In recent years much ink has been spilled over people leaving the Church. The conversation has taken many forms (some more helpful than others) and approached the idea from a variety of angles, but at the center of the conversation is a significant, widespread decline in church attendance and affiliation. While pundits and sociologists ponder the meaning of it all, those who consider the issue from a biblical Christian worldview recognize that it is not merely about numbers and narratives.
Recent years have seen the advent of the term “nones” to describe Americans who do not identify with a particular denomination—or in some cases with any formal religion—though they may still identify themselves as “spiritual”. Many others self-identify as Christians yet reject what they often describe as “organized religion”, choosing instead to define their faith for themselves apart from any church.
Another term that has gained momentum in our culture is “deconstruction”. While its uses may vary, the root of the term lies in the idea of tearing down or rejecting what a person once considered true. Popularly, though not exclusively, deconstruction denotes a disillusionment with the Church as a whole and a rejection of authority and orthodoxy. It tends to value personal experience and understanding over creeds, traditions, and even the authority of the Bible. As a result, those who identify as “deconstructing” tend toward theological and moral liberalism, humanist philosophy, and a postmodernist worldview.
A less recent but no less current trend is that of young people graduating from high school and walking away from church. Some actively turn from a previously professed faith, but many passively drift away. It is not a new problem, but neither does the trend appear to be lessening.
In each of these scenarios and others like them, we must recognize and remember at least three things, in no particular order. The first is that none of these things happen in a vacuum; there are discernible factors and causes. Secondly, the Bible warns us that we ought to expect such things. The third thing we must remember is God’s sovereignty over Christ’s Church. These three realities help provide both hope and direction for those who love the Lord and His household.
One truth we cannot escape is that our choices determine our destiny. Big or small, good or bad, all choices have consequences. Some consequences are unforeseen, but very often the results of our actions are predictable. Over a number of decades, far too many parents who self-identify as Christians have lived as if their faith were an add-on to “real life”. Being a Christian is commended as a good thing, but the things we prioritize every day tell a different story. Children who observe half-hearted devotion at home generally grow up without a reason to give the religion of their parents any real credence in their own lives. How can we raise our children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4) while living half-heartedly for Him ourselves? If we desire to see the “deconstructing” trends change, we must first believe the truth enough ourselves for it to consume our daily living.
At the same time, a decline in those identifying with the church should come as no shock to believers who read the Bible. The Spirit of God has warned us in His revealed Word of a coming “falling away” in passages such as Matthew 24:10-13, 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, as well as the pattern of Israel’s Old Testament history. When the people of God fail to live wholeheartedly as a people set apart for Him, their decline is an integral part of His judgment.
Yet in the midst of His judgment, God remains sovereign over all things, and His plans for His people cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2). There is no reason for Bible-believing people to be overwhelmed by the “doom and gloom” reporting about the imminent demise of Christ’s Church in what has been described as the “post-Christian” age. We should absolutely be concerned by these negative trends, but only inasmuch as they indicate our own failure to communicate and demonstrate the truth of the transforming reality of Christ’s Gospel. We must live and breathe and function as the Body and Bride of Christ with wholehearted devotion if we are to have the soul-saving, world-changing impact to which the Lord has called us. Yet, we must never forget that Jesus Christ is the head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18). Jesus promised that He Himself would build His Church, and the gates of Hell would never be able to overcome it (Matthew 16:18).
In truth, the decline of cultural or nominal Christianity can only serve to purify the Church, burning away what is false that the true might stand as gold refined in fire (Job 23:10, Proverbs 17:3). We have no need to fear, but we must use the warnings as opportunities to recalibrate our hearts and minds. We must remind ourselves that the Church has a mission, and we have no purpose for being on this planet but to carry out that mission. To that end, let us strive diligently to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and to live as those who believe the truth with our whole hearts. As we do, we will more accurately reflect the reality of Christ through relationships. That is how we give our posterity and the watching world a reason to believe.
Comments