Decline of Christianty

I was reading an article about the decline of Christianity on the WSJ.

...the percentage of Americans calling themselves Christian dropped from 86% in 1990 to 76% earlier this year while the percent saying they had no affiliation jumped from 8% to 15%

Those percentage jumps are pretty big. Granted, it has been 17 years. More importantly, what do the numbers really mean? The author has a theory.

...perhaps it's not that the devout have lost their way, it's that the nominally religious have stopped pretending to be religious. Perhaps what we're seeing is not an increase in the number of "nones" but an increase in the numbers willing to admit it.

Another bit of evidence for this theory is that the rates of church attendance during this same period from 1990 to 2009 have remained stable.

As Christians, pastors, or leaders, this should be fairly good news. It means that people are no longer afraid to say they're not religious. This allows us to have different sorts of conversations with people.

When asked, these were the top 3 reasons why they left the faith

• "Religious people are hypocritical/judgmental/insincere"
• "Many religions are partly true, none completely true"
• "Religious orgs. are too focused on rules, not spirituality"

The first has to do with character and discipleship. The hypocritical thing has been around for so long. We talk about relational witnessing and wonder why it doesn't work. That's why. But it goes deeper than that. It speaks to a faith that's not realized or a fear of transparency with our faith. I don't think people are asking us to be perfect, but they're asking us to be honest and authentic. That yes, we strive for holiness and godliness, but we still sin.

It's how we present that to people. Are we standing on a pedestal looking down? Or are we reaching out and offering to journey with them through these struggles. People want to know that this faith has hope and implications for their current life, not just the next life. They want to know that the faith is real and has power.

The second has to do with teaching. For too long, we've taught that Christianity is the only truth and therefore, all other religions are not true. But I don't think that's right. Jesus is still the only way, but that doesn't mean that other religions don't get some of it right. Instead of fighing the "truth" battle, we can focus on what sets Christianity apart from the other religions. That personal relationship with the heavenly Father through Jesus.

The third has to do with soul care. The church has focused a lot on behavior. You can't do this, you need to do this, etc. In trying to reform people's actions, we forgot to go for the heart.

There's one sign of hope for those wishing for a more pious population. One-third of the unafilliateds are still open to joining a church. They just feel they haven't found the right fit yet.

How to Love God

The greatest commandment is to love God and love others. But how do you do that? It's relativly easy to love others, I mean, they're right there. But how do you love God when He's intangible and far away?

Let's start by looking at how you love the people around you. This may be your spouse, your significant other, a really close family member, or that friend who's always been there for you.

These last few weeks, I've realized that I'm actually loving my girlfriend of 10 years more. Out of that love, I've started to be more affectionate towards her. There are moments where I just want to hug her and hold her close. Or times where I just want to kiss her. And times when I think about her and smile. All these actions and reactions come from the feeling deep down in my heart that screams, "I love you!"

Beyond affection, there's the things that you do for the people you love. You sit and listen to them when they've had a hard day. You have meals together and engage each other. You do stuff for them when it's inconvenient for you. You make sacrifices for them. All because you love them and you want what's best for them.

Sometimes you have to do things you don't like. Like confront them about a bad habit. Or not spoil your child because you want them to grow up valuing what they have.

So if that's how you love someone close to you, how do you love God? How about loving someone NOT close to you?

Jesus said, "'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:40, ESV)

Jesus also said, "'For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'" (Matthew 25:35-36, ESV)

Now, wouldn't you do that for someone you loved? Feed them when they're hungry, give them water when they're thirsty, clothe them when they're cold or naked, visit them when their sick or in prison? Isn't that love too?

And since we can't do these things directly to God, because He's intangible, isn't it convenient that there are all these people in the world who can receive it in his stead? So, by loving others, we're loving God. Which makes sense, because that's part of the great commandment, to love God and love others. In other words, it's the same thing.

I know that I love God, but I don't love others nearly enough. I also know that I want to love God more, so I should love others more. And that love that we have for others isn't some obligation, but a reaction to that feeling that wells up inside of us. Since God's not tangible hear for us to direct those feelings towards, we direct it to the people around us. Specifically, the people who need it the most.

So, go out there and love God by loving the people around you. Especially the people that really need it.

State of the Church

The Church in the beginning of the 21st century is facing an identity crisis. How does it effectively reach and foster genuine faith in a culture that views the church as ancient and archaic? How does the Church answer the most pressing questions and needs of this new age where poverty, disease, and injustice still exists? If the Church is to remain relevant, it needs to answer these questions.

Not just pat Christian answers, but real, practical and effective answers. As Jesus walked amongst the poor and touched the diseased and fought for those in bondage, the Church needs to do the same. It needs to embrace change, continually contextualizing its message amongst the myriad of subgroups and cultures. It needs to understand technology and how to leverage it for not only the Kingdom, but for the Global Community. It needs to be less about preaching and more about being like Christ.

On Unity

I went to a retreat this past weekend with my seminary. I don't know what it was, but I didn't feel comfortable. Maybe it was because I showed up at 3pm, towards the end of the retreat, or something else. But amongst these Christians, I felt alone.

Today, in class, we were talking about the split between Judaism and Christianity and then the further split amongst all the Christians. We have Catholics and Protestants. Even within Protestantism, we have different denominations, Baptist, Presbyterian, Evangelical.

I thought back to when I had met someone on the street. When he asked me what kind of Christian I was, I didn't know how to answer him. Aren't we all the same? Don't we all believe that Christ is our salvation? Don't we all love God?

This is the unity that so many churches and fellowships long for. Not so much that we agree on everything, but these core concepts of loving God. Rather than preaching for this kind of unity, so many people preach togetherness.

As great as togetherness is, diversity is so much better. In diversity, we have creativity, we have uniqueness, we have collaboration, we have the sum of different life knowledge and life experiences. If we were all "one" as many people desire, then we'd be so boring. Everyone would think the same and would result in stagnation.

I say, celebrate our diversity. Welcome people into the family of Christ in love. Love God and love His people. Be one in the spirit. That's unity.

Analysis of Student Run Ministries

It is difficult for High School students to run effective ministries. Here are the reasons:

1. Lack of discipline. Kids at that age just don't have the drive or passion to pursue it as a full fledged ministry. There have been exceptions, but they eventually fizzle out as the original leader leaves. I would say that this is true for most organizations, not just our church.
2. Lack of leadership. It's not so much that the kids don't have the skills to lead or manage a team. Since they manage clubs in their schools, they definitely have the capacity to do it. For the most part, the ministries in the church are seen as afterthoughts. It's school first, then church. This may just be an issue of education, but it's difficult to overcome with overbearing parents and the pressures of media about college and careers.
3. Turnover. By the time kids have learned enough of the trade to lead it, bam, they're off to college and a new set needs to be trained. Coupled with the previous points, it's extremely difficult to make lasting ministries without an adult leader.

Case studies
CG.Dance, CG.Music, CG.VisualArts. 2 years ago, we had a thriving arts ministry. Every aspect was covered. But once the leaders moved on or got too busy, the ministries died. There were a few people who tried to carry on the torch, but they never really took off.

Drama continues to exist because I was willing to take up the mantle after our previous leaders left. I am the 3rd director of drama. Drama has been around for about 7 years and I've been heading it for the last 4-5 years. I've tried to set up structures to pass the torch, but I don't see enough interest in any of the youth to do it.

Solutions
I think the first step is to foster a thriving college ministry. By college, kids begin to discover their true passions and interests. They also have developed their skills in the area of ministry to effectively lead.