Not only does church attendance in America continue to decline – now less than 17% on a given Sunday – but the trajectory is even worse when you consider population growth. The attendance line is going south while the population line is inching north.
I’ve heard all the reasons for not going to church – I can experience God anywhere, too much hypocrisy, it’s boring, it’s not relevant, it hasn’t kept up with social patterns, etc. – and I’ve probably uttered more than a few variations of the above comments myself.
But even if all the above reasons to not to go to church are true in varying degrees, don’t you suspect, in light of human nature, some of the objections are simple rationalizations based on people having different interests and priorities? It sounds better to say I don’t attend church because it isn’t what it’s supposed to be rather than I want to go to the lake or get to the game in time for tail-gating.
Interestingly, a lot of religious thinkers are the ones that speak most negatively about the church as problematic, including the charge that church is just too religious. (Okay. I know I’m more spiritual if I say Christianity is a relationship not a religion, but … just saying.) I’m not sure that persona of honest transparency and sophisticated thought does anything to fix real and perceived problems or attract new attenders – and the self-flagellation is possibly more effective at pushing even more once-regular attenders away. If it’s that bad, why go?
One local church in my metropolitan advertises on the radio that they are the church for people that don’t like church because they don’t like church either. (My paraphrase, but fairly close.) My guess is if you attend there it will actually feel a lot like … uh, church. I asked someone that attends and they confirmed there is a sermon, some singing, an offering, encouragement to join a small group, and other things that sound an awful lot like every church I’ve ever attended, despite the promise of this being something entirely different. The person I asked was quick to point out they are very friendly. I’ve gone to lots of very friendly churches. Maybe you can drink coffee and wear shorts in the sanctuary but I forgot to ask. But what I find interesting is that in order to invite new people to come to their church, a church would use a marketing premise that basically says many other churches aren’t very good places to be. Arrogant? Irresponsible?
By the way, I know some preachers preach better and some worship leaders lead music better. Some teachers teach better if you go to a Bible class. Some facilities are much better too. But without throwing a guilt trip out there, shouldn’t some of the appeal to attend church be based on what you bring to the table? (Literally.) Oh, and, shouldn’t we regularly show up at a place that emphasizes the importance of God even if some humans facilitate a more conducive setting to experiencing God than others?
On the subject of guilt, I probably shouldn’t bring up what a casual to negligent attitude toward attending church says to the kids.
My point is that some of the most dismissive critics of the church take for granted their own church upbringing. They have a base of understanding and nurture where they don’t have to attend a Bible study or hear a sermon to know quite a lot about God and Jesus Christ and the Bible, but they sure aren’t encouraging someone with no (or limited) religious framework to experience corporate Christian fellowship sufficiently to make up their own minds. At least give someone an opportunity to reject Christ and Christians without warning them off before they show up.
I understand your church experience may have been crummy. I’m sure there’s been abuse, hypocrisy, irrelevance, and so forth. But where else are you going to go?
I’m not trying to be holier-than-thou. I confess I’ve gone to church many times with less than stellar motives and attitudes. But sometimes something special has happened for me despite myself.
I think the writer of Hebrews – who was alarmed that the church of his day was losing its faith – has something powerful to say those of us who have spiritually evolved enough to claim church attendance as an optional activity:
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.Hebrews 10:24-24, NIV
So you HAVE been reading my novel. (just kidding) 🙂 Good and relevant post, Mark!
Mark, I think liturgical churches may have an edge here, even though I know their numbers are declining too. But so many of the faithful attendees that I’ve met since becoming an Episcopalian have a profound understanding of the Eucharist that keeps them returning week after week. There’s no guilt or sense of obligation but rather a deep longing for the connection with God that they experience at the table.
You hit the “mark.” 😀
We, who have had the benefit of hearing the word and being a part of worship for years, are hopefully grown up enough in a spiritual sense to be there to nurture new believers in their faith and growth.
My favorite part of church is community praise, with one voice adoring our God and proclaiming to the world that He is King of all.
Jesus is the most exciting thing that has ever happened in all of history. So much that people cut holes in the roof to get to Him. So much that He’s more popular than ever after 2000 years. So if people are staying away in droves, perhaps it is worth a good long look at WHY. If the LIFE of Jesus is present, people will come. If not, it’s time to resubmit to the life of Jesus. I’ve sat through the songs, sat through the ritual that is church, and smiled back at people who were ever-so-nice in the halls. But if at some point soonish I can’t get really REAL, then I sigh and reevaluate. Jesus offers LIFE. If it’s not palpable at church, I’ll make other ways to assemble together. 🙂 The days are evil and I must redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16). freed hearts.org
Yes, Mark, we Christians ought to sit up, take notice AND take action. If we do not, our complacency will likely end up in America mirroring the 5% of population that attends church in Europe (and where the churches are funded by the government and many of the church buildings are being transformed into condos!) And, could our “do nothing” attitude end up with the predominate religion in America being Islam? By the way, some churches are bulging at the seams with multiple police on duty to manage the traffic. This would seem to indicate that there are many people out there seeking God and who are attracted to churches that some how fill the needs of young families. Many scoff at these churches as being Sunday Entertainment with no Christian value. But, hey, they are bringing in the flock. Perhaps it is time that the traditional denominations take notice and figure out what changes they need to make to attract young families in droves. Or, we could do nothing and see where that gets us. The good news is that I do not think it is too late to save our churches. Much can be done. We just need to start taking action despite the naysayers.
Great comments and very appreciated.
Fabulous post Dad. Proud of the way you raised us!
thanks Ashey-baby!
Mark,
Thank you for your perceptive blog on church attendance today.
Me-centered; today it’s all about what I can get from God. The benefits of being a Christian—health, wealth, and success— seems to be the focus of much of today’s preaching. If I don’t get something out of it to improve my life, why go to church? If I have an abundance of things, why do I need church?
The problem is that we Christians are so far away from having a God-centered—He is Sovereign—view of our relationship with Him. He has called us to serve Him according to His plans. It’s not what I get out of church, but what I give through Christ-directed service.
We rail about how we Christians have failed and what we need to do, how we need to change to fix the problems in the church. It’s all me . . . me . . . me.
What if preachers stopped making phony, empty promises of how you can get what you want from God?
What if preaching shifted to a hard call to deny ourselves and take up Christ’s cross? To be God-focused. To seek Him and surrender to His guidance and plans and die to our own plans. O for a passion to be led by God and desire His will and glory instead of our own. What would it do for the church today?
Sheila Cragg, Worthy author.
I love this post, Mark. In our church (Methodist), we’ve been beating ourselves up over this problem for years. We finally split our worship into 2 services, one “churchy” and one not so churchy. Then both groups of people missed the other group, which made everybody realize that we’d better focus more on loving the Lord and each other than on the “but-I-don’t-like” situation. Sometimes it’s so hard to be a grown-up.
Excellent post Mark.
Ian
I appreciate all the comments.