Seventh Friday after Pentecost
Lectionary Texts:
OT: 2 Samuel 6:16-23
NT: Ephesians 1:15-19
Saturday:
OT: 1 Chronicles 13
NT: Ephesians 1:20-23
I read a piece in the New York Times today by Michelle Goldberg about the decline of White Evangelicals over the last decade. She cited recent studies by the Public Religion Research Institute, which compared poll numbers on religious self-identification in 2006 compared to 2020. White people who self-identified as Evangelicals decreased from 23% to 14.5%. Mainline Protestants declined as well but not nearly so steeply. Those who identify as mainline Protestants have now surpassed White Evangelicals as a higher percentage of the population. Goldberg concludes that mainline Protestants are not nearly as moribund as has been thought and may have been true a few years ago.
Goldberg sees a chief reason for the Evangelical decline as changing cultural mores. In 2007 far more people were anti-gay than now. A very large majority were opposed to gay marriage. All that is radically different in 2021. But the Evangelical churches have not changed on these issues. The mainline Protestant churches have (United Methodists haven't yet, but will in 2022).
There are other issues as well. Many Evangelical churches, including the entire Southern Baptist Convention, still do not allow women to be ordained. Evangelical strong approval of the policies and person of Donald Trump has also alienated many younger Christians.
One could think of this whole phenomenon as a "Now our time has come" moment for mainline Christianity. I fear that we won't. Although we have (or are soon about to--General Conference 2022) resolved these most divisive issues in the church, we are still reeling from the Pandemic and have no denomination wide plan for recovery and growth. I'm talking about United Methodists here, but I think the same is true of other mainline denominations.
The Cornonavirus has now been held in check. The Pandemic is not over but is in decline. Vaccines have done their job. What we need now is an infusion of the Holy Spirit in the mainline churches. We need churches that are equally spiritual and missional. We need churches and church members who have deepened their faith experience and want to share it. God is giving us opportunity. We should take it.
Lord Jesus,
As our churches are reopening, fill us and our churches with your Holy Spirit. In our increasingly secular world, help us to show a more excellent way, to show that Love wins, to bring together people who have been at odds, to do more than our share of enabling the poor, caring for the unloved, and sharing the gospel message with our spiritually diminished society. Amen.
Faithfully,
Christian
1 comment:
The only time I ever regret not going into the ministry is when I see the Mainline churches completely ignoring moments like these. I would have been rapidly in line to be in leadership in the UCC - my seminary recommendations from national church officials made that clear - that a true organizer would not have let these times pass. The UCC has enough freedom for congregations to largely do what they want, so the congregations that want to hold to the values of times past can do that without holding everyone else back. But I didn't. And I'm not going to seminary. Well, never say never.
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