Is Your Church or Denomination Drifting?
by Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition:
Over the years, many conservative Christians have adopted a triumphalist posture regarding the strength of the evangelical movement in comparison with the collapse of mainline Protestantism. They’re dying, and we’re thriving! some say.
I don’t think this optimism is warranted.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been rereading Christian Smith and Michael Emerson’s book American Evangelicalism. Released in 1998, the data upon which the authors build their sociological analysis is dated, but the description of a movement “embattled and thriving” still rings true. There’s also a lot to glean from Smith and Emerson’s contrast between evangelical churches and mainline / liberal denominations (which were by the end of the last century already experiencing steep decline). Many of the signs of strength they saw then are still showing up in statistics today, especially in non-denominational churches.
But as I peruse the quotes in this book from mainline Protestant churchgoers nearly twenty-five years ago, what strikes me are the similarities—not the differences—among evangelical churchgoers across the country today.
Please right-click links to open in a new window.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
