I would get in trouble posting this anywhere else, and I might get in trouble here too...
First, the situation is much worse than this would indicate. Not only are fewer people going to church, but much fewer people are going to a church that preaches Christ and Him crucified, desiring heaven and avoiding hell, and what discipleship costs, in terms of life choices, and willing to give it all to God. For all the doctrinal differences between denominations, this was not an issue 100 or 150 years ago, outside of high criticism which might be found in big cities but nowhere else. Today, at least half of the churches preach everything except the Bible, the Gospel, and discipleship, so attendance there doesn’t count.
Second, the church throughout most of its history has been able to balance the devotional with the martial, the monks with the knights, the prayer warriors with the antidevil warriors. Today, “manliness” is not a part of church practice, whether it be the man who stands before God in prayer, or the man who stands before Satan with the full armor of God. Discipline is nonexistent in the church, and so there is nothing to be gained from going there, or associating with those who go there. Even the secular world recognizes this in some ways, such as the rise of the martial arts—if you wanted to be a disciple of Christ and didn’t have a Bible to guide you, bushido would be a good place to start.
Third, there is nothing, outside the Eucharist, that you get at church that you can’t get at home, usually at a higher aesthetic quality. Church services from large churches with music and nationally-recognized pastors come over the TV, livestreamed on the internet, or through your church app. Why should I go to the dinky church that has 20-30 or even 100 people with volunteer musicians and average preachers, when I can save my time and my gas and watch the Big Dogs of the church, often while I’m multitasking like eating breakfast or cleaning the house or scrolling through Facebook?
So how is all of this going to change? It will take a massive move of the Spirit over the whole land, and that will most likely take a massive collapse of the peace and prosperity that we have come to expect for the last 80 years, requiring people to beg God to come back into their lives and our society. Until then, it’s just going to get worse and worse, because there is nothing outside of hell that is lost by being anything other than a disciple of Christ.
“...most likely take a massive collapse of the peace and prosperity that we have come to expect for the last 80 years, requiring people to beg God to come back into their lives...”
Every Great Awakening in American history follows the onset of very bad economic times.
They can not go, but then there’s that problematic Matthew 18:20.
“Why should I go to the dinky church that has 20-30 or even 100 people with volunteer musicians and average preachers, when I can save my time and my gas and watch the Big Dogs of the church...”
Because a good church doesn’t exist to ENTERTAIN you! You go to the small church, get to know others, learn about their families, problems - and you offer advice. You pray for them. You introduce them to others who might help.
And when YOU need help - and it really sounds like you do - THEY are there to carry your burdens with you.
The church is the BODY of Christ, not a painting of Him!