Run to the hills

Now that I have reached a certain stage in my life, I can say I’m older, hopefully, wiser, and more knowledgable about some things in this world. I’ll admit, reluctantly, I’m older…but not too old; no I don’t have white hair or rely on a cane…yet.

Have you ever been asked, “How can I pray for you? What can I pray for in your life?” and you had to think long and hard about what you’re in need of? When this happens, I realize, “Uh oh, I don’t have a need from God.” I’m still healthy, have enough to eat each day, and have a roof over my head. Good thing is that I can say I’m blessed. Not so good thing is that I might be self-deceived into thinking I don’t really have a need for God.

I’ve noticed that when things are well and life is comfortable, my reliance upon God is not as apparent. I don’t ask God for anything. When I do have difficulties and hardship, I do rely on God’s power to save. When I am doing well, I rely less on God’s power. I get lulled asleep into trusting in my own strength.

In the earliest biblical account, the early Christians were killed and faced hardship. Not kidding. The first Christians were forced to escape as refugees. They had to run away into rural areas for their safety. If they didn’t run, they risked their entire families being killed or brutalized by the ruling elites and governing authorities. Luke writes:

“And Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.”

Acts 8:1-3, NRSV updated

Think about it. Moms and Dads with kids in their arms, running for their lives. They quickly took all they had and fled from the city and ran to the hills. No passports. Carrying little or no gold, silver or money. Their businesses were shut down. No time to say, “Bye boss, bye neighbor.” Perhaps their boss, neighbors or so-called friends would’ve turned them in to the authorities. They took just the basic necessities like clothing, cookware, a few toys. Imagine the havoc. Their livelihoods were completely turned upside down.

If church leaders like Stephen was killed, then regular people like you, me, Joe and Jane Doe were not safe. No one was safe. Not women, not children. If you stuck to belief in Jesus, the safest place to run to were the hills. Find ways to survive by hiding from the governing authorities.

Imagine the pain and fear. As these faithful believers buried their leader Stephen, they wailed loudly in mourning over this tragedy. It’s recorded. Saul and the authorities were “ravaging the church by entering house and house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison” (v.3).

The irony in all of this is that during this same time, healings and miracles were happening. The apostles faithfully continued to preach the gospel of Jesus. Philip performed miraculous signs, casting out evil spirits from the demon possessed. You could hear shrieks as this happened (vv. 5-8). And the amazing thing–there was a lot of joy in the people of that city.

That was a time in the early church when the new believers held tight to their new found faith. It was near and dear to their hearts. Faith was supernaturally sent down from heaven above.

Visiting fellow church parishioners

Rev. Eugene Peterson once asked Rev. Harry Fosdick what he thought was the most important thing he does in preparing to preach on Sunday. He said his answer to Peterson was,

“For two hours every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, I walk through the neighborhood and make home visits. There is no way that I can preach the gospel to these people if I don’t know how they are living, what they are thinking and talking about. Preaching is proclamation, God’s word revealed in Jesus, but only when it gets embedded in conversation, in a listening ear and responding tongue, does it become gospel.” (The Pastor, p.87)

This is simple but yet profound. The gospel ought to be related and identified with those we speak to. Preachers today have an inner struggle trying to relate with their people who attend their churches. It’s almost a feeling of insecurity. We hear it when pastors go too long in their sermon intros trying to relate with the common life.

In my line of work, I do ministry with those I work with. Many already know who I am. I walk the lines where they work. And they know where to find me. They know I can relate with their lives. I am not too different from them. I experience the same challenges they do. So when I listen to their stories, they know I understand.

The Christian Community

THE CALL TO A HIGHER LIFE:

Brother Thomas Merton describes the Christian community life:

“The community is an organism whose common life is pitched on a somewhat higher tone than the life of the individual member… In entering a community, the individual sets himself the task of living above his own ordinary level, and thus perfecting his own being, living more fully, by his efforts to live for the benefit of others besides himself.”

This “higher tone” and “living above” the ordinary level come from the expectation that the Christian has agreed with the community and has made a vow to God to live a holy life and pursue a higher calling to love Christ. It’s something our generation is lacking today. It is what young men and women are yearning deep inside. This choice for a holy lifestyle exists.

It’s a choice one makes into a way of life and leads to an extra ordinary life. It allows one to rise above the norm. It is not the easy path. It is a move away from collective society of the “crowd” into another society—a private and quiet one.

Although I am a Protestant evangelical, I can appreciate this silent life. There are many people who would appreciate such a life. Throughout the earliest centuries of the Christian Church, besides Monasteries and Convents, many other groups also lived as Christian communities—Mennonites, Hutterites, Amish, etc. Who knows what more will firm in the future? There will undoubtedly be more.

These various types of separate communities are Christian and can benefit one’s spiritual growth, if even for a season. It’s not for everyone but it certainly is attractive for some. It will become a greater attraction for many in the future because Generation Z is seeking and longing for mutual support in this dark and lonely world. The Christian Church will experience a re-awakening, revival of some sort. Prepare for it.

LOST IN THE COLLECTIVE:

“A crowd is a mere aggregation in which the collective life is as low as the standards of the lowest units in the aggregation. Descending into the crowd, the individual loses his personality and his character and perhaps loses his moral dignity as a human being. The crowd is below man. The crowd devours the human that is in us to make us the members of a many-headed beast.” (Thomas Merton, The Silent Life, FS&G (1957) Part I, ch. 4 , p.43)

If you’ve watched re-runs of Star Trek, remember the ‘collective’? In the collective, a person can lose one’s own personality and one’s moral bearings.

Who wants to lose oneself in a collective? I certainly do not. It creates sadness, despair and depression. Our society, youth and young adults is drowning in it. It feels like a deep pit of despair and hopelessness. Only Christ can pull us out of this despair.

Brother Merton continues describing the monastic community:

“That is why the monastery builds itself in the wilderness: cuts off communications with the world and with the press and the radio which too often are simply the voice of the vast aggregation that is something less than human. As a community must take care to form itself carefully in the atmosphere of solitude and detachment in which the seeds of faith and charity have a chance to sink deep roots and grow without being choked out by thorns, or crushed under the wheels of trucks and cars.”

ISLANDS OF DESPAIR:

As the contemporary church, each Christian needs to be part of a greater community—one that is bigger and better than him or her self. No one can survive as an island; and as the saying goes: “No man is an island.” This is so true. Many individuals live as ‘islands’ today, although one may attend church services or mass every single week. How many of us walk in and then out of the church feeling alone? You know the answer. We live like we are on our own—like individuals in a crowd.

Moreover, we easily lose our Christian identity and become submerged within ‘the Crowd’. We feel lost within the Crowd. This is why it has become so difficult for our generation of young people to live for Christ.

The voice of secular society is becoming ever louder. It can become a great distraction to the Christian life. The world will inevitably try to shape an individual into something ‘less than human.’ One’s faith then becomes choked out by thorns and crushed by the weight of society’s pressures. It then becomes impossible to live a satisfying life as a human being.

THE HOPE:

God still gives each Christian a choice to live for Christ, to identify as God’s son or daughter, and serve Jesus first. There is a holy desire that resides within each Christian person to live in some sort of spiritual-religious community or society. To achieve something greater than the individual self. It would be beneficial for you to pay attention to this inner desire you have calling from within.

On spiritual retreat

I am taking the opportunity to have a six-day personal spiritual retreat at a retreat centre, a convent actually.

I spent time sitting down with a spiritual director, a wonderful lady in her senior years. I am truly blessed to have spent six-days in this setting (while remaining separate from the community).

It’s been a wonderful experience to get away during this Lenten season and reflect spiritually and be challenged through my spiritual director as to where my life is and where it can go.

I found a book in the library called The Silent Life, by Thomas Merton. I came across a paragraph that speaks on the Christian community. It would apply equally to any monastery, convent, or religious community.

Brother Merton writes:

“…the monastic life is a school of affection, fidelity and mercy. By sharing the prayers, labor and trials of our brothers, and knowing them as they are, we learn to respect them and to love them with a sober compassion that is too deep for sentimentality. We learn to be faithful to them, depending on them, we know that they have a right to depend on us. We try to learn how not to fail them. Finally we forgive others their faults and sins against us, as we ourselves would be forgiven by them and by God. In this school of charity and of peace a man learns not only to respect and to love others, but also, in the purest sense, to love and respect his own person for the sake of God. Without this supernatural self-respect, which comes from realizing himself to find it in himself to have true affection for his brothers. This deep mutual respect is nourished in the monastery. It is the exact opposite to worldly flattery because it is based on a true and intimate knowledge of others and of ourselves. Its fruit is a solid and lasting peace which does not end with the mere satisfaction of our need for companionship and for friends, but purifies our hearts of dependence on visible things and strengthens our faith in God.” (Part I, ch. 4, p.44)

The religious life is a sort of ‘school’ where one learns how to live in Christian community, shut away from the world and its worldliness. It is where one works together, prays together, live in community together where we face our individual challenges together. One learns to share in God’s graces and offer grace to others. One learns to love and respect one another.

The Christian community is a spiritual-religious bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. It is almost like a nuclear DNA family but without the bond of blood relations. As a general statement and in a way, it can be an even tighter-knit community than a nuclear family as it does not have the trappings of familiarity of a nuclear family. These friends, made in community, are the only close companions these members have.

When one offends another, one must have the humility to apologize for one’s own ill behavior; otherwise, that friendship can be lost. In reality, friendships can be lost in any community–religious or nuclear families.

This is just one aspect of religious community life.

What’s the Church good for?

The Church is the body of Christ. We also need each other. We need one another to walk with each other. It’s a big help when others can help carry our burdens. This is what the body of Christ can do to help one another.

We need our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and family and friends to support us. Some people in this world have no one. No support whatsoever, and that’s tragic. The church on earth is made up of human beings who are weak. We are limited. And even we as followers of Christ, we ourselves will fail others who need us.

A broken and imperfect people

Do people view Christians as imperfect people? Yes, we Christians are imperfect; and we don’t need to hide this fact. And I’m one of these imperfect ones. I’m not ashamed to admit that I am imperfect. I have known some who put on a facade–like a make-over to look like that “perfect and righteous Christian.” Nothing can be more phoney. Pastors, elders, deacons can be pressured to put on a facade because of fear of not looking like that good example. This can be true of any church.

Our younger generation are totally not into this “old school” hypocrisy of “fake it till you make it.” They want people to be real, genuine and true to themselves. They want this of themselves. I don’t mean that we show off our sin like a peacock. By this I really mean that we ought to trust in God’s forgiveness with boldness and courage. Without a true understanding and experience of God’s grace, the freedom to do this is impossible.

This generation has been raised in a non-religious society but it realizes its need for God and spirituality. I see the rise of two cultures clashing. One culture realizes the imperfections we all have and rebel against the injustices of our society’s leaders, including our political, business and religious leaders. It wants to fix this broken culture.

The other culture realizes our own need for a savior because we have seen our hopelessness of trying to fix ourselves and our society. This savior has been revealed to us, and He is the one who saves us from having to rebel and fight (not that we don’t strive to improve society). This second culture is the Christian or Jesus culture.

I have been a broken person and see my own imperfections more than anyone else. I just try not to show it or make it too obvious. If this is how you feel too, then you’ll understand it is why we need a God who loves us despite our imperfections. We don’t need a god to make us feel better about ourselves. We need a savior who loves us despite our brokenness. This is what grace is. This is the most liberating way to live.

This understanding of righteousness and setting God’s righteousness above our own human righteous is how Christ built the Church from nothing. A personal spiritual revelation of God’s grace is the only thing that can revive the Church today. I see a new generation of Christians rising up today that is full of faith and a new found sense of spirituality. This gives me new hope in the Church.

Everything about me has been and is going back to God’s grace. It’s amazing. Yes, it’s God’s grace that’s amazing. It truly is. When I listen to the song: Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace) by Hillsong, I’m amazed by the words of the lyrics. It goes like:

All these pieces
Broken and shattered
In mercy gathered
Mended and whole
Empty handed
But not forsaken
I've been set free
I've been set free ….

You take our failure
You take our weakness
You set Your treasure
In jars of clay
So take this heart Lord
I'll be your vessel
The world to see
Your life in me….

Then the amazing part goes like this:

Oh I can see You now
Oh I can see the love in Your eyes
Laying Yourself down
Raising up the broken to life

After I realize God’s love despite my broken and shattered life,
Despite my need to be mended and be made whole,
Despite my failures, weaknesses,
God still wants to make me into a vessel of his to be used by him.

This is why I can see God more clearly today. I have looked into God’s loving eyes who gave himself up for my broken life. Now I’m set free. Set free from having to hide my imperfections. Set free from human performance. This is true freedom.

Yes, Snoopy needs God’s grace too.

Religious ‘None’s increasing

Dr. Joel Thiessen (Canada’s younger version of Reginald Bibby) has done a Canadian study and found that society increasingly self-identifies as having “No religion”.  Millennials are raised in a social context without a religion.  Some might have gone to Sunday school or received baptism as an infant but end up as a non-attender of church.  The United States and Europe are all generally in a similar situation.  The U.S. might be a little better.

This presents a challenge because people do not know who Jesus is. With this challenge comes the opportunity to socialize Christianity in a more positive way.  The opportunity is that we get to start with a brand new slate.

How we do share the love of Jesus to our friends, acquaintances, and family who are in this category of “Religious None”?  If you are 50 or younger, you probably know someone who has never been to church and who has heard about Jesus spoken of at Christmastime or as a curse word.

How do we share the good news of Jesus in this generation?  With sensitivity to “None”s, or using the seeker-sensitive model?

Sorry the video is only on facebook and not on youtube, thus, the link to a facebook page of Acadia Divinity College (alma mater):

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Facadiadivinitycollege%2Fvideos%2F2275011249205310%2F&show_text=1&width=560

Evangelization of another marginal group–the rich

In a previous post, I blogged about a need for evangelization and missions to the margins.  In this post, I will make a case for evangelization to the rich. The left will hate what I have to say here.

Missionary families have sacrificed their lives and their comforts of home to live overseas, to adopt a new culture and learn a new language.  Their motivation is to proclaim the gospel to people on the margins.  They are on the margins due to income/economic status; sickness/health; race/ethnicity; language and education.

Jesus’ entire ministry was to those who were on the margins.  Luke 7:21-22 states:

“At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

Previously I hadn’t really noticed this one verse in Luke 7:29:

“All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.”

Yes, even tax collectors repented and got baptized.  During the days of the Roman Empire, tax collectors were people who were relied upon by civil government. The Roman Empire depended upon them to bring in tax revenues. Without tax collectors, they would not have been able to receive any monies to fund their public services. Thus, tax collectors were highly valued by the Emperor.

It was unfortunate that they abused their positions of power. They took advantage of people. They added additional taxes to their collections that were not necessarily owed to Rome. They enriched themselves by pocketing that extra money for themselves. They were hated and despised amongst the common people.

Some of these dishonest tax collectors were evangelized. They received Christ and transformed their lives. They gave up their dishonest ways, and were baptized by John.  If there is room for the rich in God’s kingdom, who are we to judge?

Zacchaeus in the bible was a dishonest man.  He came to faith in Christ.  In the gospels, he was repentant and transformed the way he conducted his business.  He promised Jesus to give half of his money to the poor and return four-fold what he had cheated (Luke 19:8).

Jesus’ response was evidence of the good news that came into Zacchaeus’ life.  Jesus said in Luke 19:9-10,

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Do we despise those who are rich and powerful?  Are they also unfairly despised by some of us commoners.  We accuse them of being oppressors of the weak.  We accuse them of getting rich on the backs of the poor. Not necessarily true.

There are many rich people who make their money honestly, and through hard work and diligence.

Do we scorn the rich, famous and powerful for the sake of scorning them?  When we do so, it creates a bigger chasm between them and the commoner.

Do the ultra rich, powerful and famous also need to hear the gospel?  Are they also loved by Jesus?   They also have problems like us ordinary people.  They also have marital troubles, divorce and separation, parental issues, just as we all do.  Their lives can also be torn by sin and corruption.

This sector of society also need Jesus.  There is room for them in God’s kingdom.

Here’s a question for us to consider.  If Jesus invited himself to eat with Zacchaeus’ at his home, might Jesus do so with the ultra rich and powerful today?  Most definitely.

Our evangelization and missionary work today could use a good tweaking. We ought not only be evangelizing the poor and sick. We also need to turn our attention to people of influence.

Missionaries are doing some great missional work to evangelize the marginalized. But what about politicians, and the rich business person? In a way, they might also be people on the margins–but on the other side of the margins?

I’ll define this group as those who are on the margins on the opposite of the economic and social spectrum.  We tend to marginalize them because of the division their money and wealth has created.

I know it’s rather difficult to attach the label “marginalized” upon those who are rich. Juxtaposed with a large middle-class population, the super ultra-rich do standout as a marginalized group.

In our modern contemporary society, we might consider people such as:  the ultra rich, famous Hollywood stars, music icons, Supreme Court justices. These people might also be some of the loneliest people in the world.  Their success in their own field of work has created a greater chasm between themselves and the common person.

What would Jesus do?  Jesus addressed rich people regarding their spiritual poverty.  They were too content, too satisfied and did not seek after the things of God.  Money satisfied them but they missed the spiritual side of life.

To be fair, and on the other side of the same token, I believe Jesus would also speak to the poor people regarding their spiritual poverty.

So whether we rich or poor, God would desire we all people to seek after godly and spiritual things.

The ultra rich might be the most financially comfortable people in the world.  But they might also be the most unhappiest people in the world.

All human beings, regardless of our status, battle with depression, suicide, debilitating sicknesses and diseases.  All people have marital breakdown.  All people battle personal problems.  God can be the savior of all people who need a savior.

It is not unusual that the higher one climbs on the socio-economic ladder, the less happy and more lonely one becomes.

So who might be the proverbial “tax collectors” of today?   Might they also need to be ministered to? They might be our Hollywood producers, famous Oscar recipients, successful real estate tycoons, business persons and corporate executives.

Let me ask you: When did you last minister to Hollywood producers, the political operatives, and business tycoon?  Did you offer them any spiritual guidance?  Were there any around who could share the good news with them.

Most common people never have any sort contact with them. Why would we? And how could we?  The marginal on this side of the bell curve are also isolated people.

How can the gospel transform the lives of the rich, famous and powerful?  This might be worth pondering upon.  The gospel and the love of Christ can transform the lives of all persons.  It might make the world a better place.

Can they be transformed by the light of Christ to the glory of God?  “Yes.”  Jesus also wants to intervene in their lives. God loves all people of all economic and social status.

If this post has made any sense, I hope it might present another challenge. How do we reach this other marginal group of the rich?  Perhaps we might consider and pray that God should send evangelists, missionaries and apostles to the super rich, famous and powerful.

Sex Abuse in Southern Baptist Churches

No one likes airing one’s own dirty laundry.  There is plenty of dirty laundry to be aired.  A scandal ising erupt in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Sexual abuse is currently being reported by the Houston Chronicle, a 3-part series titled Abuse of Faith (February 2019) (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

It’s no longer just the Roman Catholic Church taking the brunt of the criticisms.  Southern Baptist congregations are also guilty of sexual abuse of children and youth. Some of the names involve prominent SBC leaders, pastors, and involve some lay-leaders, volunteers, and deacons.

There is no stopping at just youth pastors and deacons and volunteer laypersons. This report reveals seminary presidents and SBC leaders, and pastors of large congregations who are guilty.

This article reveals hideous sins within the SBC churches that will undoubtedly heap shame and guilt upon Southern Baptists. Baptists and evangelicals pride themselves on holiness and piety. We think of ourselves as living out the Christian lifestyle.  Underneath the veneer of Church-ianity, there is still sin that is common to all human beings. I hope all baptists can realize our own hypocrisy and confess our sins.

In May of last year, Patterson was ousted as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth after he said he wanted to meet alone with a female student who said she was raped so he could “break her down,” according to a statement from seminary trustees.

But his handling of sexual abuse dates back decades. Several women have said that Patterson ignored their claims that his ex-protégé, Darrell Gilyard, assaulted them at Texas churches in the 1980s; some of those allegations were detailed in a 1991 Dallas Morning News article.

The Gilyard case bothered Debbie Vasquez. She feared other victims had been ignored or left to handle their trauma alone.

When Vasquez became pregnant, she said, leaders of her church forced her to stand in front of the congregation and ask for forgiveness without saying who had fathered the child.

She said church members were generally supportive but were never told the child was their pastor’s. Church leadership shunned her, asked her to get an abortion and, when she said no, threatened her and her child, she said. She moved abroad soon after.

Pastors can be abused by the congregations. Yes. But church members can also be abused by pastors, deacons, elders and lay-leader/volunteers.  Every person in church leadership need to be held accountable.  Background police checks probably don’t catch every sex offender.  These checks only catch registered sex offenders but those who have never been caught will slip through the cracks undetected.

Harvey Rosenstock, a psychiatrist in Houston worked for decades with victims and perpetrators of clergy sexual abuse. He describes how clergy use their power to abuse children and youth:

“If someone is identified as a man of God, then there are no holds barred,” he said. “Your defense system is completely paralyzed. This man is speaking with the voice of God. … So a person who is not only an authority figure, but God’s servant, is telling you this is between us, this is a special relationship, this has been sanctioned by the Lord. That allows a young victim to have almost zero defenses. Totally vulnerable.”

As clergy, we have influence that causes a power imbalance, especially with the vulnerable.  Young children, youth and young people are susceptible to being taken advantage of by people in authority.  Women can also hold a power imbalance too so we must not take our positions for granted.  I hope our churches becomes more self-aware and corrects this imbalance through a system of checks and balances.

The Call for a New Evangelization

The U.S. flag is seen as Pope Francis greets the crowd during his arrival to lead his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican March 27.

In the next several posts, I’m going to share a few things I wish the universal/catholic Church could be doing better, or more of.

We all like and dislike what some of the Church is doing, and not doing.

Most of what the church is doing is good. As the Church triumphant on earth, we’ve done a lot of good in this world.

We have also done some not-so-good things.

Moreover, we have not done enough of the good things that we could be doing more of.

Back in 2009 during my early days of my blogging hobby, blogger Michael Spencer at Internet Monk (now deceased. God bless him!) had predicted that in ten years there would be a collapse of the evangelical Church.

That was a very depressing and pessimistic thing to read.  Well, thank God his predication did not come true.

Parts of the wider North American evangelical Church have actually grown (e.g., Pentecostals and charismatics).

Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul (Pentecostal), South Korea, is the largest congregation in the world with over 800,000 members. Started with only 5 people in a home church.

On a worldwide scale, the evangelical Church has grown at a phenomenal rate amongst all denominations (including evangelicals, mainline Protestants, and the Roman Catholic Church).  Churches in the Southern hemispheric countries have seen phenomenal rates of growth and revival.  Praise God!

Sadly, in churches in Europe and western nations, that is not the case.  Dying churches choose to die because they have chosen to not do evangelism. I do hope and pray that denominations on the decline would awaken spiritually before they die out completely.

God is a sovereign God. The Holy Spirit has a way of reviving Christ’s Church by introducing new movements.

God graces us with charisms that utilizes all the gifts for the sake of the Church.  As a result, God transforms Christian movements into new churches which eventually form new denominations.  Newly established denominations become the new Mainline.

Ironically, as lethargy sets into the new mainline, it develops new problems that have also plagued historic denominations.  May God have mercy on us, the Church of Christ.

Between 2007 and 2014, Pew Research found a general decline in broad sectors of the Church in the United States (Pew website)

Evangelical Protestant churches declined from 26.3% to 25.4%. Note that modern evangelicalism is only 50 years old.

The Catholic Church declined from 23.9% to 20.8%.  Mainline Protestant churches declined from 18.1% to 14.7%.

The thing that strikes me is those who identify themselves as Unaffiliated.  It increased from 16.1% to 22.8%. That’s a 6.7% increase!

What the universal/catholic Church is not doing enough of is evangelism.

In 2006, Pope John Paul II called for a New Evangelization. It was a radical call to proclaim the gospel in our world.

Pope Francis XVI has continued to echo this call for this New Evangelization (here).
See document: titled “Evangelii Gaudium” (The Joy of the Gospel).

The pope declared:

“I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self- preservation.”

Some churches/denominations have taken a reactionary approach.  They do evangelism for self-preservation.  Efforts are a desperate attempt to survive.

Sad fact here.  As historic congregations gray-out in the pews, they survive by drawing from the equity of building and property values.  Many of our mainline Protestant denominations are dying a slow but steady death.

They offer the excuse that their children have moved away from home and living elsewhere.

Another sad fact.  Many of their children are not attending church after they have moved away. It’s a sad but hard fact to swallow.  It pains them when they are reminded of it.

If our general population is increasing, shouldn’t church attendance also be increasing?

As institutional churches (or denominations), we have been neglecting some good things we could be doing more of (as I mentioned earlier on): re-evangelizing the generations of unchurched people.