Signs of a Struggling Local Church

The latest issue of Outreach has hit the stands. It features some good articles on small churches and bi-vocational pastors. You can subscribe to the print edition here. I write the Surprising Insights column in each issue. Here’s an excerpt from my article on the signs of a struggling local church.

Over 90% of churches are declining or growing less than the community around them. The national trends are not good. Before church leaders surrender to frustration and church members yield to apathy, our composite research shows there are signs along the way that suggest a church is becoming unhealthy. The following list is not exhaustive, but let’s see some key signals that an individual congregation is beginning to struggle.

We don’t emphasize Bible study anymore. When God’s Word is not the driving force of a church, people are bound to travel down the wrong road. Churches that do not elevate the proclamation and study of God’s Word veer off course. A lack of deep biblical teaching is one of the most glaring signs of a struggling church.

We cut our outreach budget. When we consult with churches and examine their budgets, a key health indicator is how much the church allocates to outwardly focused ministries. Struggling churches give less toward their mission each year—less money, less prayer and fewer people.

Our church doesn’t change with the community. Struggling churches are led by leaders with little to no understanding of their immediate context. As a result, their congregations either do not know about changes in the community’s demographics or they refuse to change with them. Every church leader must minister with the following question at the forefront: “What are the biggest needs in my community?

We don’t take risks. Unfortunately, many church leaders have been beat up or burned. As a result, they focus more on not getting in trouble with their congregation than turning the world upside down for Jesus. They lead churches to play it safe rather than taking risks to reach more people.

We don’t have a clear discipleship plan. A struggling church does not have an answer to the new believer or member who asks, “Now what?” These churches may have an abundance of programs and ministries, but they do not have an intentional plan to help believers become more like Christ. The absence of a discipleship plan leaves the back door wide open.

Any others that you would like to add?

The Generation Gap: 1969-2009

Yesterday the Pew Research Center released data from a recent study on aging in America. They compared their findings with results from a 1969 Gallup poll of similar questions. You can read the full report here. After interviewing over 2,900 people they found several differences in the younger and older generation. That’s not a surprise, but their focus on the downside, upside, and perception about growing old was fascinating.

On the downside of growing older: When it comes to potential problems related to old age, the share of younger and middle-aged adults who report expecting to encounter them is much higher than the share of older adults who report actually experiencing them.

On the upside of growing older: As seen in the chart, older adults may not experience “upsides” at quite the prevalence levels that most younger adults expect to enjoy them once they grow old. Of all the good things about getting old, the best by far, according to older adults, is being able to spend more time with family members.

So growing old is not as good or bad as expected. But spending time with family is most important.

On the perceptions of the generation gap: In a 1969 Gallup Poll, 74% of respondents said there was a generation gap, with the phrase defined in the survey question as “a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today.” When the same question was asked a decade later, in 1979, by CBS and The New York Times, just 60% perceived a generation gap.

But in perhaps the single most intriguing finding in this new Pew Research survey, the share that say there is a generation gap has spiked to 79% — despite the fact that there have been few overt generational conflicts in recent times of the sort that roiled the 1960s. It could be that the phrase now means something different, and less confrontational, than it did at the height of the counterculture’s defiant challenges to the establishment 40 years ago. Whatever the current understanding of the term “generation gap,” roughly equal shares of young, middle-aged and older respondents in the new survey agree that such a gap exists. The most common explanation offered by respondents of all ages has to do with differences in morality, values and work ethic. Relatively few cite differences in political outlook or in uses of technology.

When does old age begin? According to this survey, the average response of all the people in the survey was 68, but only 21% of people ages 65-74 say they feel old. So I guess you’re only as old as you feel

What I continue to take from these types of surveys is the importance of cross-generational ministry in the church. Obviously, this report did not address generation gaps in the church. But my research has shown how important it is for people of all ages in the church to be serving together. There may be a generation gap – we’ll never avoid it – but we can bridge the generational divide in church through serving together.

Insights into the Spiritual Profile of Homosexuals

The Barna Group recently interviewed over 8,500 heterosexual adults and 280 homosexual adults. The point of the research was to compare the spirituality of both groups. Barna’s findings included some results that would be expected, but also some surprising insights. You can read the full report here. I’ve listed below some highlights.

In any given week the research discovered that heterosexuals are the more likely of the two groups to attend a church service, attend a Sunday school class, pray to God, or read the Bible. Gay adults are 50% more likely than straight adults to be unchurched (42% versus 28%). Overall, heterosexuals are twice as likely as homosexuals to attend a church service, read the Bible and pray to God during a typical week (31% vs. 15%).

Although most adults affirm the importance of faith in their life, regardless of their sexual orientation, straight adults (72%) were more likely than gay adults (60%) to describe their faith as “very important” in their life. And even though most Americans consider themselves to be Christian, there is a noticeable gap between heterosexuals who self-identify that way (85%) compared to homosexuals (70%). Another gap was then noted among those who say they are Christian: about six out of ten heterosexuals say they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, compared to about four out of ten among homosexuals.

One of the most basic beliefs has to do with one’s understanding of God. This proved to be one of the biggest differences noted in the study. While seven out of every ten heterosexuals (71%) have an orthodox, biblical perception of God, just 43% of homosexuals do.

George Barna commented on the data:

The data indicate that millions of gay people are interested in faith but not in the local church and do not appear to be focused on the traditional tools and traditions that represent the comfort zone of most churched Christians. Gay adults clearly have a different way of interpreting the Bible on a number of central theological matters, such as perspectives about God. Homosexuals appreciate their faith but they do not prioritize it, and they tend to consider faith to be individual and private rather than communal.

It is interesting to see that most homosexuals, who have some history within the Christian Church, have rejected orthodox biblical teachings and principles – but, in many cases, to nearly the same degree that the heterosexual Christian population has rejected those same teachings and principles. Although there are clearly some substantial differences in the religious beliefs and practices of the straight and gay populations, there may be less of a spiritual gap between straights and gays than many Americans would assume.

As expected, most within this community are just as confused about a true relationship with Christ as any other unchurched group. While the data does not reveal what type of church, a small minority from the gay community is at least attending a local assembly. And many are not totally turned off by faith or talk of spiritual things. Like everyone else, however, they don’t have true spiritual life unless they know Jesus.

So how should the church interact with the gay community? Unfortunately, some within the church community have treated them as enemies. Jesus calls His Kingdom servants to love all people, even a segment of the population many Christians have an inclination to dislike (or hate). Sin (ours or theirs) should never be condoned, but we must love those outside our circle. As Jesus states in Matthew 5:46-47, it’s one thing to love people who are just like you; it’s another thing to love people quite different from you.

I’ve had a few opportunities to reach out to gay individuals. I enjoyed my conversations with them. As with many groups, it’s a tough balance between serving with the love of Christ and also sharing a message of repentance and faith. Barna reports that this community comprises about 3% of the U.S. adult population. It’s small, but significant. Do any of you have success stories in sharing the gospel and serving the gay community? How can Barna’s research help in reaching outward to this community?

Love Loud: The Southern Baptist Convention 2009

Tomorrow I will fly to Louisville to attend the Southern Baptist Convention. It’s the annual meeting of the denomination to which I belong. This year’s theme is “love loud: actions speak louder than words.” I’ve been a Southern Baptist my entire life. Growing up a PK, the annual meeting also doubled for family vacation. Thanks Dad I don’t go after the freebies at the booths as much anymore, but I still enjoy the convention.

I don’t hang my hat on any denomination. God can use any Kingdom citizen willing to serve. But I believe the SBC is one of the best representations of how believers can do more together than alone. Cooperating for the Great Commission is what most excites me about my denomination.

There’s always some measure of spirited banter at the annual convention. This year will be no exception, but I believe it will be a good meeting overall. I believe the SBC has a good future, but we do have our hurdles.

There are many worthy issues at the forefront – jumping on a Great Commission Resurgence, squelching our squabbles over tertiary and secondary doctrinal issues, changing the name of the denomination, increasing cooperative program giving at our churches, and empowering young leaders (I guess I’m one of the really younger ones at 29). All of which are important.

I see two issues that are critical to the future health of the denomination. I won’t pretend my concerns should be a priority, but my personal burden for the SBC involves these two areas.

More church plants where there is little evangelical presence. New churches reach people faster than established churches. We need droves of bold people willing to take risks for the gospel where soil is harder. Urban communities. Non-Bible-belt areas. Stable rural towns. College communities. We need to be louder in these areas.

An increased passion for small and traditional churches. There’s a lot of focus on large contemporary churches. Deservedly so. Many (obviously not all) of them are highly evangelistic and effective at assimilating people. Much can be learned from their successes. But the majority of churches in the U.S. could be described as “traditional,” “established,” or the “county seat first church.” The Southern Baptist Convention is no exception.

I’ll echo the sentiments of my father – don’t give up on the established or small church. If all the established and small churches went away, we could not replace them fast enough with church plants. And every church becomes established at some point.

Sure, many of these churches would budget for a flux capacitor and a DeLorean if it could take them back to 1955. But many of these churches have a strong desire to reach their communities. They’ve simply never had the right leaders to show them how. Southern Baptists need to be louder supporters of the small and traditional churches.

I believe the SBC loves loud. I believe we can turn the world upside down for Jesus. And I’m looking forward to a great future of partnering with my friends for the sake of the gospel. I’m stoked about loving loud.

Generation F and the Mega Church

Warren Bird and Scott Thumma have released new research on the mega church. The report comes out of the Hartford Institute of Religious Research and involved 25,000 people from 12 U.S. congregations. USA Today also reported on the research and noted a few key findings:

The average age of megachurch attenders is 40, compared to nearly 53 at a typical Protestant church. Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45, double the numbers in Protestant congregations of all sizes. The vast majority are between 18 and 44.

Nearly a third of megachurch attenders are single, compared to 10% in a typical Protestant church.

Today Jesse Phillips at catalystspace pointed to a recent post by Gary Hamel at the WSJ. Hamel discusses the influence of Generation F – the Facebook Generation. Specifically, how they expect the social environments of work to reflect the web. Hamel states, “these are the post-bureaucratic realities that tomorrow’s employees will use as yardsticks in determining whether your company is ‘with it’ or ‘past it.’” I’ve listed his main points.

• All ideas compete on an equal footing.
• Contribution counts for more than credentials.
• Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed.
• Leaders serve rather than preside.
• Tasks are chosen, not assigned.
• Groups are self-defining and -organizing.
• Resources get attracted, not allocated.
• Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it.
• Opinions compound and decisions are peer-reviewed.
• Users can veto most policy decisions.
• Intrinsic rewards matter most.
• Hackers are heroes.

So mega churches have a large share of the Facebook Generation. And this generation has certain ideals they look for in social environments. Do you think these realities apply to the church? If so, are mega churches engaging Hamel’s noted realities correctly? Should they cater to, ignore, correct, or address any specific one?