Let’s begin 2012 with these words from a Virginia Baptist friend and active leader in her church:
“Recently, at the conclusion of our worship, I left with an empty feeling. There was nothing wrong with the service at all. It was simply so basic that there was nothing there that I could especially hold on to. I hadn’t been fed even though I think my expectations were appropriate. But, I reasoned, ‘It’s for the new hearers.’
John Chandler
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“The very next week, over lunch with a friend, the very words out of her mouth were, ‘At the end of service Sunday, I asked myself, is that all there is?’ Like me, she rationalized that the unsaved had to be reached in the most basic way. Other active church members from other communities also struggle to find a church that had moved beyond basic. My question: Has church attendance declined to the point where we are at the ‘remnant’ level? Does it follow that worship needs to be amped up (high challenge) otherwise we are failing to leverage this discipleship opportunity? Lacking that challenge, there are plenty of other generic do-gooding organizations that will snap up this talent.”
Surveying 1,600 adults, George Barna’s book, Futurecast, tracks changes from 1991 to 2011. All major trend lines of religious belief and behavior he measured ran downward except two. One, more people claim they have accepted Jesus as their savior and expect to go to heaven. Two, more say they haven't been to church in the past six months except for special occasions such as weddings or funerals. Thus in 1991, 24 percent were unchurched. Today, it’s 37 percent.
Barna says, “Everyone hears, ‘Jesus is the answer. Embrace him. Say this little Sinner’s Prayer and keep coming back.’ It doesn’t work. People end up bored, burned out and empty,” he says. “They look at church and wonder, ‘Jesus died for this?’ ”
The seeker movement of the 1980s famously amped up invitation. Churches were urged to be more hospitable to strangers — not a bad thing. But could the prophetic trend for 2012 be recalibrating toward higher challenge — a more robust form of discipleship?
Trending is written by John Chandler, leader of the Spence Network, www.spencenetwork.org./equip.htm. He is a member at All Souls, a Baptist congregation in Charlottesville, Va.