THere are seven major problems crippling the church and we
must act now!
Christianity is facing a demographic CRISIS. We have been LOSING our young adults for DECADES. The fastest growing religion in America is AGNOSTICISM. We have also IGNORED other critical PROBLEMS. We SUMMARIZED 7 of these problems along with potential SOLUTIONS in order to START a movement for ACTION in our faith. The enemies of Christianity will NOT relent. It is up to US. The good news is that we ALSO have unparalleled OPPORTUNITIES to recover and GROW faster than at any time in history.
The Top 7 Problems
Crippling Christianity
and what we CAN do to fix them...
1. The Young Adult Demographic is Still in a Freefall
Problem: Christianity is the only religion that literally expels young adults after they graduate from high school. This has created the loss of millions of Christians. Why do churches spend thousands of dollars on children without following through with their investment at the most critical time? This is like a rancher releasing all of his livestock after he has raised them.
Solution: Churches must start offering young adults benefits for continuing their church affiliation. Churches should offer mentorships, help with college, help finding a spouse, and help getting a good job. Ideally, Christians should pool resources to create sophisticated systems to recruit and retain young adults.
Book Project in Progress: Extinction "How Christianity Can Save Its Young Adults Before Time Runs Out"
2. A Majority of Christian Teenagers are Still Losing Faith
Problem: Christianity is one of the few religions that has completely lost its understanding of the catechism, or training of faith. Churches do not teach Christian history, pride, or apologetics. Churches have forgotten about rite of passage ceremonies and training. Because of this, our youth cannot justify their faith intellectually in response to hostile cultural indoctrination.
Solution: Churches must restore a strategic catechism type system so young people can develop pride in their faith, learn apologetics, understand their religious duty in society, consider family responsibility, and envision their future relationship with the church. Catechism is more than curriculum. It trains behaviors and attributes a critical sense of acceptance by the group.
Book Project in Progress: Catechism "Restoring the Lost Science of Passing Faith Between Generations"
3. All Christian Education Models Are in a Major Crisis
Problem: The Christian school, Christian college, and the seminary are in crisis. Almost all Christian schools and colleges produce near agnostic graduates in behavior and belief. The failure of these institutions cripples our ability to preserve Christian culture. Seminary professors, historically tasked to train pastors, now only produce other professors. No institution currently prepares pastors with sufficient training equivalent to a quality MBA.
Solution: Successful pastors in today's complex environment need an MBA equivalent education capable of teaching franchise level operations. In addition, Christianity needs at least one major university dedicated to preserving Christian culture and producing Christian leaders in society. Christians must find a way to make Christian higher education accessible for young academics to maintain our influence in society. Scholasticism, without spiritual compromise, must become a priority in the church again.
Book Project in Progress: Losing Our Minds "Restoring the Souls of Christian Schools and Colleges"
4. Christianity Has Still Not Adapted to Technology
Problem: Christianity is failing on the defensive and offensive aspects of technology and media. We have not produced adequate fire-walls to protect ourselves or our children. We have not produced sufficient tools for ourselves or penetrating devices to better thrust our content into the public sphere. Christianity is the largest religion on earth but we barely rank in the pages that pull up for questions about God or Jesus. While we have made some progress in media, The Passion and The Family Channel remain distant high points. Technology has disrupted the church more than the church has capitalized upon technology.
Solution: The culture is digital so the Church must place much more investment into relevant media and tech. We should have already created our own browser and central web site for Christianity by now. We should have replaced the Family Channel and continued to create family content.
Book Project in Progress: 5G Evangelism "Harnessing the Power of Tech and Film for Faith"
5. Church Staffs Still Suffer From Record High Burnout
Problem: The average tenure of a pastor and staff is under two years. This suggests that the current model of ministry needs to be adjusted. Other religions do not report the massively high pressures that often harm pastoral marriages and families.
Solution: Alternative church models should be examined so that the average pastor or staff can serve a congregation for many years. Models from our own history can be examined. Mixtures of old structures combined with new technological adaptations may also hold promise. We can use social science to explore multiple combinations that could work better than the current contemporary church.
Book Project in Progress: Stress Fractures "Healing The Wounds of Modern Church Structure"
6. Weak Relationships are Reducing Church Membership
Problem: Loneliness is rampant in the church and is a large driver of turnover. Relationships are like membership glue. However, a majority of the church population cannot form lasting friendships. Churches do not understand group dynamics, so most groups fail to provide relational continuity for more than a year.
Solution: Like the military, church leaders need to learn the social science of group dynamics. This knowledge should be provided in Bible College and effect the future structure of church services, gatherings, and groups.
Book Project in Progress: The Friend Building Church "Church Growth By Building Lasting Relationships"
7. Inadequate Benefits are Lowering Church Membership
Problem: Christians report a low sense of financial security compared to other religious groups. Reciprocity is also a predictor of loyalty. Unfortunately, Christians do not feel that the church cares about them in times of crisis. Christian churches offer a poor process for helping members compared to other religions. The Bible provides a lot of instruction for churches to care for their own members, but this has declined.
Solution: Church leaders need to return to an emphasis on internal benevolence. Christians need employment networking. Churches should develop a competitive social system with other religious groups.
Book Project in Progress: The Loving Church "Growing Churches By Offering More Benefits and Care"