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I recently received the
Ten-Year Trend Report from the Research Services Department of General
Assembly. In reviewing those statistics I found some extremely disturbing
trends.
We are all aware that many of our churches
are continuing to decline in membership, and in some instances vitality. We
are all aware that we annually close churches. We are all aware that many of
our churches have lost their uniquely Presbyterian culture and identity, due
to the generic, “community church” role our congregations typically fill in
communities where there has been a consolidation of congregations, often of
different denominations, or the congregation is served by a non-Presbyterian
pastor. These trends, I believe, are simply part of our reality in this day
and age in the Presbytery of the Northern Plains, trends which I do not see
being reversed.
The ten-year statistics, though, suggest
that whether our congregations are typically Presbyterian or not, they are
struggling with their witness. The harsh numbers are relatively
straight-forward: A net loss in total membership of 2502 members between
1997 and 2006, an average membership loss of 27 percent. I realize that
these figures are skewed by the number of members placed on the inactive
membership rolls. These losses are also influenced by things over which we
have no control – folks going to heaven, outmigration, etc.
What we do have
some influence over, though, is our worship attendance. That is why I was go
saddened to see that from 2000 to 2006 the congregations who made reports to
General Assembly suffered an average loss in worship attendance of 15
percent. Of the 56 congregations in our Presbytery who made reports to
General Assembly over this period of time, only nine showed increases in
worship attendance. On a positive note, between 1997 and 2006 the percentage
of church members attending worship in our churches increased from 39.5
percent to 43.4 percent. Still, this is less than 50 percent of our members
worshiping on a weekly basis.
These statistics suggest two
things to me: First, the worship being offered by our congregations,
particularly those led by Presbyterian clergy and CLPs, apparently isn’t
very compelling to unchurched folks in the communities where our churches
are located, and second, I wonder if anything concrete is being done in the
area of evangelism in a region where 75 to 80 percent of the population is
effectually unchurched (attending church functions less than twice monthly).
So what does all of this mean?
Well, on the one hand it raises the question of what we, the Presbytery, are
not doing, or should be doing, to help our clergy and CLPs grow in their
ability to lead worship or lead the congregations they serve in evangelistic
endeavors. On the other hand, it makes me wonder if the leadership in our
congregations, both ordained and lay, are suffering from such depression and
frustration that they don’t have the energy to look beyond “Survivor Island”
to capture a vision for what God might be doing on the edge of this new
frontier we find ourselves approaching. Or, and I hope this is not the case,
they are satisfied with what is occurring within the life of the
congregations they serve.
Regardless of the reason or
reasons, I believe we not only need to be “taking the pulse” of our
congregations, we need to be encouraging, and challenging, our congregations
to take stock of their witness to the communities in which they reside, and
to give critical reflection to ways they can be more spiritually inviting
and hospitable to the unchurched in their communities.
Additionally, I believe our
Sessions and clergy and/or CLPs need to critically examine their worship
services. I’m not talking about whether they are traditional or
contemporary, whether they align with “The Directory for Worship” or not.
Rather, I think this reflection needs to deeply engage in dialogue with the
changing dynamics of what today’s worshipers are seeking, and whether our
worship is offering the compelling Good News of the Gospel in ways that
invite people into the life of the faith community.
I realize that “evangelism” is
one of the three dirty words of the church, along with “tithing” and
“commitment.” I also realize that “evangelism” is a good word that has been
taken away from us because we associate it with charismatic televangelists
who wave their floppy black Bibles, sweat confessions of faith out of people
(along with financial contributions) in return for alleged miracles, and put
additional notches on their theological gun butts.
But evangelism is more than
church growth. At its best, evangelism is about making disciples. There is
an inner component to the church’s evangelistic witness that helps to grow
church members into disciples, and an outward component that is hospitable
and invitational to people who seek meaning in their lives. Without both
components, the community of faith becomes either a church that cannot lead
its members into deeper discipleship, or a church that is more interested in
its own needs and wants. Growing disciples begins with two essential
components: Radical hospitality that invites people into the life of the
faith community, and passionate, relevant worship and biblical teaching that
call people to discover the promises of God for themselves.
The liturgical season of
Epiphany is a wonderful time to focus on evangelism, because Epiphany is the
church’s celebration of Jesus’ manifestation to the whole world. Epiphany
not only discloses the Savior to the world but also calls the world to show
forth Christ and to be witnesses to God’s true Light. The timeless mystery
of the incarnation, God in flesh, leads us to tell others of Christ as God’s
gift of grace and to invite them to “come and see” this grace for
themselves.
Two books which I recently
have found particularly helpful in terms of making us look critically at how
we present the Gospel are Tell It Like It Is: Reclaiming the Practice of
Testimony, by Lillian Daniel, and Tribal Church: Ministering to the
Missing Generation, by Carol Howard Merritt. Both are available from the
Alban Institute.
Regarding the practice of
testimony, I find it interesting that both the Covenant Network and
Presbyterians for Renewal at their recent gatherings addressed the
importance of Christians publicly testifying to their faith. Leslie Scanlon,
writing in “Presbyterian Outlook,” said that the theme of the Covenant
Network session, was “…testimony, or, as preacher Scott Black Johnston,
pastor of host church
Trinity Church
in Atlanta, put it during opening worship Nov. 1: ‘Can I Get a Witness?’ The
idea is that there is power in testimony — in honesty and truth telling;
that minds and hearts can be changed through sharing stories of struggle and
faith; and that testimony allows voices to be heard that are not always
welcome in the church. I attempted to address the issue of the “missing
generation” of worshipers in my November “Chat With Chuck” column, which I
hope each of you will read if you have not already done so.
Excellence in worship,
faith-sharing, and seeking out the “missing generation” – these are the
opportunities before us as we approach a new year, and as we invite the
unchurched in our communities to “come and see” and discover Christ’s
epiphany for themselves.
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