News

The numbers just came out and once again, bad news for mainline denominations. They can’t stop the leak. The numbers are compiled by the National Council of Churches and were just released in their 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

Here are the five “biggest losers”: United Church of Christ (UCC) down 2.83%; Presbyterian Church (USA) down 2.61%; Episcopal Church down 2.48%; Lutheran Church (ELCA) down 1.96%; and the United Methodist Church down 1%. The percentages may not sound like much but when you look at trends and raw numbers; the leak is more like a hole. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost nearly 800,000 people (over 20% of it membership) since 2001. The United Methodist Church has lost 600,000 during that time.

Why? Some Presbyterian Church (USA) pastors, in an open letter to their denomination, say it is because of their denomination’s “unending controversy.” What controversy? Gay ordination gets the headlines. Apparently more is being haggled behind close doors, though. The authority of Scripture, the nature of Christ, and whether salvation can be found in other faiths is now being bantered about. In studying the 2011 Yearbook numbers, sociologist Rodney Stark blames mainline denominational decline on “modernist theology and the transformation of mainline churches into centers for progressive political action.” He sounds right.

It is not coincidental that the churches in greatest decline are the very churches that made such a sharp “left” years ago. When it comes down to it, the chief issue is the authority of Scripture. When that one erodes, homosexuality is no longer a sin and Muslims go to heaven. And the pew empties when the guy (or gal now) behind the pulpit no longer believes the Book.

When these numbers were released, I stumbled on a blog discussing the “why” behind the decline. Two UCC pastors were part of the discussion. It was clear that Pastor Jeff and Pastor Brian (as they identified themselves) still didn’t get it. Pastor Jeff talked about his denomination needing to realize its not the “50’s and 60’s” anymore and that their church’s “social and organizational mentality” needed to change. Pastor Brian said that the UCC was good at “theological change and diversity” but needed to change their approach toward “a conversational sermon, worship in the round, [and] dump the Robert’s Rules of Order.” There was no smiley face after their posts so I gather they really believe that’s their problem. If that’s why they think people are leaving, what will they come up with next year when the floodgates are still open? Newsflash for Pastor Jeff and Pastor Brian; it’s not what you are doing or not doing—it’s what you are now believing and not believing!

And at the end of the day, is it a bad thing if mainline church members are leaving because their church no longer will “stand firm and hold to the teachings…passed on to [them]”? (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Their decline may be God’s way of preserving His church.

Just prior to our arrival in Kenya (see two previous articles), there had been a national election. National elections and post-election violence often go together in Kenya. So when there was little violence accompanying this one, Kenyans were happy. But there was a large segment of the population that was not happy with the results. Kenyans had gone to the polls to ratify a new Constitution. As I understand it, their old one was a hold-over from British colonial rule. To vote “yes” was to ratify the new Constitution. The Church in Kenya was the leading voice against ratification. Why? Because they had read the “small print” as well as what was “between the lines.” The new Constitution opened the door for abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, land redistribution (the government can now dictate how much land you own), and the establishment of separate Shariah courts for Muslims.

All of that to say this; our government was the leading voice for the vote “yes” movement. In fact, Vice-President Biden visited the country just prior to the election and as it was reported to me by a Kenyan Christian, promised many more dollars from our country if the new Constitution was ratified. President Obama, whose Kenyan heritage provides him rock-star status over there, was a loud voice for passage. Our ambassador to Kenya was also one of the most prominent faces for the”yes” vote. One Kenyan Christian asked me, “Why was your country so involved with this? We aren’t involved in your political life–why were you so involved in ours?” “For whomever else I can speak for,” I told my Kenyan Christian brother, “on behalf of America, I am sorry for the role we played in this.” The new Constitution went into effect one of the last days of the Pastor’s Conference. We were all in the cafeteria eating lunch where in one corner a television was on. The news was covering the event and all the pomp and circumstance politicians are good at on such days. The newsman was speaking Swahili so I don’t know exactly all that was being said but I’m pretty sure it was along the lines of, “What a great day it was for Kenya.” By looking at the faces of the Kenyan pastors in the room, though, I knew they didn’t think so. I was saddened to think that not only were we adversely influencing the Kenyan church through American Christian television (see previous article); our nation was also adversely influencing its politics and culture, too.

It’s been three weeks since my return to the States; having been in Kenya the last half of August. I had been invited to teach at a pastor’s conference in the northwest part of Kenya. About fifty pastors from mostly rural Kenya attended. The conference theme was: “On Being a Pastor”. What a joy it was to meet, converse, and train pastors who want to be faithful to their calling. Most of the men had little to no training. As it was put to me, in Kenya, “a young man comes to Christ and six months later he is planting and pastoring a church.” I hope that is an exaggeration. It was clear, however, that most of these men had precious little training. And what I soon discovered, is that though they pastored churches many miles from one another, they shared a common mentor. The mentor who trained them was American Christian television—mostly the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The “health/wealth” theology broadcasted from here had found “itching ears” there. I was saddened and grieved to listen to men who wanted a “church like that”; thinking that the theology they heard and the extravagance portrayed was what they were to pursue. When promises of health are given to a nation ravaged by malaria, typhoid fever, AIDS, and so on—it finds receptive ears. When promises of wealth are given to a nation poor and destitute; it finds receptive ears, too. How tragic that a theology in America that feeds our materialism has also found a home in Africa that feeds their poverty. At the pastor’s conference, we wanted our Kenyan brethren to know that there is better model to emulate then the one they see portrayed on television. We left Kenya with the hope that they heard a different model; asking them to look more to the Scriptures and less to the ones on TV who seem to champion success more then faithfulness.

A local pastor friend of mine, Michael Sandburg, invited me to join him on a short-term mission trip to Kenya. Pastor Mike has been going the past four years through the ministry of Agape Project International (API) to train local pastors and provide humanitarian relief in the name of Christ. I went to teach at their Pastor’s Conference under the theme of “On Being a Pastor.” Our  daughter Claire, age 16, was able to go with me and be a part of a medical team. Our church sent me with an offering of $1,300.00 dollars to purchase Bibles for some of  the local Kenyan pastors; something that is dearly needed in many of their impoverished churches. In Nairobi we were able to purchase 85 hard-bound English Bibles and 85 hard-bound Swahili Bibles. Pictured are three of the pastors who received these Bibles. Their smiles reveal their appreciation.