The Culture Isn’t Killing the Church. Our Grief Is.
I recently attended a retreat with a number of church friends. We spent part of our time together looking at The problem is that while…
Browsing: Mainline Challenges
Articles
Denominations Face Major Reset
Most congregations know the financial squeeze of recent years from the economic recession. What is more striking is that the financial downturn for denominations is…
Why I go to Church
When I sit in church on Sunday mornings, I sometimes look around at the other congregants and ask myself, “Why are these people here? Why…
Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation
Many church leaders bemoan the absence of younger people from their pews without bothering to consider the contextual factors that must define ministry with new…
Meeting the Spiritual Needs of a Changing Community
Are there times when it feels as if your church resides on a different planet than it once did? The street signs are the same.…
Getting Your Congregation’s Story Right
Congregations, particularly mainline and established congregations, commonly tell either safe or weak stories about themselves. In an earlier era, when identity and purpose were clearer…
Is Denominational Loyalty Waning?
A new study documents a reality many have claimed for quite some time. People are not as loyal to their denominations as church leaders might…
Changing Religious Traditions: Not New but Accelerating
The recently released report on shifting religious affiliations among Americans is receiving significant media attention. Prepared by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,…
Young Adults and the Future of the Church
How are twenty-and thirty-somethings shaping the future of American religion? Robert Wuthnow, a noted sociologist of religion, considers this question in After the Baby Boomers (Princeton University…
Ministering to the Missing Generation
When I began as a twenty-seven-year-old pastor of a small rural church, ministering to young adults seemed like an impossible task. Newspapers and magazines often…
Is Your Church History a Static or Dynamic Force?
Church history is a lot like gravity — it is always with us whether we are aware of it or not. While church history may…
Can White Mainline Churches Outside the South Reach New Christians?
This is the question raised by Martha Grace Reese and the Mainline Evangelism Project she directed. The results of her research, funded by the Lilly…
Learning to See and Listen to Younger Adults
Susan Cox-Johnson encourages church members to seek out and listen to young adults in their communities to learn about their life and faith. As a…
The Young Clergy Dilemma in Mainline Denominations
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., reviews Leading Ideas research that shows that fewer young persons are entering ordained ministry in mainline denominations. It is easy for…
All the Mainline News That’s Fit to Print
The declining influence of mainline denominations is reflected in the that they appear far less frequently in the New York Times than they did eighty…