The collapse of US evangelicalism
John S. Dickerson, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church and author of The Great Evangelical Recession writes in the New York Times:
Much has been said about conservative Christians and their need to retool politically. But that is a smaller story, riding on the back of a larger reality: Evangelicalism as we knew it in the 20th century is disintegrating.
In 2011 the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life polled church leaders from around the world. Evangelical ministers from the United States reported a greater loss of influence than church leaders from any other country — with some 82 percent indicating that their movement was losing ground.
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I believe the cultural backlash against evangelical Christianity has less to do with our views — many observant Muslims and Jews, for example, also view homosexual sex as wrong, while Catholics have been at the vanguard of the movement to protect the lives of the unborn — and more to do with our posture. The Scripture calls us “aliens and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), but American evangelicals have not acted with the humility and homesickness of aliens. The proper response to our sexualized and hedonistic culture is not to chastise, but to “conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).
This does not mean we whitewash unpopular doctrines like the belief that we are all sinners but that we re-emphasize the free forgiveness available to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Editor's Note: Talk about projection. Liberals would like to think that US evangelicalism is collapsing and they will find unwitting evangelicals that will agree with them. Meanwhile in Realville, as a famous radio personality says, evangelical churches are growing, evangelical churches are planting new churches, and the liberal mainline is quickly declining. Because evangelicals didn't influence an election like the writer believes they should have? Nonsense.
Yes, their are concerns about the younger generations. There are also some highly respected sociologists that say that the pattern of the younger generations is not abnormal. Go to: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.org%2Fmagazine%2Fextras%2Fppt%2FAmericanChurchInCrisisRevMagazine.ppt&ei=wlbQUJ6WH8TG0AHavoHYCA&usg=AFQjCNFiaSF0GtFRD_MW5IgSe1haOcDzfA and read the synopsis of the American Church Report that is cited in the article. Small and large churches are growing; mid-sized churches are not. Older churches are not growing. The number of evangelical churches is growing; the issue is that evangelical churches are not planting enough churches to keep up with population growth. The mainline churches? They're not even in the game.
In 2012 we witnessed a collapse in American evangelicalism. The old religious right largely failed to affect the Republican primaries, much less the presidential election. Last month, Americans voted in favor of same-sex marriage in four states, while Florida voters rejected an amendment to restrict abortion.
Much has been said about conservative Christians and their need to retool politically. But that is a smaller story, riding on the back of a larger reality: Evangelicalism as we knew it in the 20th century is disintegrating.
In 2011 the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life polled church leaders from around the world. Evangelical ministers from the United States reported a greater loss of influence than church leaders from any other country — with some 82 percent indicating that their movement was losing ground.
....
I believe the cultural backlash against evangelical Christianity has less to do with our views — many observant Muslims and Jews, for example, also view homosexual sex as wrong, while Catholics have been at the vanguard of the movement to protect the lives of the unborn — and more to do with our posture. The Scripture calls us “aliens and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), but American evangelicals have not acted with the humility and homesickness of aliens. The proper response to our sexualized and hedonistic culture is not to chastise, but to “conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).
This does not mean we whitewash unpopular doctrines like the belief that we are all sinners but that we re-emphasize the free forgiveness available to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Editor's Note: Talk about projection. Liberals would like to think that US evangelicalism is collapsing and they will find unwitting evangelicals that will agree with them. Meanwhile in Realville, as a famous radio personality says, evangelical churches are growing, evangelical churches are planting new churches, and the liberal mainline is quickly declining. Because evangelicals didn't influence an election like the writer believes they should have? Nonsense.
Yes, their are concerns about the younger generations. There are also some highly respected sociologists that say that the pattern of the younger generations is not abnormal. Go to: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.org%2Fmagazine%2Fextras%2Fppt%2FAmericanChurchInCrisisRevMagazine.ppt&ei=wlbQUJ6WH8TG0AHavoHYCA&usg=AFQjCNFiaSF0GtFRD_MW5IgSe1haOcDzfA and read the synopsis of the American Church Report that is cited in the article. Small and large churches are growing; mid-sized churches are not. Older churches are not growing. The number of evangelical churches is growing; the issue is that evangelical churches are not planting enough churches to keep up with population growth. The mainline churches? They're not even in the game.
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