Posted on 09/04/2011 5:24:05 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--It is time for the Southern Baptist Convention to move from denial to decision.
It has happened again. The SBC reported membership has declined, again. And, baptisms are at their lowest level in 60 years.
I remember the first time the membership declined, just a few years ago. I pointed out (based on data from LifeWay's now-retired statistician Cliff Tharp) that it was not an aberration, but a pattern. The 50-year membership trend was moving into negative territory.
"Put simply," I wrote in light of 2007 data, "membership may go up next year, but the trend points to the negative. It probably won't go up. But, even if it does, I believe we will have more declining than growing years over the next decade. Unless the trend changes, membership has peaked."
How did we respond? I remember how strongly these observations were denied. A segment of the SBC seemed to think closing our eyes or disputing the data would change our reality.
In 2008 when we were again faced with the data of a continuing trend, I noted, "Today we are facing a set of numbers to which we are not accustomed.... This year, I believe that our tipping point continues to tip. Unless things change, we are about to enter a time when we grow accustomed to decline and think back to the good ol' days of growth."
Following that report, there was a little less denial. Actually, more spoke up. Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, warned that Southern Baptists are in danger of entering a deep decline with all the accompanying problems.
Subsequently, the data for 2009 revealed no reversal.
Now, we can see four years in a row of statistics confirming a long-term trend of membership decline in the SBC. It is what it is.
It is time for the SBC to move from denial to decision. I am only echoing what others have said before: It is time for change in the SBC. But change, just for the sake of change, is not enough. We must ask, "What kind of change do we need?"
For me, as a missiologist and denominational servant, change needs to come in several places.
A need for Missio Dei
First, we need a renewed passion for churches to live on mission. We need to see the church not simply as an institution but as an agent of God's Kingdom-mission. Increasingly, people must recognize the church is a missionary body with a divine call to be a sign and instrument of God's Kingdom. In short, God is a sending God and we are a sent people.
A need for diversity
Second, we need a greater emphasis on ethnic diversity. We've been so Southern and so white for so long that the annual meetings look like a loaf of Wonder Bread. Our ideas of "reaching out" are less impressive than striving to create an intentionally multicultural family that reflects the population of heaven. Simply put, denominations will not embrace ethnic leaders without a plan and strategy to do so. The SBC Executive Committee is pressing in on this issue, and it is about time.
A need for a new generation
Third, we must have a plan to raise up a new generation, not just of leaders, but young people throughout the SBC. The oldest generation may indeed be the "Greatest," but it must not be our last. The SBC will not last forever based solely on the presence of its elder statesmen and women. Mentoring, where the younger learns from the elder, and reverse mentoring, where the elder learns from the younger, creates the kind of dynamics that perpetuate an effective denomination without the bloodletting of civil war.
A need for a renewal in church planting
Finally, we need more new churches in our convention. I'm thankful for the efforts of Kevin Ezell and the team at the North American Mission Board as they are taking bold steps to refocus on church planting. Even in the Bible Belt there are large segments of people who have not been and are not being reached with the Gospel. In our large cities one could surmise that so much "urban blight" is the result of a spiritual vacuum. In the lesser-evangelized parts of our own country are people who have been insulated from the Gospel in the most Gospel-saturated society in history. Only a vast movement of church planting across North America will see these people reached with the message of Jesus Christ.
Telling the truth has been controversial in SBC life. But facts are still our friends. The fact is, our denomination is struggling and needs to change. Yet, it is not the denomination that is "great," rather, it is that a denomination is a family of great churches. I love those churches and pray God will use them to advance His name and His fame. The denomination is the tool the churches use to accomplish the God-given goal.
When will change come? I don't know. Some will keep going as before -- considering slow decline as acceptable as long as they can keep doing church in a way they have grown to prefer. Some are content to successfully manage decline. Yet, for others, knowing that 2010 saw the fewest number of new believers going through the baptismal waters since Eisenhower was president will break their hearts. They will weep for the lost.
We don't change until the pain of staying the same grows greater than the pain of change. May the truth break our hearts, drive us to our knees and compel us into the mission.
--30--
Ed Stetzer is vice president of the research and ministry development division and missiologist in residence at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. He also has written the following analysis of the SBC statistics.
Analysis of SBC statistics
By Ed Stetzer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The numbers are out, again. They show decline, again. But what do they really mean?
The Annual Church Profile (ACP) numbers are actually not compiled by LifeWay Research, but are gathered by our executive communications and relations division in partnership with state conventions. We received the numbers Wednesday and decided some analysis might be helpful as we digest the changes the data reveals.
The biggest issue is a negative membership trend. As I see it, the greatest concern is not that we have 0.15 percent less members, but that it continues to reinforce a membership trend. Annual membership shifts happen regularly and have multiple causes.
Trends are what should concern us -- and the one that concerns us most is the trend of membership change from year to year. A year is not a trend, but we are looking at a 50-year negative trend in regard to membership growth/decline measured year to year.
Cliff Tharp, who has written a helpful book on SBC denominational statistics, led the ACP process for 35 years. He wrote a few years ago, "We have been slowing in our growth and have now passed into decline. We are right at the top of the arc and beginning to go down. But changes we make now can change that trend significantly. These stats are not new but it has never caught anyone's attention until now."
The "arc" to which Cliff refers is our total membership, as shown here:
That is why Church doctrine, beliefs and practices must be as the Early Christians believed and taught and prayed as handed down to them, the teachings by the Christ Himself through the Apostles.
“The Holman translation was made by and is owned by Southern Baptists.”
I know; if something says, “Holman”, it’s always been SBC.
“the kids see thru the PC sharade and want nothing to do with it!”
Yes. When the pastor was trying to justify the trend to become more contemporary, he pulled out the “for the children” card. He said that’s the only way to attract kids now. Strange thing is that as the church became more contemporary, the teenagers dwindles. Conversely, when we’ve attended the very traditional churches, the teenage demographic is very strong. AND they’re dressed respectfully (no muffin tops, etc.) and behave themselves during service.
“But this was not during the service, surely?”
Surely it WAS during morning worship service! (And I use the term “worship” loosely, for obvious reasons.) It took everything in me to keep my bottom affixed to the pew and not walk out the door.
True, but the “leadership” is now making sounds to the effect that the SBC hasn’t been “open” enough toward sodomites. That, btw, isn’t true, but they think that because polls show that young people are largely accepting of the sodomite lifestyle that they will gain membership if the SBC softens its position.
I don’t know where it will end, but the trend is quite bad.
“But this was not during the service, surely?”
After I decided to leave the church I had been in over some doctrinal issues, I visited a number of local churches. In one large one, the ‘worship leader’ was moonwalking while bellowing into the microphone, all with a spotlight on him.
Another took a coffee shop approach - just stroll in, get a cup, listen to whatever you wanted, and stroll out whenever. As an evangelistic outreach BY a church, that is fine. As a worship service?
I’m not big on formality, and wear jeans and cowboy boots to church, but worship is about God, not man and man’s convenience.
That is the problem with this article. It takes a business approach to growth. It is like Peter on the water, taking his eyes off of Jesus. Nothing good will come from taking your eyes off the the Lord.
It reveals an idea among the SBC leadership that WE are responsible for converting the lost, and doing so by our own strength.
“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
“’Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”...
...And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.” - Acts 13
First we should not be focused on number of bodies in the pews, we should be focused on preaching, teaching, and living out the Word of God. If we would, then we might just follow these...
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
This verse covers both those that continue to attend churches that they know are not teaching from Scripture as well as those that would send their children into the public schools to learn from the ungodly scornful sinners.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
These verses tell us that we should be teaching our children the Scriptures so that they can be wise unto salvation...instead the vast majority send their children where they will never here the Scriptures but they will here about the latest educational methods and techniques...can we see the connection. When a culture stops teaching or listening to the Truth, all you are left with are techniques. And techniques will never save anybody...but they might fill a school or a church for awhile.
How can a church “grow” again...God gives the answer...
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Please notice the line “turn from their wicked ways”. God is talking to His people not the unbelievers. We as the Church need to turn from our wicked ways...and start relying on God and His Word instead of techniques...
Well...we got a new pastor. He came in with techniques that “worked” in his old church and wanted me to use them. It meant less teaching time and more “goof off” time...his words...and less parental involvement. It did not take long and the youth group dwindled...and the pastor was happy about that since we could then rebuild it...I left the church while this was going on and the church has still not recovered...still trying new techniques though. I still am in contact with several of those families that had kids in the youth group...none of them are attending that church now...
I agree...When as a culture we stop teaching or hearing the Truth all we are left with are techniques...and they will never be able to do the work the Gospel was meant to do.
Please see post 88.
God bless
I agree...When as a culture we stop teaching or hearing the Truth all we are left with are techniques...and they will never be able to do the work the Gospel was meant to do.
Please see post 88.
God bless
This isn't anything new in society but it has infiltrated the church. (If you want evidence just look at the homosexual issue in the church.) Historically speaking, there has always been times when God has purged the church to make it stronger. But perhaps what we're seeing is the beginning of the end of all things. I don't know.
BTW-I have been known to walk out of a church service and there have been a number of them that I refused to return to.
You make an excellent point. Notice what Paul preached:
“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” - Acts 13
That was Good News - “everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses”...but what happens if you believe you are already righteous? What if your concern is that maybe God isn’t ‘good enough’ for you?
C.S. Lewis wrote:
“Apart from this linguistic difficulty, the greatest barrier I have met is the almost total absence from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin. This has struck me more forcibly when I spoke to the R.A.F. than when I spoke to students: whether (as I believe) the Proletariat is more self-righteous than other classes, or whether educated people are cleverer at concealing their pride, this creates for us a new situation. The early Christian preachers could assume in their hearers whether Jews, Metuentes or Pagans, a sense of guilt. (That this was common among Pagans is shown by the fact that both Epicureanism and the Mystery Religions both claimed, though in different ways, to assuage it.) Thus the Christian message was in those days unmistakably the Evangelium, the Good News. It promised healing to those who knew they were sick. We have to convince our hearers of the unwelcome diagnosis before we can expect them to welcome the news of the remedy.
The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defence for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God in the Dock.
It is generally useless to try to combat this attitude, as older preachers did, by dwelling on sins like drunkenness and unchastity. The modern Proletariat is not drunken. As for fornication, contraceptives have made a profound difference. As long as this sin might socially ruin a girl by making her the mother of a bastard, most men recognized the sin against charity which it involved, and their consciences were often troubled by it. Now that it need have no such consequences, it is not, I think, generally felt to be a sin at all. My own experience suggests that if we can awake the conscience of our hearers at all, we must do so in quite different directions. We must talk of conceit, spite, jealousy, cowardice, meanness, etc. But I am very far from believing that I have found the solution of this problem.”
http://merecslewis.blogspot.com/2011/04/god-in-dock-ie-god-is-on-trial-part-3.html
I differ from Lewis in that I don’t think we are SUPPOSED to “awake the conscience of our hearers”. Although HarleyD & I have debated often enough, I think we agree that the Holy Spirit must make a man aware of his sin.
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” - John 16
If God doesn’t convict a man of his sin, we won’t. My concern would be that, as a society, we are filled with those who have rejected God’s revelation and who are happy living in sin (Romans 1). As a society, we knew God - and rejected Him. That doesn’t make me optimistic about our future, or the future growth of the SBC.
I’m inclined to agree with WorldviewDad that a big part of our problem is that we have handed our children over to a system that despises God - and then we live our lives contrary to God’s Word without repenting.
The Church of God doesn’t need a marketing strategy. It doesn’t need to play demographics like a political consultant trying to get God elected as President of the Universe. We need to repent, ask God to forgive us for getting caught up in the world around us, and to pour out His Spirit on us.
But as a long time member of SBC congregations, I don’t see the denomination admitting that. In truth, I have problems admitting it and putting it into practice in MY life!
Yes, Indeed. While the missionary can bring the word, it is the Holy Spirit that will awaken the mind, bring understanding, and soften the heart.
When marriage became just a contract, then no wonder the next step was gay marriage.
And a lot of the other failures we see today is because we tolerated the smaller sins (like the acceptance of abortion is due to the acceptance of smaller sins earlier)
The Secular Humanistic view of knowledge is Naturalistic Materialism. Meaning what can be known, can only be known by studying nature and matter. It's a closed system. It's also important to know that their view of knowledge is the more we know, the better we can fix this broken world. And because of Social Darwinism, man thinks he gets his value and dignity from being more attractive, more powerful, and more intelligent...tools needed for the Survival of the Fittest mentality. Thus we can see why there is a big push for education...and then more education. Then when your done, go back and get more education.
But what's interesting is that everyone of us that may have learned Algebra has at one point said, "Why do I need to know the Quadratic Equation? I'll never use this in real life." Inside we realize that gaining knowledge just for the sake of getting more knowledge is empty. The value and dignity we feel from such high intelligence is just the sin of pride and is never satisfying.
But under a Christian Theism worldview, knowledge is gained by two ways. General revelation (study of creation - think Ro 1:20) and Special revelation (the Word of God). General revelation is subject to Special revelation. The sole purpose of each is to reveal the character and mind of God, man's purpose, and man's redemption. You will NOT get this in a Public School system - BY GOVERNMENT MANDATE!
Thus, as we learn the Quadratic Equation, or E=(mc)(mc), or the intricacies of DNA, we stand in awe of God at how intelligent HE is. We glorify Him - not ourselves. We allow that which He has revealed to us to show us the proper way to have dominion over this earth (Gen 1&2). Education is bigger than just knowing stuff for self directed dignity and value. It's the knowledge of the very God who created us. Being created by Him, in His image is what gives us INHERENT value and INHERENT dignity.
Until the believers pull their children from government mandated secular humanistic schools, and give them the education that I believe God requires from parents, we are destined to continue to have these percentages...and to see them get worse.
For years the church has said to parents, “Don’t try this at home. Leave it to us professionals.” Now parents have been trained to hand their kids off to the Youth Leaders and say, “Train our kids for us and make them better than when we gave them to you.”
If parents did what they were called to do, the Youth Minsters job would be sooooo much fun. Imagine a youth ministry where the children went to nursing homes to sit with the elderly and read Scripture to them. Make hospital visits. Mow grass for the widows.
See, parents are to train...Ministers should be creating ministry opportunities to put in to practice what the parents have trained their kids to be.....servants of the Lord.
is the almost total absence from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin.
Yes, Indeed. While the missionary can bring the word, it is the Holy Spirit that will awaken the mind, bring understanding, and soften the heart.
It is the job of Secular Humanism, one of the Devil's religions, to teach that truth is relative and not absolute, thus attempting to quench the Holy Spirit. "What may be true for you may not be true for me" approach. In this context, sin does not exist. If sin does not exist, then there is no need for a Savior.
Is this where they get the “leave it to the experts” attitude?
Excellent observation.
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