Read the following excerpt from an article and I will give some thoughts on it after.
"According to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, more than 40 percent of Americans “say” they go to church weekly. As it turns out, however, less than 20 percent are actually in church.
Somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors every year. Southern Baptist researcher, Thom Rainer, in a recent article entitled “13 Issues for Churches in 2013“ puts the estimate higher. He says between 8,000 and 10,000 churches will likely close this year.
Between the years 2010 and 2012, more than half of all churches in America added not one new member. Each year, nearly 3 million more previous churchgoers enter the ranks of the 'religiously unaffiliated'.”
The above was taken in part from The Huffington Post who never prints an article in favor of traditional Bible beiieving Christianity. Oddly, I have yet to see them run an article on their "Religion" page that is critical of any aspect of Islam. That however is the subject for another post in the future.
Readers to this page and my blog have seen what I believe is the reason for the downward trend in Chrisitianity,and now, the gradual disappearing of churches that naturally follow this trend. By the way, it is my understanding that the sitiuation is even worse in Great Britain.I should add that as always, my point of view is coming from that of a Bible believing Christian.
If I had to pick the two main reasons it would be, in brief;
1.The assault on the Christian faith by all facets of the media, schools,colleges and universities over the past several decades.
2. The promotion and glorification of the self coupled with the mindset that we must cast off "old and outdated" (esp.Christian) mores. This mindset swung into high gear in the late 60's and has been gaining strength since then, in large part(again) to the promotion of it from all facets of the media.
So what are we to do about this situation?
1.Yes, prayer is definitely called for but more needs to be done.
We can begin by being living,breathing examples of followers of Jesus.By being in this world but "not of this world." Called out ones as they say. You don't act and react like your average "unsaved" person does.
Now I am not telling you that no one should have any interests outside of Jesus and their Bible but I am always surprised at how "worldly" the conversations are after Church on Sunday and Wednesday.
2.We must be equipped to give a witness for why we believe to a world that has never been more skeptical and doubtful of Christianity. To do this takes time. It also takes prayer and Bible study. Are you ready to give answers to questions like: Is hell real? Can't I have sex with this person even though we are not married but I truly love them? Is having sex with a person of the same gender not accepted by the Bible? Some churches say it is OK and others say it isn't, I'm confused.
I could go on but you see what I am getting at. People will ask tough questions, especially those people who are clueless about the Bible.
We may not be able to do much to stem the tide of church closings but we can do something that is more important, we can turn people to following Jesus, someone who will give them that peace that passes all understanding on this earth and in the world to come.
Onward Christian Soldiers!
"According to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, more than 40 percent of Americans “say” they go to church weekly. As it turns out, however, less than 20 percent are actually in church.
Somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors every year. Southern Baptist researcher, Thom Rainer, in a recent article entitled “13 Issues for Churches in 2013“ puts the estimate higher. He says between 8,000 and 10,000 churches will likely close this year.
Between the years 2010 and 2012, more than half of all churches in America added not one new member. Each year, nearly 3 million more previous churchgoers enter the ranks of the 'religiously unaffiliated'.”
The above was taken in part from The Huffington Post who never prints an article in favor of traditional Bible beiieving Christianity. Oddly, I have yet to see them run an article on their "Religion" page that is critical of any aspect of Islam. That however is the subject for another post in the future.
Readers to this page and my blog have seen what I believe is the reason for the downward trend in Chrisitianity,and now, the gradual disappearing of churches that naturally follow this trend. By the way, it is my understanding that the sitiuation is even worse in Great Britain.I should add that as always, my point of view is coming from that of a Bible believing Christian.
If I had to pick the two main reasons it would be, in brief;
1.The assault on the Christian faith by all facets of the media, schools,colleges and universities over the past several decades.
2. The promotion and glorification of the self coupled with the mindset that we must cast off "old and outdated" (esp.Christian) mores. This mindset swung into high gear in the late 60's and has been gaining strength since then, in large part(again) to the promotion of it from all facets of the media.
So what are we to do about this situation?
1.Yes, prayer is definitely called for but more needs to be done.
We can begin by being living,breathing examples of followers of Jesus.By being in this world but "not of this world." Called out ones as they say. You don't act and react like your average "unsaved" person does.
Now I am not telling you that no one should have any interests outside of Jesus and their Bible but I am always surprised at how "worldly" the conversations are after Church on Sunday and Wednesday.
2.We must be equipped to give a witness for why we believe to a world that has never been more skeptical and doubtful of Christianity. To do this takes time. It also takes prayer and Bible study. Are you ready to give answers to questions like: Is hell real? Can't I have sex with this person even though we are not married but I truly love them? Is having sex with a person of the same gender not accepted by the Bible? Some churches say it is OK and others say it isn't, I'm confused.
I could go on but you see what I am getting at. People will ask tough questions, especially those people who are clueless about the Bible.
We may not be able to do much to stem the tide of church closings but we can do something that is more important, we can turn people to following Jesus, someone who will give them that peace that passes all understanding on this earth and in the world to come.
Onward Christian Soldiers!
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