Stand or Deny!

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In my home town!

Stand or deny!

I think more billboards like this are necessary!

For the Story...

Numbers Games

I’m no statistician, but I like to play with the data and plot it different ways. So when I learned that a recent study was completed in 2008 that has similar data back to 1990 about religion, I wanted to play with the data. The percent of population numbers, while interesting, do not necessarily show the story of how rapidly a particular group is growing. I found the “Estimated” numbers from each sub header, both in totals and percentage of population and wanted to see what the growth rate per year changes looked like. So made a rate of change in members(self declared) per year for each of the categories and plotted it as shown in the graph.

It tells a story that is perhaps not unknown to United Methodists (as evidenced by the recent events in Kansas West), as the Mainline membership growth rate has taken a nose dive since 2001 to the tune of losing over 900,000 members per year, and a very large chunk of that is the Wesleyans/Methodists, although all are dropping. Others that have a declining growth rate who are now losing members are Jewish and Eastern Religions. While still having a positive growth rate, Pentecostals and Atheists/Agnostics are not growing as rapidly as in the 1990s.

So who is growing at the highest rates? “Generic” Christians take the prize followed by Catholics, Baptists, “Other Protestant” and “Other Religions”.

So it appears that the mainlines are losing members to generic churches and perhaps some to the other categories. I have very mixed feeling about this. I like the connectional system for it’s ability to provide relief and care for the hungry, hopeless and helpless and yet, I am uncomfortable with some directions the connectional system has been taking that seem to me are giving up the tenets of scripture and tradition in favor of reason and experiences (and not necessarily the heart warming type experience of Wesley at Aldersgate).

While on one hand, a church shrinking could be a message to the church that perhaps you are becoming “lukewarm”, neither hot nor cold, and God is providing a message. Perhaps our Doctrines and Rules have become like the Church of England telling Wesley not to preach out in the town squares with raucous singing of tavern melodies (albeit with Christian words and meaning).

On the other hand, it could be an indication that the church is challenging the “lukewarm” life of a people who do not want to hear about it, so they go and find a message that satisfies their ears and sensibilities or their particular fellowship needs. Are they challenged to grow in their faith? Are they still members after 5-10 years? Do their ears lead to some other style after tiring of the one that led them to the last “generic”?

Perhaps there is a road in between? Perhaps the Mainlines and the other Traditional Christian denominations become the home of the mature in faith, while the Generics become the faith initiators.

I don’t know the answers. I know God is at work. Lord, I pray you show us the way. Amen.