...The market is changing. Nearly all predominantly white Christian denominations (Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal) in America are seeing a slow but steady decline in membership, a decline that reflects changing U.S. demographics. "This is not about orthodoxy or unorthodoxy or failed methods," Baptist historian Bill Leonard, dean of the Wake Forest School of Divinity in North Carolina, told Peter Smith of the (Louisville) Courier-Journal. "This is about demographics and sociology."
Related thread:
Liberal Protestantism and Liberal Catholicism
"Who can be surprised, then, that the Protestant denominations that have been seriously infected with liberalism (the so-called "mainline churches") are rapidly declining in numbers, not just in relation to the national population generally but even in absolute numbers?"
Yet, independent Baptist churches are growing in leaps and bounds.
I was under the impression that conservative sects were growing (Evangelicals, Baptists, conservative Catholics, & Mormons), while the lefty churches were declining (Episcopalian, Church of Christ, etc).
bfl
I don’t know about other Southern Baptist Churches, but at ours we had more baptisms during 2008 that we had had in the last 5-6 years together! Basically we cut down the gimmicks, put a lot of effort in community outreach programs such as Vacation Bible School, and we prayed.
Sounds like they need a federal bail out.
Now ‘social justice’ is spread so far in modern Christianity that the majority think when Jesus said “Feed my sheep”, they think he was commanding soup lines and government welfare.
If this is hitting the Southern Baptists, I would think it would be affecting other denominations too.
Or is this just Newsweek harranging the Southern Baptists like they always do the Catholics?
I wonder if the author has a better plan?
I’m just geussing here. There are some of the local SBC’s that are on tv here and they are from time to time doing a big emphasis on evangelism. Evangelism for their purposes seems to be talking to total strangers somewhere and sharing the gospel with them. I just can’t imagine how successful that really is. Its sort of a telemarketing apprroach in person. The churches try to get alot of people to do this and I just tend to think that most people are uncomfortable doing that. People are not going to do what they’re not comfortable doing. It seems to me that most church growth or evangelism happens by simply inviting your friends to church who don’t go to church anywhere. When I was growing up that seemed to be the emphasis. We were encouraged to simply invite your friend(s) to come to church with you. Nowadays people are expected to give this sales talk on the presentation of the gospel to get a spur of the moment decision.
Reading some of the posts at the end of that article is simply breath-taking. What a bunch of mental nutjobs.
I’m sure they’re doing better than the Washington Post’s circulation numbers.
Wow! Is that some loaded language? That makes it sound like a communist or muslim showdown.
Where there is no funded vision, the people perish
LOL. They really said that. An abuse of an abuse of scripture.
It's hard for me to believe there might be a single soul in North America who hasn't heard about Jesus.
Oh, they've mostly heard the name. What they mostly haven't heard is the whole "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law""crucified, and after three days raised" thing.