We ARE the “church”.  It is not something we go to or attend.  It is something we ARE and something we DO.  From this perspective, I would offer the opinion that perhaps the church is beginning to thrive.  Outside the walls.  If “the church” is getting tired of sitting through motivational talks and starting up every kind of ministry from “backpacking” to “surfing” for the sake of coming together with those just like us, then I say AMEN.  It’s about time.  Maybe as more and more “church” people unplug from their ridiculously busy church “service” lives, then we can begin to actually get to know those in our own neighborhoods and work environments and move on to serving them.  I coached my son’s baseball team last summer and it was such a downer to me as a believer that we had a team full of wonderful people, many of whom were believers and some who were in family crisis and didn’t appear to have much of a spiritual walk (in other words, GREAT mission opportunities) and the few times that we would have non-baseball related team outings including our end of season championship party, 3 of the families could never participate because of a Sunday School party or some other “church” function.  I wanted to scream, “THIS IS THE CHURCH!!  WE ARE DOING IT!!!!”.  We have to assume that if God loves His church (and of course, He does), surely he won’t allow us to go on wandering around in a daze, seeing Him in the simple little box that we’ve put Him in without nudging us awake.  People are not sick of the church.  They’re tired of an exclusive country club of suburban, upwardly mobile white people with seemingly perfect lives.  They’re tired of being told who God would vote for (and therefore they should too) and which amusement park to boycott.  They’re tired of being marketed to and only seen as relevant when the new Gibson/Tokien/Lewis/TBN movie is coming out.  And, hopefully, most importantly, they miss their friends.  The ones they have NO time for because they’re ALWAYS at choir practice, or youth group, or finance committee meeting or, well, you get the picture.  Enough rambling.  Praise the Lord for upsetting the apple cart.  Thank God people are finally getting bored with the status quo.  The Church is alive and well and moving forward, not sitting still!!!

Given the individualist cultural experience in America, the survey is not surprising. Churches that emphasize personal salvation over communal salvation have created this. When we do not support that we need each other in Christian evangelism, then people do not need the church. The Christ in you needs the Christ in me. Communal in balance with the personal.

A good Catholic

The church is God’s.  He will bless and use those local churches whoo honor His word and lift up Jesus Christ to a world full of need.

The need of smaller churches is for them to be honest with themselves and recognize their problems lie not in the pastors, the community, the economy or some other issue, but in their spiritual condition.  So often, there is a spiritual coldness in the hearts of the members and leaders..."everything’s alright in my Father’s house....”

The fix is not a single event, nor is it a short, quick, decision to change everything we are doing...it takes prayer, honest evaluation, a dedication to the task and a willingness to ride a storm that will brew when changes are made.

I have much more to say, but will save it for my own discussion (blog)...I have been in this kind of ministry for years and will tell you there is a physical, mental, spiritual price tag in changing an older settled church...change will not come easily...If I was starting out again today, I probably would start a new work...the atmosphere for that is much better than it was 20-30 years ago...it is much worse in taking an established church and trying to change it.

Todd, please keep this information coming...it is a sadness, but an opportunity for us to grow...folks, KEEP TRYING AND TRUSTING THE LORD!  America needs us.

Answers are certainly not easy to come by.  It’s much easier to point to evidence that suggests Christ is still prevailing when people submit to him even when he’s doing new things through the church.  In Canada, it’s about the same, ministers here need to be encouraged that the discouraging work now will be honoured later.  I was greatly encouraged to find out about this church in Toronto Ontario: http://www.churchillheights.com.  Not a model to follow, just proof that God will still use people who choose to organize themselves as the visible church in their community to bless the community with the all the grace of the gospel.

“A good Catholic” makes a good point.  The American culture has diluted the communal aspect of church life.  Yes, I am saved individually but then I am incorporated into the body of Christ - the church.  The church is “sick” in America because of an overdose of selfish individualism aka “sin”. 

The ancient church model was the “called out community.” Traditions were developed not to be worshiped but to teach a largely illiterate population. 

There is also another factor here.  Many people that are in church are people who seek control.  The world outside is ‘out-of-control’ so they react to control the one thing in their life they desire stability in:  the church. 

The 80-20 factor is not limited to church.  I have an MBA and in study after study, the same factor exists:  20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work.  It is not just the church...it is our culture.  And with a consumer oriented, entitlement mindset, we are reaping what we are sowing. 

There are two options for church leaders:

1) To remain and in God’s power try to effectively disciple and discipline the local congregation without burning out or

2) To leave them behind and start a new work from scratch ... hoping to avoid the human tendency to create new traditions to worship.

Just my two cents worth.

ON CATEGORIZING PEOPLE:
WHY THE “CHURCH” IS “LOSING” THE EARS AND HEARTS OF THOSE
THEY CLAIM THEY WISH TO REACH

From a “sociological” perspective, I write as a participant of a distinct social movement in the 60s and early 70s. I became a follower of Jesus in 1971. One thing among many others I learned and always vowed to remember is that “sociological” categorizations have limited value. Humans are not as easily “classifiable” as butterflies. While it is true that trends in society do affect humans, this penchant for assigning people into neat little boxes, which I call “boxism” (hippie, boomer, X, millennials, emergents, ad infinitum) is a reflection of how “sociological constructs” have emerged and dominated human relationships since “sociologists” attempted to make their “study” of society scientific.

While it is inevitable for all of us to “analyze society, social trends and movements” and while some good things have emerged from this perspective, this approach to humans is reductionist and thus ultimately flawed in its lack of human personalism. For example, having lived in the so-called “hippie” movement (which “label” ironically the hippies rejected in favor of their own self-designation “heads” or even “freaks,” which they did not regard as pejorative), I can honestly say that I and the people I hung with in this movement were much more diverse, disparate and complex than the outside “sociological” and “media” reports made them out to be. In the subsequent years after I became a Christian, I heard many Christian leaders and others assess, refute, critique this movement, and I can honestly say that the vast majority of them utterly failed to understand the inner ethos of this movement. I would sit there and inwardly groan at the paucity of both their worldview understanding of the movement and their approach to humans in general. Equally disturbing was the organized churches “superficial” use of hippie cultural artifacts and language in their attempt to be “cool and relevant” to them when they tried to share Christ with them. This approach was seen by hippies as hopeless “squares” co-opting their cultural expressions for ideological purposes.

This approach was a failure, in that it substituted artificially obtained social expressions and language for a transcendental experience of Christ himself. This substitution actually hindered some of the hippies from obtaining a transcendental experience of Christ and His Agape love. In every “sociological subset,” there are those who are “in the pudding,” a phrase used by Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test to describe those who knew the inner ethos of a movement as opposed to those who were merely dallying with the outer by-products and superficial fringe expressions of a movement. As Ken Kesey, the main subject of the The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, said about those who were the outside and exterior part of the hippie movement, i.e., superficial hippies, “They know where it is but they don’t know what it is” (Wolfe, 224).  While not an endorsement for all that that book chronicles, this insight is an analytical construct that is transferable to all sociological subsets about those who are merely conforming to the exterior dynamics without experiencing the interior ethos. This fact can be observed in Christianity (2 Timothy 3:5), the “Hippie” movement, and in all social movements and trends, including the so-called “post-modern” and “emergent church” movement.
The “designation” of humans made in the image of God and loved by Christ as “the lost” is “in house, intramural and critically unselfconscious.” I know Christians use it because that is the cultural language used in their present cultural context. When we use “the lost” with other Christians, everyone seems to think they know what it means, no one takes offense, we all have our hearts warmed at how noble we are to reach this group of “lost” people, and so it becomes a shorthand phrase and shortcut method of describing “them” as opposed to “us.” However, consider the following view from, as I wrote above, an older hippie who was substantively “post-modern” and “emergent” before there was such a thing.

If the “lost” knew we felt this way about them, and when they become hip to the fact that this is how we view them and how we describe them, for the “lost” our message about the dear Savior who loves them becomes “lost,” or at least an unnecessary block to communication with them. The first century equivalent to “lost” was “sinner” (see Luke 15:1 especially, and how the NIV editors placed quotation marks around “sinners” to indicate that Luke was using the term as the Pharisees did, a term of convention, and not as his view of them). I find it particularly ironic that many who wish to identify themselves as on the “cutting edge” continue to use a term that is so blatantly offensive to the very ones we are trying to reach. As one friend to another, I recommend you delete this phrase from your thinking and vocabulary. Why not replace it with “longed for ones” or “those Jesus longs to love and know,” or better yet, why not delete all labels and just love people straight up and where they are as we like to claim that we do.

Ultimately, Christians are committed to a person, Jesus, and dedicated to making the relevance of Jesus personal to other persons. Christians need to return to the New Testament vision of being agents by which the transcendent Person, Love, Glory, Power and Peace of Christ radiates through (2 Cor. 3, etc.). Based on my experience, people today are not intellectuals who wish to abandon meaning, truth or reality. In fact, they desperately want it. They are not rejecting “truth,” simply the lack of supernatural experience that characterizes our churches today. They really want “the God experience.” They do not want 3-point sermons (what one young person whose father is a Pastor called “lectures"), ideology, and superficial human relationships. They want the “cosmic” vision, Koinonia fellowship, a veridical God experience. And, by providing people with a context in which the transcendent Person, Love, Glory, Power and Peace of Christ is available, I think they will begin to realize as meaningful connectedness with other Christians who share this experience.

Thus, we should not be primarily committed to a system or formula, even to such things as the construct “church.” Merely arranging the furniture differently in the church, telling narrative stories and using the term “mystery” will really not do what needs to be done, any more than in the 60s and 70s when Christians opened “coffee-houses,” wore tie-dye clothes, said “far-out” and in general tried to sell Jesus in a “hippie” context. My personal conclusions on these topics?

Jesus is a Person and our sharing of Him should be done “personally” with other persons in a way that is personally relevant to them. Persons should not be treated as “objects” in a “social class.” What we need today are Christians who are neither against cultural trends nor conforming to cultural trends, but Christians who “transcend” cultural trends by returning to the New Testament vision of being agents by which the transcendent Person, Love, Unity, Glory, Power and Peace of Christ radiates through (2 Cor. 3, etc.). I believe the church phrase for this is “revival,” but what ever the term we use, unless the “church” is fostering a climate that leads to a supernatural, transcendent experience of the Living Christ and connectedness with other followers of Jesus who share that experience, the “organized church” (not the Body of Christ) will fade away into the ash heap of previous “cultural strategies” that preceded it.

Sue,

I believe the lady at your church is disappointed because she is looking for what she has been led to look for (not saying by you).  My point is that the current American church model seems to encourage clergy reliance and organizational reliance instead of Holy Spirit reliance.  The individual “every member is a minister” slogan is just not reality in most church organizations because those individuals aren’t given the freedom to “extend” the church as the Spirit leads them.  First of all, I believe they’ve become so dependent on sermons/classes, etc that most church attenders have not been “pushed” to develop their own journey outside the community.  They’ve been spoon-fed Christian culture to the point they can’t function without it.  Secondly, most feel that the only “valid” ministries are the ones that their “Church” has started.  They have been steered away from simply meeting needs as they come across them and as the Spirit leads them.  What if the thing they are led to do takes them away from their “responsibilities” at the church?  What if a financial need takes away from their offerings at “church”?  Would they be encouraged to continue serving in this manner?  In most cases, No.  I believe that it is no coincidence that God really seems to move in times that the church appears to be in distress.  I also believe that is because the church begins to spend less time being a business/social organization and more time being the Church.

John David.

WOW!!  Great stuff!!

Tammy I agree.  I think we forget sometimes that what has changed our lives is the Life of Christ that we’ve received, not an organization.  John David is dead on.  The world is CRAVING a God experience.  But they want something real.  They can get most of what today’s church offers by exposing themselves to music, movies and either a country club or the local YMCA.  We don’t need to get “hipper” or “cooler”.  We need to live out our lives among them and expose them to Christ.  He’ll do all the drawing/recruiting that is necessary.

Wow!  I understand all the posts about US being the church and totally agree. 

Another thought is this:  I know people who are Christians, but never have contact with other Christians.  They occasionally watch a tv pastor for their “growth”.  So, who do they call when they have a need?  A death in the family?  They are not connected to any local body.  They have no opportunity to fellowship with other believers.  Aside from me trying to do my part to minister to these friends, who is?  What about the countless other “Couch Christians”?

I certainly don’t have an answer.  I can do my part and my Community Church does tons of outreach, but I find the shift concerning.

First let us praise GOD that He is active in the lives of His people.

The thing that is missing is LOVE and DISCIPLESHIP.  This is important for the body of Christ, the Church. I have attended a few churches and have for that I just don’t want to attend that church for those specific reasons - My family and I walk into the church and no one greets us no love is shared and we are passed over from time to time with glances from others as if we are not important at all.  EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT!! I also find that some “christians” seem to want to argue with other “christians” over some text in the Bible about one thing or another and we miss the most important things - Love, Fellowship, compassion, and doing to others what we would have others do to us.  I was watching the news and saw a man screaming at the top of his lungs “Put it Back” when they removed the 10 commandments monument from the front of a court house - lack of knowledge and this gives the WHOLE body a bad name - we look like a bunch of fanatical fruits. I love passionate believers but if we don’t disciple others in being able to share their faith with LOVE, GRACE, AND MERCY then we misrepresent Christ. the Apostle Paul said it best “I preach Christ and Him crucified” what more do we need to do; is this not the Gospel!? why then do we allow ourselves to continue to debate argue and sometimes fight over some of the more trivial matters such as “tongues” or “once saved always saved”. Let us preach Christ and Him crucified and of His resurection.  today we see in part and know in part but when the Truth (Christ) comes we will know all things.  I don’t want to seem cavalier about the other teachings, they are important but we should keep them as IN HOUSE DEBATES and not let this be seen by unbelivers so as to make false accusations and judgement calls before hearing the truth. House churches are successfull because of the fellowship, true fellowship - shareing of the burdens of others, praying for one another, true discipleship.  how did the first church do it - Act 2:42 And they were continuing steadfastly in the doctrine of the apostles, and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:43 And fear came to every soul, and many wonders and miraculous signs took place through the apostles.
Act 2:44 And all the believers were together and had all things common.
Act 2:45 And they sold possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
Act 2:46 And continuing steadfastly with one mind day by day in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food in gladness and simplicity of heart,
Act 2:47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the assembly, the ones being saved from day to day.

I think we are missing majority of this - we don’t help one another with their needs, we seek only to put money into the church funds and not help the congregation as a whole but to preach to them - people don’t want to “give” to the wealth of a church but to “give” to one that has need this is why people will give.  I would feel better to give to someone to meet a “TRUE” need and not to the funding of a building that I don’t have a clue where the money is going.  why not have the church sponsor a “make a wish” fund/committee where members place their need on a list - it could be anything - the church committee would then “qualify” the need (insure that it is valid) then publish it to the congregation and if someone could fill the need they would contact the committee to provide for the need.  what a concept people helping people. what would happen if the church were debt free - could we not attract others because of the love we have for one another, the fellowship and many would be in the church daily devoting themselves to prayer because they are debt free.  these would be true disciples of Christ and not just one day a week churchianity type Christians or the 80% who believe they don’t need the church.  I wrote a book about this and pray by the Grace of GOD I can get it published to His Glory.  GOD Bless you all and thank you for your continued service to our GOD and King, Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the problem lies in what Pastor Erwin McMaus once said: “We somehow think that the church is here for us; we forget that we are the church and we are here for the world.”

As is shown by the blog responses, we don’t agree on what Jesus and the Bible says, so we can’t agree on the importance of the Church, even though it is us.

I attend two congregations; the one I am learning from, and the one I wish to teach and help.  The former meets on Friday nights, because after sundown, it becomes the “Sabbath”.  The latter meets on the usual “protestant” schedule I have grown up with.  They are both growing, but for different reasons.  One teaches the Word from the pulpit, using many passages and cross-references and studies of the Hebrew language and cultures.  They also expect certain standards of behavior on the grounds and at events.  They also are very adament about out-reach and community assistance.  They still send aid to Katrina victims, a couple of local homeless and women’s shelters, and some foreign missions projects that not only save souls, but also save lives and feed the hungry.  To them it IS about living and worshipping God 24/7.
The other one is full of activities, but most of them are activities for “us” and “the youth”.  A verse or two of the Word is chosen for the service and expounded on for the entire time.  However, there are few standards of conduct for the grounds or the activities.  We would never think of asking a fella to pull up his pants to cover his underwear for fear of offending him and losing his attendance.  We are not to judge anything--that is the job of the Holy Spirit.  In that case, why did Paul write so many instructional letters to the churches?  Why did he not just let “The Spirit” teach them?  And, if there are no standards to teach our children when gathered with the saints, how are they to know how to behave out in the world?  How can they be in the world but not of the world if we don’t teach them Godly behavior?
So, what I am learning about growth is that there are two kinds--Country Club Church growth, where church is something you do, and Spiritual Maturity growth, where church is what you live.  Tom is on the right path with the behaviors of the early church from Acts 2.  He is also right about the being debt free.  The Friday group is debt free and has much more to give out in aid.  The other is so mired in debt and bills that the pastor often has no assistance even with some of his own family’s needs!
Our goals should be to worship and serve God 24/7 (not just to fill the pews), and God will cause the growth--not us, as he “adds… daily those being saved”.