Over the weekend at the Assessment Conference we had to do a book review about a book that touches upon issues such as church decline and how we need to respond. This is a subject close to my heart and would you believe I also had exactly the same question at last year’s conference! Rather than handing in the other paper I did actually write a new one, although it wasn’t as good as the one from last year unfortunately. I drifted too far from the text apparently!
After writing the new review I found the old one on my computer and I wish I had been able to submit this one again as it contained a couple of really good quotes. In looking at what the church was doing to respond to halt it’s decline in the west I suggested that:
It seems that the church is still trying to treat society as a naughty child who simply needs to be coaxed to behave and toe the line. However, the very authority that they are seeking to invoke, is the same authority that is no longer accepted by society.
There are some church-goers who lament the decline in Christian morals and values and in response they try to force the values of the church onto society as a whole. This in many ways is what was wrong about having a church that was so bound up with the political forces for centuries. By legislating our way to Christian morality it is hardly surprising that as Christianity has waned in popularity we have seen an abandonment of the laws that went along with it. If we try, from a position of irrelevancy to many, to impose our mindset on others then the old authority simply doesn’t wash. If we want to impose our views on others, and I’m not sure that this is what we should be doing, the authority we need is one of integrity; one of being seen to adhere to the values we are trying to impose.
Likewise, if we seek to influence society by showing them good Christian morals and values the authority we must invoke come from that self same position. If we are not living lives of integrity to our beliefs, then today’s western world will simply not be interested.
A fellow blogger asked the question a few months ago as to why we are seeing decline in the church, and what can be done about it. In response I wrote that nothing less than:
a radical rediscovery of our access to the transformational power of the Holy Spirit [will] bring us back…
In my mind this can be the only response to declining numbers. If the Spirit is at work in our lives then doors into the lives of others will open and we will eventually see a growth in the church again. What that church will look like remains to be seen.
Oh Amen! How I love the Holy Spirit, for without Him we are but an empty shell. I know I can only witness effectively with His help. I am not in the salvation army, but the thing that always draws me to it is their love for and their moving in the Holy Spirit.
The bible talks about a falling away at these end times. Do you think these declining numbers are to do with that?
Esther
Hi Esther!
Good question and to be honest I’m going to dodge it! You see I’m not convinced that all of the decline is actually decline in the body of Christ. It might be decline in church attendance, but is this necessarily a bad thing?
My reason for thinking this goes back about 20 years when I realised that not all those who were going to The Salvation Army were necessarily committed to it’s mission. They enjoyed the style of worship, or at least enjoyed playing in the band, but other than that weren’t interested in getting others saved, or even their own walk with Jesus.
Nominalism has been such a part of ‘church’ for so many years now that we don’t differentiate between nominal christians and the real disciples. So if the decline is because we don’t see as many nominal christians in church anymore, then this is not necessarily a bad thing. I know that some of the decline is because of people leaving because of frustration, but these days many of those are finding new expressions to go to.