A recent Pew Research study projects that Christians will be in the minority in the United States by 2070. Currently, 64% of the nation says they are Christians, 30% are nones (no religious affiliation), and the other 6% are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. If the current trends continue, Pew Research states that by 2070 Christians will only make up approximately 35% to 46% of the population. One of the reasons for this decline is 15- to 29-year-old Christians switching to becoming unaffiliated or a ‘none.’ We are following the pattern that Europe experienced, who are ahead of us in experiencing the decline of Christianity. Though this is not good news and not surprising, it also presents an opportunity.
In the article “Why the End of America’s Christian Majority Might Be a Good Thing for Christianity," Joe Terrell writes that people are unwilling to be associated with what passes for Christianity in America today. He states that it is bursting the Christian Bubble. Richard Halverson, the former chaplain of the United States Senate, said, “In the beginning, the church was a fellowship of men and women centered on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America, where it became an enterprise." Consumer Christianity is not attractive to those looking for something life-changing. The church has to decide the kind of faith it is living out and articulating to the world.
In A Creative Minority, Jon Tyson and Heather Grizzle write, “We need a vision that is not based on a fear of a godless future, or a longing for an idealized past, but a rich presence in our own time that inspires the beauty and possibility of Christ’s church.” This new vision happens when we seek God to send his Spirit to revive us and give us a vision for the kind of people he is calling us to be. Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." God calls us to advance his kingdom's purposes in the world by being his disciples who allow him to do a new thing in our hearts.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
This new vision is possible because this is what the Lord promises in his coming. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
What kind of church would we look like if God had his way with us?
Articles referred to:
The Decline of Christianity Shows No Signs of Stopping DANIEL SILLIMAN - SEPTEMBER 13, 2022
Why the End of America’s Christian Majority Might Be a Good Thing for Christianity by Joe Terrell
