Religious Competition

The Pew Research Center recently released a massive (35,000 people) study on the religious landscape in the United States. Below are two data blurbs I find sobering:

More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion — or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, roughly 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

The survey finds that constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents. Those that are growing as a result of religious change are simply gaining new members at a faster rate than they are losing members. Conversely, those that are declining in number because of religious change simply are not attracting enough new members to offset the number of adherents who are leaving those particular faiths.

There’s lots of discussion out there in Internet hinterland regarding this study. Other good dialogue on the issue can be found here and here.

What do you think? Has “religion” in the United States become part of our commercialized-competitive-consumer culture? Are we as pastors really playing a zero-sum game with people, winning a person at the expense of another church losing them? What can we do as churches, pastors, and lay leaders to solve this problem?

When Kindle™ Comes to Church

I’m honored that my father, Thom Rainer, has allowed me to post the following article. It will soon be released by LifeWay, but you get to read it here first.

In this new phase of my ministry and life, I am able to spend a bit more time listening to someone else preach sermons on Sunday. On those special occasions when I am in town, my wife and I sit in the pew and listen to the message of our pastor, Mike Glenn, at Brentwood Baptist Church. When Mike began to read the biblical text for his sermon recently, I did not turn the page to the scriptural passage. Well, I didn’t turn the page in a paper Bible. But I did push a button and the electronic version appeared magically on the screen in my hands.

I had the new Amazon Kindle in church. In less than 60 seconds, one can download books, magazines, newspapers, or blogs. The device weighs just over 10 ounces, and the screen is as clear as the page of a paper book. The first book I downloaded was the Bible, the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation of course.

My wife, Nellie Jo, was somewhat concerned that I might push other buttons and read the Wall Street Journal or the latest biography of Benjamin Franklin during the sermon. I assured her that Pastor Mike and his message would have my complete attention. I was never tempted to wander from the sermon or the text.

I absolutely love owning a Kindle. I no longer take three of four heavy books when I travel. I download them on my Kindle at a cost much less than the paper versions. I also like the ability to change the font size as my boomer eyes weaken with age.

But this article is not a promotional piece on the Kindle, though I have done a decent job of lauding the device. My purpose instead is to focus on that which really matters in our churches.

The Kindle is a means of delivery. It is a preference of mine about how I like to acquire and read books, including the Bible. But it is not the most important thing about church, not even close. What is important is the Word of God, the exclusive message of the gospel, the evangelization of the lost, the discipleship of the saved, the priority of prayer, and the Christ-like love we demonstrate toward others.

I hope no one at Brentwood Baptist minds that I bring a Kindle to church. If they do, I will simply stop bringing it. It is just not that important. But many churches have great dissension over similar issues of relative unimportance. Some members fight and fuss over the non-essentials and neglect the essential. So we have worship wars, pastor critics, and whiners of all stripes. And the world around us goes to hell while many of us fail to demonstrate Christian love with those who need to know Him.

I really like my Kindle. But I love Jesus more. And I love His Word more. I pray that I can become the type of Christian and church member who focuses on that which really matters. “He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

That’s what really matters.
Pretty important words.
I read them on my Kindle.

What do you guys think? In what ways has the church discouraged or encouraged a new means of delivering the timeless gospel message?

Live a Big Existence

My brother, Art, has created a great new website. Click here to check it out and see how to live big.

Dirty Hands Christians

There’s an epidemic in the United States. People everywhere seem to be infected with germaphobia. I say this lightly because I married a germaphobe. If you have one in your household, then you understand what I mean when I say that a pump bottle of hand wash is always in sight in every room. You can’t just buy regular tissues, either. They’ve got to be special cold-fighting-germ-killing tissues.

And according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, there’s a whole industry springing up to counter the one spot that causes germaphobic panic attacks everywhere: the public restroom door. Pinky-pullers and wrist-pushers across our great anti-bacterial land are leaping for joy.

What’s new in the Mr. Clean market? Motion-activated sensor doors, foot pulls, and wrist latches. The government is even getting involved. Last year, Massachusetts state representative James Vallee introduced a bill that would require all public-bathroom doors to open outward. The purpose of the bill was to enable people to push the door open with a shoulder or foot.

Perhaps I’m cynical, but I always chuckle at the guy in the bathroom who’s trying to turn the doorknob with a wad of tissues. Clearly, I try to live my life with “WWJD?” at the forefront of my mind. But as a red-blooded American male, I also live by “WWJWD?” (That’s What Would John Wayne Do? for all you who are wondering). Quite frankly, I can’t see John Wayne pulling off an extra paper towel to turn a knob because he’s worried about a couple of microbes scurrying around on his fingertips.

I say this because I think some of our nation’s churches are afraid of getting their hands dirty. They fear digging into the culture because of the muck they may encounter.

But Christ does not call us to pristine lives. We are made pure. We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. But in order to share His purifying message, we’ve got to be willing to turn a few dirty doorknobs. We’ve got to be willing to hug a few lepers. We’ve got to converse with the women at the wells.

God gives us His armor to defend against the spiritual attacks that the powers of darkness bring. What amazes me is how carefully people plan for germ battles and how little people prepare for spiritual attacks. If your spiritual armor is not scuffed, dinged, scratched, and dented, then you’re not using it properly (if at all).

So let’s put away the spiritual hand sanitizer and put on God’s armor.

Religious Americans Who Know Nothing about Religion

Stephen Prothero has some intriguing statements about religious literacy in the United States.

The United States is one of the most religious countries on earth, but Americans know nothing about religion — their own or the religions of others. How can we engage a politician who is rightly or wrongly invoking the Bible or using religion for political purposes without knowing something about religion ourselves, as citizens, journalists and academics?

I encourage you to read this article. It’s a little long, but worth it.