self-identify as atheists or agnostics as well as many who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.” Altogether, the religiously unaffiliated (also called the “nones”) now account for 23% of the adult population, up from 16% in 2007.”

So it only natural that such figures should raise enough concern that a host of solutions would come forth like the blooms on a large healthy honeysuckle vine. We find ourselves today being overwhelmed by well meaning criticisms and of course the next great “growth Program.” There are always a host of books, seminars, companies that specialize in church growth materials and any number of lay led committees that for as long as I can remember seek to stem the loss of people to the church and return the church to a position of influence in our communities and nation. What is the mission of the church?

The Great Commission

Matthew 28
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Is this it? Is this all there is to it? Perhaps we have missed or overlooked something. Did we miss these nine words….. “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Now that expands the playing field a bit. I will expand on this in the weeks to come. Right now I just want to think about where we are and possibly where we need to go. Leaving this thought and moving to a recent morning bible study, where our discussion took us to the state of the church today, one of the members present had a interesting line of thought as to church growth.

Maybe we are looking in all the wrong places, using the wrong tools and passing over a wealth of folks. Got me to thinking maybe it’s a chicken and egg thing. Transferring that thought to a “faith or church thing”, which comes first? After some thought I’m inclined to believe he might be on to something. Which does or should come first? Faith or Church? Well of course we can go to Acts and Pentecost which takes us to the infilling of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s impassioned message to the people gathered in the city at that time and brought these results.
Acts 2: 40-41
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The church as we know it today did not exist. What did they have that allowed them to grow and prosper? They believed, they had hope and most of all they had faith. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. Nothing is greater than God’s love. Nothing is stronger than God’s mercy and grace. Nothing is too hard for God’s power. Going back to last weeks post this is where I believe we are today in many churches and denominations.

“We have found it useful to build church buildings, and denominations, and clerical hierarchies, and liturgies, etc. Nobody should think, though, that these are one and the same as the true church; you don’t see any of these things in the vision given us in Rev. 7.” Stefan Stackhouse

No this is not a “get back to basics” thing. It is about recognizing what comes first. We have to recognize that the world has changed and the complexity of the culture and the demands of society must be understood and confronted to restore and preserve the faith. Simplicity is not the word we need here.

One last thought…..””Just about every denomination in the American church—including many evangelical denominations — is seeing a decline in numbers, so if it’s a competition, then we’re all losing, just at different rates.” -Rachel Held Evans

Next week…?, Faith, Church

Hope to see you here in the pew……jk

I started out this week to write about a subject inspired by an article written by John Pavlovitz,  “Hello From The Outside”.(http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/01/12/hello-from-the-outside-how-the-church-fails-and-forgets-those-who-leave/)

Well one reference led to another and I was soon  overwhelmed with information. The article was straight forward and at times pretty blunt. Blunt meaning in this case likely to not be received well by some in the “church”. Here is an excerpt from that blog.

“Some advice to churches and pastors and church staff about their back door:

If your church is too big to minister to people individually, your church is too big.

If you have no scalable system of pastoral care other than telling people to get into a small group, you have a lousy pastoral care system.

If people can come and go for months in your building (and ultimately leave) without you or anyone knowing it, you’re failing those in your care.

Pastor, if all you want to do is preach from the stage or the pulpit, stop calling yourself a pastor and admit that you’re a preacher or a religious celebrity.

Churches, if all you’re interested in doing is putting on weekly one-hour crusades, stop calling yourself a church and just be religious event planners.”

 So just what exactly is the “true church”? You can google that and find any number of answers. Stefan Stackhouse had this little gem in his writings.

“We have found it useful to build church buildings, and denominations, and clerical hierarchies, and liturgies, etc. Nobody should think, though, that these are one and the same as the true church; you don’t see any of these things in the vision given us in Rev. 7.”

(https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-true-church-according-to-the-Bible)

Stefan also points out that the true church is as Jesus said in Matt 18:20: “Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them.” Ah, at last biblical references to which I immediately went to. There were many, and I decided to look closer at Acts 7: 11-12… And all the angels stood in a circle round the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell upon their faces before the throne, and worshipped God, saying: ‘So let it be. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and forever. Amen.’

The praise of the Angels where they ascribe blessing to God; and we his people must always offer blessing to him for creation and redemption and divinely ordained events and outcomes. He has made us and we are his and through his son Jesus Christ he has redeemed us

The Angels ascribe glory, wisdom, honor, power, and strength to God and we must always at all times in all things offer thanksgiving to God. We must never be guilty of the sin of ingratitude. What about that back door? People leave churches, denominations and in some cases the church altogether. The real danger is that they will never open or enter another front door again. We can do no better than to meditate on the praise of the angels and do everything in it. It has been said and written that the God we serve is Holy and so should we be. That back door will always be there and no “program of the week” will keep some from using it. Matt 18:20: “Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them.” It is really pretty plain. The presence of God is not dependent on numbers and the best advice for the church is to do as the angels do……praise at all times the glory, wisdom, honor, power and strength of God, seeking his presence among us, to be Holy just as our God is Holy.

Come in the front or back door, just come. See you in the pew next week.

jk

I am constantly searching the internet for little gems of knowledge and wisdom that will enrich and encourage us ordinary folks whose frantic pace in this life causes us to rush by without even taking the time to “smell the coffee” so to speak. Well over fifty years ago we were introduced to the world of Charlie Brown. Charles Schultz created a community of loveable misfits each with their own recognizable frailties’ of mind, body and spirit, in which many of us saw a part of ourselves in the characters and took this lovable bunch into our hearts. Unlike some of the modern animated cartoons of this day the brilliance of Charles Shultz shows us our faults in a gentle and endearing way. Charlie Brown also helps us see the real value of community, the need we have for others and the power of a simple love that transcends the norms of this day. Having said all this let me introduce you to a brilliant post of December 14, 2014, by Jason Soroski. I have edited his original post for space requirements and encourage you to go to the posted url to read it as posted. (jasonsoroski.wordpress.com)

Here are some excerpts from that post.

I was in the first grade back when they still performed Christmas pageants in schools (less than 50 years, but still a very long time ago), and our class performed a version of the Charlie Brown Christmas. Since I was kind of a bookworm and already had a blue blanket, I was chosen to play the part of Linus. As Linus, I memorized Luke 2:8-14, and that Scripture has been hidden in my heart ever since. But while working so diligently to learn those lines, there is one important thing I didn’t notice then, and didn’t notice until now. Right in the middle of speaking, Linus drops the blanket.

Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up. Until this moment. When he simply drops it. In that climactic scene when Linus shares “what Christmas is all about,” he drops his security blanket, and I am now convinced that this is intentional. Most telling is the specific moment he drops it: when he utters the words, “fear not”

 Looking at it now, it is pretty clear what Charles Schultz was saying, and it’s so simple it’s brilliant.

The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears.

The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves.

The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to Him instead.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and take Jason Soroski’s advice and “drop the blanket” in the comming new year. Again I encourage you to go to the url posted above and read some more of this gentlemen’s writings and activities.

See you in the  pew next week.   jk