Tired Theology
Why are people leaving church?
There are churches with coffee shops and large budget youth programmes. There are churches with celebrity pastors and huge video screens and amazing worship bands. Turns out though, that the problem is not decorative.
The main problem is not that the building is tired.
The main problem is that the theology is tired.
Theological renewal is not un-Christian. Fundamentalist evangelicalism is a relatively short-lived expression of Christian faith. For those who grew up in it, it might seem that it is the whole truth, the only way Christians have ever thought. This is not the case. Theological renewal looks back to Christian history and looks forward with hope.
When was church attendance at its peak per capita in Canada? According to census data the four largest Christian denominations peaked in affiliation in 1971, 50 years ago. For 50 years church attendance has been declining. In 1946 more than two thirds of Canadians attended church on a weekly basis. Twenty years ago (2001) that number was down to below 20%. It is still dropping. In the Vancouver neighbourhood where I live, church attendance before Easter 2019 was reportedly at 3% of the population.
A Gallup survey released in the United States last week showed that religious affiliation and church membership has declined to under 50% for the first time. There has been talk of this decline in evangelical circles of both countries for years. Sometimes evangelicals try to comfort themselves with assurances that it is the liberal church that is in decline while “God-fearing, Bible-believing” churches are doing just fine. This is actually not true. Liberal churches did see decline earlier and in some cases at a steeper pace, but there are numbers of liberal churches that are now growing. Conservative denominations have also declined in participation and are still doing so.
There are some key factors in why this decline is happening. It is not because people are becoming less interested in spirituality or even religion. When I was a pastor at an evangelical church I often heard people castigating anyone who said that they were “spiritual, but not religious”. This was said to be ridiculous or irresponsible or self-centred. I suppose if you take things on a case by case basis, you could find examples of such motivations, but let’s consider another possibility. Perhaps people are rejecting being part of a church because they see a large chasm between the good that the church could say and do in the world, and what they actually see from the church. With regards to the Christian church it might be that people see church as decidedly unlike Jesus.
Evangelical churches go to great lengths to attract people. The last 50 years have seen the rise of youth ministries, seeker friendly churches, elaborate productions, churches in movie-theatres, the rise of celebrity pastors and leaders (ex. Hillsong and C3). Some churches have become multi-site campuses akin to shopping malls or store franchises.
Large churches draw most of their followers from smaller churches. Small churches can feel like they have to compete with the local mega-church that has “so much more to offer”.
However, it has become obvious that most of the changes in the evangelical church have been decorative. We have not seen a significant amount of theological and spiritual renewal and hope. People are rightfully rejecting tired theologies and thin spirituality.
More and more we are seeing that people are not interested in associating with religious institutions that say:
people who believe differently than them are going to hell
there is a place of eternal damnation and physical torture called hell
you can’t be Christian and be a part of or an ally of the LGBTQ+ community
the secular world is somehow against God
Christian writer Brad Jersak, in his book “A More Christlike Way”, quotes a friend who said the following about people (younger people in particular) leaving church:
I struggle to understand how, in this era, millennials are said to be the ones with the “faith crisis.” If we hand our sons and daughters a faith exposed as misogynistic, racist, unconcerned about creation and the poor, they aren’t wrong to leave it. We give sons and daughters a serpent instead of a fish, a stone instead of bread. They leave—we say it’s due to “cultural relativism.” Sons and daughters leave—we say, “they just don’t honour spiritual authority.” If we loved like fathers and mothers, we’d be honoured as such. To quote Paul, “You have not many fathers.” That’s why many people leave the Church—they can’t find spiritual fathers and mothers there. Sons and daughters of the church know they don’t have fathers:
• When authority reacts to them like wounded peers, rather than grieved parents;
• When authority would rather defend their egos than hear the cries of their own;
• When they come home to find the prodigal Father’s unconditional embrace replaced with a lecture;
• When authorities insist they listen to them, rather than listening themselves.— Jersak, Bradley. A More Christlike Way: A More Beautiful Faith (p. 23).
There is a rich theological tradition in Christian faith that has not subscribed to the things listed above. Hopeful Christian theology shows us that faith moves us closer to people who believe differently than we do, not further away. Hopeful Christian theology shows us that the end of things is renewal and life, not darkness and terror. Hopeful Christian theology welcomes, in fact encourages, a variety of philosophical and political perspectives.
Darrel Guder, a theological professor, translator and key figure in the “missional” movement within the Christian church, spoke about the decline of evangelicalism and the current state of the church in the west at a conference I attended at St. Andrew’s Hall in Vancouver a couple of years ago.
Speaking with joyful anticipation, Guder said, “We may finally be witnessing the end of Christendom.” For Guder, such a possibility was something that showed the presence and love of God, not the absence of God. Overcoming the distorted and anemic theology that supported Christendom (religion aligned with political power) offers an opportunity for a Christian faith that is more hopeful, more loving, and even more Christian than the religion that many people are leaving behind.
Some people have been speaking of a hopeful faith for many years. Professor Cornel West is one such person. In the below segment from CNN, West is speaking to Don Lemon after the events of the Derek Chauvin trial yesterday. Listen to how West speaks of his “sweet Jesus” and the music of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone and others.
Thank you Lynda. Your strength and openness, your thoughtfulness and consideration are gifts that help me and many others. Our hearts do break over horrible things like the senseless killing of George Floyd. So much of what is lost cannot be recovered this side of eternal redemption, but we can weep and we can humanize and we can always hope for better. I note that Cornel West, in referring to the darkness of mind of someone like Derek Chauvin still said, "Brother Derek". Take Care.
What I know for sure is that hopeful theology changes minds.
Almost five years ago when I put on a brave face after a prodigious change in my life
you opened my mind. You gave me hope.
Throughout my life the church had taught me that I was a sinner. Full stop.
From you I learned that the Cross conquered sin.
Through you I saw the Bible through new eyes.
The words took on a new dimension. You helped me see truth.
Hopeful theology changes minds. Keep doing what you are doing.
I have been watching some of the “George Floyd” trial.
I say that because it feels as though George Floyd is on trial.
Thank you for the video. Heartbreaking. But I am ever hopeful.