The following is a link to a very interesting article on Christian affiliation in North America. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23337807
The basic thrust of the article is that more and more people are giving up allegiance to one particular denomination. I don't know yet whether this is good or bad. It could be that it's symptomatic of a general trend towards apathy and indiscriminate thinking. Possible, sure. However, it might just be the opposite. Cultural critics are readily aware of the emergence of a new wave of spiritual hunger accompanying the subtle shift toward postmodern thinking. Directly correlated to this hunger is an increasing dissatisfaction with institutional religion. This is why the article may be a sign of good things to come. North American churches have increasingly become dominated by consumerism and club-memberism (my new phrase of the day). The business (pun intended) of most churches today is to keep the club members happy and writing checks. The good news is that people are beginning to see through this (For an excellent analysis see Reggie McNeal, The Present Future, recommended to me by my good friend Sam Pace). Churches have for far too long restricted the potential latent within so many Christians out of fear of missing the bottom line and the quarterly quotas. Maintenance and upkeep have taken over mission and outreach. The thought really hit home as I was rereading the Exodus story this morning. You will recall that the Egyptians benefitted greatly from the Israelite slave market. The economy was good and the Egyptians were happy. Pharaoah only let the Isrealites go after enduring the plagues sent from God. Interestingly, he makes a remarkably erie statement which resembles the modern situation quite closely. After releasing the Hebrew people he came to his senses and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services! (Exodus 14:5)". Perhaps churches in North America have let their own selfish monopolies on the marketplace hinder the cause of the kingdom and the growth of untold numbers of individuals. Scared to lose their services, they may have lost something far greater. Maybe God is on the move. Will we wake up or continue in our slumber?
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2 comments:
Hey Zach. Good post. Personally, I think it's a great thing that people are losing allegiances to denominations. Of course, that means a loss of allegiance to for those who continue to think of the "Church of Christ" in those same terms. I think what we might say is that people are beginning to lose allegiance to the idea that the sign on their building must say "church of Christ" or even to bear all of the same methodological and theological stamps.
Looking back over our heritage in the Restoration Movement - that's where we began - with people who were refusing to be allied with specific denominations - desiring for the unity of all of God's children and the laying down of man-made barriers.
What it will look like in today's world remains to be seen. We're entering an era that isn't nearly as Lockean philosophically speaking and is, as you pointed out, very postmodern - if not somewhat nihilistic among the youngest of today's minds.
Yet - we continue to hold forth the absolute light of Christ in a world that has hope in spite of the best efforts of postmodern nihilism!
Thanks again for your post! I enjoy reading.
Lee, your comment about our heritage is often overlooked today. What began as a unity movement has become one of the most divisive movements in the history of Christendom. A quick look at the directory of Churches of Christ and the "Keys to Understanding the Data" on the inside cover offer prima facie evidence in support of this. OC, OCa, OCb, OCc, OC+c, NCp, etc. I think the only one missing is OCD!
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