The Coming Evangelical Collapse

Article

I have to admit that after reading this article, I was shaken. I had to remind myself that this is a prediction and predictions are prone to failure. The reason this was scary is some of it was things I've been thinking and saying and seeing on my own. It was weird to see someone else seeing the same things. I would like to comment on some of the observations that the author made.

"...they (Protestants) will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century."

It seems that polls on even the most conservative news sites are seeing the growing rise of secularism and the dropping numbers of those who claim a religion. The Catholic Church has been diving for years. The Southern Baptists have seen dropping numbers for the first time in their history. The reason could be one of a million different things. From the moral stands of religion, to the belief in absolute truth, to the scandals that rock the church. Most don't like being told that their opinions are wrong and in an era of political correctness, they don't want a church to tell them how to live.

Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.

This isn't the first time this has happened. In Ancient Rome, the Christians were seen as ones that were causing political problems with Roman leadership. They were accused of being cannibals, atheists and rebels. Also in the French Revolution, Christianity was seen as something that caused war and violence and led to the rise of secularism in response. Religion was the enemy of peace and logic. Both of these were overcome. There is no reason that this won't be overcome in time.

Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline.

The current economic decline is beginning to usher this in. There are calls for donations from Christian radio, churches, schools, seminaries, etc. Honestly, the modern church tends to be obsessed with building projects and top notch staff and technology. This may prove to be a good thing. Maybe the church will get back to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of their church and megachurch.

Being against gay marriage and being rhetorically pro-life will not make up for the fact that massive majorities of Evangelicals can't articulate the Gospel with any coherence.

Wow! GREAT line. We've been so content putting on Sunday morning theater and doing feel-good talks that we have fled from discipleship and the majority of attendees in our churches don't know what they are supposed to believe. We have incredibly weak believers in our church because we've abandoned discipleship for "evangelism" and large membership. It's easier to win them than to commit to a life commitment of mentoring and discipleship.

Ironically, the billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it.

Wow again! I'm a youth pastor. I've been too many youth pastor conferences and heard the latest ideas in youth ministry. What did I come away with? "We have to compete with MTV. Entertain first, relationships second, Jesus third." The worship explosion is evidence of the emotional based faith that is being taught. Our kids know more lyrics to worship songs than verses from the Word of God. As I've been writing previously, we DESPERATELY need to return to intense discipleship of students. Our numbers may drop because we aren't entertaining anymore. So be it.

...consumer-driven megachurches, dying churches, and new churches whose future is fragile. Denominations will shrink, even vanish, while fewer and fewer evangelical churches will survive and thrive.

I've been talking about my bane- the consumer driven church- for a year now. They will keep having to top themselves with entertainment and services to the point the message will be lost as to why we are doing it. I don't necessarily agree with the denomination going away. I think they will just look different. The satellite church and video venue church are the new denomination. They are church brands rather than doctrinal fellowships.

Despite some very successful developments in the past 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can withstand the rising tide of secularism.

AMEN. We stopped challenging our churches and pastors on THEOLOGY and replaced it with BUSINESS STRATEGY! Most of our pastors don't know how to think deeply. I am just getting better at this myself. We do not compete because we do not engage.

Charismatic-Pentecostal Christianity will become the majority report in evangelicalism. Can this community withstand heresy, relativism, and confusion? To do so, it must make a priority of biblical authority, responsible leadership, and a reemergence of orthodoxy.

As I've been reading in my Church Planting class, One of two groups that is still experiencing great success in church planting and evangelism is the Pentecostal movement. I can't really explain it other than their intentionality of planting churches. They are to be praised for this. Some of the newer movements have been the rise of the Charismatic Reformed movement (Mark Driscoll, Sovereign Grace). They are charismatic with a seat belt, and have a high emphasis on doctrine and theology. I am completely behind this movement even if I don't agree with every detail.

This article is scary and yet a wake up call for the church. Like it or not, some of this is already beginning to happen. The last election proves this. The church must get back to discipleship and get over the business/consumer church.

Update 3.5.09

Been awhile due to the level of insanity of my schedule. I have NO free time whatsoever with 15 hours of class and full time work. The brain is nearing capacity. Hebrew is a killer right now. First semester was a breeze. This one is killing me. Church History is being SERVED by me which gives me joy since its my hardest class.

Church planting was laughable. If I had a dime for every time a church growth book said "It's not about the numbers" and followed that up with tales of church plants that grew to the thousands. I took ample opportunity to unload on the discussion board. I said if we were to follow the example of having a church that has planting as their mindset, then we need to tell every small group that their goal should be to become their own church and plant more churches themselves. Many were frightened that this may take away from the church growing to a couple thousand...that was my point. If they were serious about planting, churches would rarely if ever reach a thousand because there would be a thousand churches with 100.

I'm crushed at the departure of Brian Dawkins from the Eagles. He was the heart and soul of the team and was the majority of Eagle fans favorite player. He understood the fans and the fans loved him because he brought 125% every game. He will be PAINFULLY missed.

My current music playlist:

• The Airborne Toxic Event- Sometime Around Midnight (new band, great song)
  
• Incubus- Love Hurts (old album, greater song)
  
• The Ting Tings -Great DJ (I LOVE this band...so catchy)
  
• Snow Patrol - Take Back the City (a decent sophmore album...best song on it)
  
• Rammstein - Morganstern (I don't know what he's singing in German, but they rock)
  
• Norma Jean - Vipers, Snakes and Actors (Love the new album)
  
• Flogging Molly - Punch Drunk Grinning Soul (I'll see them live next week!!!)
  
• Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound (Another new one with a Springstein-ish sound)
  
• Lamb of God - Laid To Rest (Thx Guitar Hero)
  
• Pink Floyd - The Wall Album (Kicking it old school!)
  
• Fred Hammond - No Weapon Formed Against Me (had to throw some gospel in there)
  

Essay for Church Planting Class

This is my initial essay on my reading. The author has hitting some key factors that I think aren't being taken seriously in the modern church:

In his book Planting Churches Cross Culturally: North America and Beyond, David Hesselgrave presents what he calls the Pauline Cycle of church planting. This cycle is as follows: Missionaries Commissioned, Audience Contacted, Gospel Communicated, Hearers Converted, Believers Congregated, Faith Confirmed, Leadership Consecrated, Believers Commended, Relationships Continued, and Sending Churches Convened. According to the author, this cycle is repeated numerous times in the book of Acts when Paul would go to a town and establish a church. His purpose in writing the book is not only to present these steps, but also to develop them in our modern context and build on them. It presents a method to church planting and growth.

The author describes the broader debate on Pauline church planting being between the view that Paul had no plan and relied entirely on the Lord doing the work wherever he went, and the position that Paul had a method and strategy with his church planting. The reality is that as you view Scripture, it appears Paul kept these in balance. Paul did have a set plan whenever he would go to a new town. Repeatedly you see him go through most or all of the steps previously mentioned. However, this was all under the understanding that God was the one who makes the seed grow (1 Corinthians 3:7). We all would be foolish to aim at nothing. At the same time, many modern churches (business model churches) have made the method just as important as the Spirit. As Hesselgrave states, they have “organized Christ out of the picture.” As with everything, there must be a balance.

This tendency to simplify everything to a method or science is something Hesselgrave focuses on a good bit in the section of reading. He says, “If our dependence is on the overall strategy and method of its implementation rather than on the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot claim to be true to the New Testament church.” There are many who have simplified church to a plan that has become more holy than the Word of God itself. A plan is important, but if we hold more tightly to that method and leave no room for adjustment, it has become more important than the Spirit’s working in our church. Some plans, such as the Purpose Driven Model, were developed to give a Biblically based structure to doing church. Unfortunately, some can take this model and turn it into an “evangelical production line (that) will inevitably produce results.”

Other important observations by Hesselgrave were pointed out later in the chapter. One key thought is that the Pauline method should be done both synchronically and diachronically. In other words, while the cycle is in the process of the latter steps (Believers commended and sending churches convened), it should at the same time be introducing the first steps of audience contact and missionary commissioning. The cycle must not stop because the cycle never truly ends. The beginning is more visible through mission work and church plants, yet once that cycle begins, there is never a time when in our era when we can stop reaching out (until the Lord comes that is!). In a sense, the book promises a level of sustaining a healthy, vibrant and contagious church body if we abide and adjust to the Pauline cycle.

Showtime No More!

I have been waiting for someone to write an article like this for MONTHS. It only says everything that I've been saying and working through the past few months! MAJOR kudos to this pastor for his work and honesty. The church has been struggling with turning people from disciples to consumers. I don't care how tight and snazzy your band and lighting are! If you have people who have a lukewarm heart for worship, you have nothing!

Perry Noble Comment

"The church that doesn’t want to grow is saying to the world, “You go to hell…we’re doctrinally correct…you go to hell.” - Perry Noble

My response? I agree and disagree. Define growth? Are you talking numbers? Are you talking about making sure you have to build a bigger building because you had 1000 sign the dotted line? I agree that I want people come to Christ and his church to grow. However, if growth = large attendance to you, then you can tell the world (and those in your church) "You can think you're not going to hell (but you may not be saved at all)...we're concerned about your prayer and baptism number...you may go to heaven." Perry...growth is more than conversions...its actual spiritual growth, which I realize isn't as easy to monitor like numbers.

How do you respond to Jesus' multiple statements on "let the dead bury their own dead," "love me more than your father or mother," "deny yourself, take up your cross," etc. It seemed Jesus wasn't as concerned about a huge group following him as much as he was reducing the size of people following him by sifting the wheat and the chaff. The genuine followers remained. He constantly pruned his numbers by saying difficult and popularity killing statements. Those who were serious remained...he did nothing to coddle people to heaven.