Christian Revival is dedicated to stopping the demographic collapse of Christianity, It is interesting to ask the question, "Why isn't everyone talking about it?" This blog post discusses the causes of the inertia. Why are so many Christians - especially our leaders - not talking about our problems or the solutions needed to solve them? Here are some of the reasons why the critical discussions have not been happening.
1.) Technological Shock Factor: The earth shaking changes of the past decades are unprecedented. Cultures that are centuries old have been flipped upside down. This has disoriented the world. Many Christians have been trying to figure out what is happening, so they have not progressed to creating solutions yet.
2.) Intense Political Distractions: Many people feel that the political battle is a higher priority. "If the nation implodes, then the health of the church is irrelevant." However, the reverse dynamic is also possible. Perhaps there is no political cure for a spiritual problem.
3.) Personal Economic Survival: Many families and churches are justifiably focused on economic survival. Income often rises to a top priority,. However, we need to get better at balancing our own survival with improving the health and effectiveness of the church.
4.) A Local Ministry Focus: Some ministers feel that their best contribution to the spiritual problem in the West is running the best church possible. Then, others can copy their efforts. This is definitely a positive track to take, Many individual churches are thriving, but the data is clear that we need some systemic answers.
5,) Philosophical Fatalism: A common thought is that many problems are beyond our control. Declining church affiliation is seen as an unavoidable cultural reality. Instead, we should accept responsibility that we are doing some things inefficiently.
6.) Detachment from Heritage: We have largely lost touch with our religious history. This diminishes our pride. It also cuts us off from many previous structures and tools we used in the past to thrive.
7.) Public Western Education: School systems across the West taught several generations that history has reached an atheistic culmination where religion is not relevant. Many believers may have come to accept this as a reality.
8.) Strong Institutional Inertia: Similar to politics, many Christian leaders are not rewarded for identifying problems. For various reasons, they are rewarded for accomplishing other tasks.
9.) Theological Fatalism: Perspective affects reality. If Christians see the rapid changes of today as End Time events, that can deter future effort. Instead, we should be vibrantly building a church for future generations.
10.) Constant Cultural Manipulation. Educational and media messaging glamorized a silent Christian population. Those forces then capitalized upon moral passivity to create a new culture hostile to Christianity.
Britain is considered the least religious nation on earth. In retrospect, the church did very little to stop the decline which happened over the course of a century. The American church is following this pattern, but we do have two advantages. First, we are not completely centralized. Individual Christian leaders can make innovations. Second, we have new tools and technology at our disposal. I do believe the church still needs to ask God for divine help before anything will change. With God's help, I believe we can experience the type of recovery the church has experienced before in history.