MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

Outgoing SBC President: More than Half of SBC Churches Could Die by 2030

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Mon, June 02, 2008
Viewed 152
(23) comments so far

Since the 1920s, the Southern Baptist Convention has grown steadily, peaking at 16.3 million last year. But Ed Stetzer, head of Southern Baptist affiliated LifeWay Research, says that growth rate has slowed in recent years.

Now, he says, the convention has started a downhill slide.

“If you look at the demographics, the trends are not positive,” Stetzer said.

Stetzer says that he shares Page’s concerns about the future. But he’s not quite ready to accept that half of Southern Baptist churches will disappear.

“It’s hard to kill off a church,” he said. “I do think the convention will be smaller in the future. My hope is that we will be smaller and stronger.”

FOR YOUR INPUT: There are many Southern Baptists reading this right now. Do you agree with Frank Page’s assessment? Is it really as simple as ‘change or die’?

"If we don't start paying attention to the realities … by the year 2030, we will be proud to have 20,000 rather than 44,000 Southern Baptist churches." That's a quote from outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page recnetly. According to a report in the Tennessean.com, Page believes the 16.2 million-member convention faces the same challenges that bedeviled other Protestant denominations — lower birthrates, aging demographics and a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity. In response, churches tend to circle the wagons and hang on for dear life.

"You've got massive numbers," he said, "maybe not a majority but massive numbers of evangelical churches out there, yes, Southern Baptists also, who are small groups of older white people holding on till they die."

Page's term as president ends this month during the convention's annual meeting in Indianapolis, Ind., June 10-11. Growing church membership and promoting a new evangelism strategy are among the convention's top priorities.

Comments

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Ron on Tue, June 03, 2008

Camey,

Thanks for the encouraging words. I should have made it clear that I am no longer bitter - I was for years, but am no longer. I have been blessed by the opportunity to work as a lay leader in my church and love the ministry that I have there and in the broader world.

Dr. Bob,

Wow. I hate to say this, but you sound pretty bitter. If you are a pastor who feels this way about his congregants, you should probably consider a new line of work. Yes, Jesus spent most of his time out the “bad folks” and yes, we need to follow that example and not form our own little ghettos. Jesus also went to the temple to teach, did not disparage the need for teaching at the temple (just the corruption of the teachers) and in general showed great respect for the structures that were put in place by - oh yeah, by Him.

Also, please see Paul and Timothy - both of whom spent a little time with the flock. One of the jobs a pastor has is to get the fat sheep to exercise a little so they are healthy, and sometimes that requires more than many shepherds are willing to give. Again, see Paul’s letters to Corinth and Colosse.

Maybe the problem with the fat sheep isn’t the fault of the sheep, but the shepherd.
Anna A on Tue, June 03, 2008

No, Dave Z. I found your comment about needy sheep being in the church, refreshingly honest. We are there, and sometimes we look for other hurting sheep, so that we can comfort and help them.
Dr. Bob on Tue, June 03, 2008

I do apologize for my “bitter” rants. I do love serving the church where people are willing to truly serve one another wash each others feet, touch the hurting and encourage one another, Jesus said when you do these things to the least of these you’ve done it to Me. Its just that what I was commenting on is that the majority of our ministry teams budgets and energies are spent doing the same old things we’ve always done. SS, visitation, church and fellowships. We need to train the flock how to live among the wolves and and win them not fear them.
Bruce Gerencser on Tue, June 03, 2008

Bob,

I didn’t see your words as “bitter” but then I am accused of being a “bitter” preacher too http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif

For me…...........as I take a long look back….......I see a lot of time and effort spend in worthless activity. Well intentioned but worthless.

We have an incest (spiritually, socially) problem in the American Church. We are all family and we want to keep it that way. Everything seems geared towards keeping the flock fed and happy. After all, I do want to get a paycheck right?

For me….......it was hard to come to the realization that I had spent a lot of years wasting time, all in the name of Jesus.

Even in my more evangelistic days…......I subscribed to the win them, wet them, work them and waste them school. It was all about numbers. (size does matter)

For me…........I am the one wasted.
Ron on Wed, June 04, 2008

Bob,

Thanks for clarifying - I do understand where you’re coming from, and I completely agree that we need to be out among the wolves and not just stuck in our own little Christian ghettos.

Bruce (and everyone else),

As with what Bob said above, I agree completely that there is a huge problem in much of evangelicalism, and it’s been there for a long time. My question now is, what should it look like? What should the church be doing differently? I live just a couple of blocks from The Journey here in St. Louis - they are the church that the SBC has gotten so upset with because they host discussions at a local pub. Seems to me that they are doing some good stuff in that they are taking Christianity outside the doors of the church to a place that is much more comfortable for a lot of people.

Thoughts?
Bruce Gerencser on Wed, June 04, 2008

Ron,

No easy answers or solutions.

Attractionalism and consumerism have given us the mess we have now. The vast majority of Christians are passive pew sitters. Frankly, many pastors aren’t much better. They preach on Sunday and play at the ministry (golf, conferences, busy work, etc) the rest of the week. While we bristle at the “pretty good money for one day a week” comments sometimes it is true.

The whole dynamic and emphasis needs to change..

Evangelism must become “as you are going”. It must become a part of who we are and what we do.

For every dime we spend in the Church…......let’s spend 90 cents outside the Church. Stop the incessant programs,building programs, worship events, concerts, conferences, etc and get down to real ministry to real people in the real world

Frankly a lot of Churches need to close their doors. They are irrelevant to the communities they are in. They lost sight of any sense or purpose. Their plan is no plan. Their outreach is a chicken dinner once a year. It is a real problem here in rural America.

Then we need new Churches. Churches focused on outward ministry. Focused on people. Maybe Churches need to merge. Is there really a need for 15 Churches of 10-50 people within 5 miles of me? Some of them are even of the same denomination.

I think we are beyond mere reform. We are dying and so is the world. Unless we radically overhaul, change, turn over what we are doing….....we only have to look to Europe to see what we will become.

The answers are not complex but they are hard….....and that’s the problem. As Americans we are soft, wimpy, people. We don’t like hard…..... (myself included)

Bruce
JoeKmat on Mon, June 09, 2008

“Frankly a lot of Churches need to close their doors. They are irrelevant to the communities they are in. They lost sight of any sense or purpose. Their plan is no plan.”

What you are saying seems to be that many pastors need to find other jobs or retire right now. How does that happen? Most of us have a midlife crisis or slow down, and the Spirit does not always give us the gift of energy. So how to approach this without destroying lives?
Bruce Gerencser on Mon, June 09, 2008

Hey JoeKmat,

I am of the opinion that most pastors probably should be bivocational. This allows pastors to keep in touch with the real world, takes away the salary pressure on Church finances, AND allows him/her to better prepare for retirement.

Pastors burn out and slow down. It is not about having the gift of energy so much as it is relearning what the ministry is supposed to be about.

Far too many pastors spend far too much time with things not related to their calling or doing “busy work.”

What are pastors called to do? We all know…......then look at what many pastors actually do…..........there is a huge disconnect.

As far as Churches are concerned….......most Churches know they need to change….......but they can’t. The structural issues are so intricate, controlled and pervasive that it takes herculean effort to change. It can happen but it doesn’t seem to happen very often