The research plan looks a bit different in each congregation, but plans usually include things like a mix of church-wide surveys, qualitative interviews, and field work. But it also hides in our allergies to those who are not like us, in our inability to hold non-coercive space with those who are different, and in our refusal to speak prophetically to injustice, and in our attempts to remain supposedly neutral in the face of injustice. More folks are once again losing jobs. Too many churches are insulated and self-focused. The attitude God will take care of us, and theyll have to take care of themselves is not a Christian attitude. Many church leaders find themselves reminding their church members of the hope of Christ more than they ever had. The be and do whatever feels right to you philosophy of expressive individualism is fundamentally at odds with Christianity, which calls us to bow to the lordship of Christ. If anything, we are learning from the pandemic, it is that the 21st century church must be nimble and resourceful. Patriarchy often hides inside a leadership culture characterized by top-down, command-and-control decision making, zero-sum power games, rationalist modes of thinking, and an aversion to vulnerability. Personal opinion. By Scott Ross - December 15, 2021 Pocket Ten years ago, cultural and religious analyst Phyllis Tickle wrote about what she called "The Great Emergence" that the Church was enteringa time of both upheaval and hope. Complexity is cumbersome. Learn what being an exvangelical means, and gain resources for how to recover after leaving evangelicalism. You can get started addressing difficult issues right away by listening, naming the truth, and experimenting with concrete action steps. They involve the ways individuals attempt to dominate, control, or coerce other individuals, but also the way congregations can become systems of domination, where idolatry is part of the water in which everyone swims and is formed. In some denominations in the United States, church membership is dwindling. What happens in America that I think dampens down the rise of the nones is the cold war. This is why we must be careful not to assume that just because a congregation is egalitarian does not mean there are male-centric assumptions and structures that marginalize women. . We chat with multiple people at a time, post one fragment of our lives here and another there, consume visual media in one window and read the Bible in another. 12) Aversion to Commitment. Not only were many predominantly white denominations explicit perpetrators of racialized theology and supporters of systems that oppressed and disadvantaged BIPOC people historically, as MLK Jr. said, Sunday morning continues to be the most segregated hour of the week. 5) Boredom. Lord help us make wise decisions that work for our good and HIS glory! CHALLENGES FACING THE AFRICAN CHURCH: SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGIANS SPEAK OUT Stephen Victor Coertze Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of MAGISTER ARTIUM in the Faculty of Theology Department of Science of Religion and Missiology University of Pretoria PROMOTER: Prof PGJ Meiring April 2005 3) Consultant. Most challenges confronting the church today do not affect the church universal per se b. When I say messy, I mean that there is often a gap between a churchs ideal vision for itself and the reality of life that actually constitutes beliefs and behaviors in real time. I wonder what is causing the stress and concern? Let God be true In Texas, John Muzyka of Church Realty, a company that specializes in church sales, said there were fewer churches for sale than at any point in the last 15 years. The entire process usually takes about one month. Make it! Racism includes personal bias or prejudice of one person against another that trades on a socially constructed (and arbitrary) hierarchy of being that makes light-skinned (white) people superior to darker-skinned (black or brown) people. There seems to be change after change with no time to catch your breath. Understanding the distinction between the church universal and local is encouraging. Thats why addressing these issues faithfully is necessary for moving into more whole, just, and loving forms of life together. Now, with COVID, we are all guinea pigs in the learning phase of a new *and* evolving organism. We are the generation that is opting to own homes at a far lower rate than previous generations did. Capitalizing on Robin Jordans comment about Naval ships and slow maneuvering, when driving large ships the best decision is to start moving in the desired direction then adjust course as necessary. These are several challenges, but let's focus on one more: the trend toward post-denominationalism. As you listen, patterns and themes might emerge. Our team at Church Answers has been working with thousands of church leaders about leading in the second wave of COVID. 14) Social Media. Vaccines are still useful in preventing most cases of severe illness and death, however. One perspective was that churches would resume their practices just as they were before the pandemic. This has been a struggle for the church since her earliest days. In the final phase, we gather with you and a larger group of leaders in your congregation for a discernment session. Being Jesus church in a community does not require as many things as we have come to think and believe that it needs. As you begin to name the themes and patterns that emerge, begin a dialogue about the story they tell about who your community is in practice, about your points of struggle and pain, and also about how God might be bringing renewal into the future. The report will also make provocative observations about whats happening and how God is inviting you to respond. The issues above have both personal and structural components. Our relationships are digital. This means getting outside the walls of the church. My main concern about this surgery is the possibility of developing blood clots which can be quite the threat to ones health and possibly life. As always, the best are praying and making the best of it and using this opportunity to teach/reach people they would never have even thought of 2 years ago. The challenges of today's church are many and it is difficult to define which are the most ominous. The end goal is not endless dialogue, but action, particularly the kinds of embodied practices your church can do to lean into the new life God is making available. by Thom S. Rainer Working with Gravity Congregational Transformation, which is not designed to do crisis intervention or conflict resolution, will be even more fruitful after making a journey back to baseline health.If youre not sure where you are, wed be happy to help you discern that in a consultation call, and then make recommendations based on your situation if it seems like partnering with a different organization first would be most helpful. You cannot truly understand how particular issues are uniquely shaping your congregation or how God meets you in the midst until you sink down into all the messy particulars. Justification and sanctification. In 1972 92% of Americans said they were Christian, Pew reported, but by 2070 that number will drop to below 50% and the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans or nones will probably outnumber those adhering to Christianity. Franklin, TN 37069, [emailprotected] In the first wave of COVID, churches faced divisions over politics, masks, regathering, streaming services, and social distancing. How can the Church win over the minds and hearts of those Catholics whose attitudes toward abortion, stem-cell research, cloning, and sexual issues mirror those of their non-Catholic fellow citizens? I would say if a church stayed closed for more than a year, it was really hard to get those people to come back. 6) Temptation to Reinvent the Wheel. One of the top answers was church members seem to be judgmental or hypocritical, McConnell said. I pray for your fatigue of a constantly changing world, and for Gods blessings as you learn to navigate it. The new rules are part of a government plan to crack . The world in which we live is undergoing a major cultural transformationone leading to a widespread lack of faith, an increase in moral relativism, and a rejection of . Pastors are experiencing burnout, anxiety, and depression and leaving ministry at rapid rates. listen to the interview with Wade Mullen on the Gravity Podcast, Its a Good Day to Read Dr. Martin Luther Kings Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Exvangelical Meaning: Recovering from Evangelical Christianity. There is so much disagreement and uncertainty. 13) The Struggle for Balance in an Immoderate Age. Do you recognise any affecting your church? We are in the midst of and hopefully coming out of a season of pandemic and also tremendous social unrest, and that unrest has not left the church untouched. Taking concrete steps forward is not meant merely to be corrective, as if the goal is fixing problems. The scientists have contradicted themselves too many times for me to trust them. It will also be the primary issue that drives the cultural alienation of the church in the 21st century. As important as apologetics, theological training and rigorous rational defenses are for the faith, if our presentation of Christianity is entirely cerebral it is missing something. Email : [emailprotected]. The more complicated we make the church, the less countercultural she is. Rather it reflects the influence of todays me first culture. Challenges Facing The Church in Africa. It is time to simply follow the Lord! They dont know their own future, so they are often at a loss to help the churches they serve. Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that "God seems missing from my experience of church" (20%). Church leaders particularly feel the exhaustion of dealing with so many issues. During the 20th century, we became accustomed to the medical community already having the answers to whatever ailed us. The goal of action is aligning your congregational system with a fresh vision for flourishing Gods kingdom and loving neighbors. Transformation begins when you address difficult issues as the real work where the Spirit of God is renewing life. You have to be nimble and roll with the situation. Yet churches must lean into the "transcendent authority" of Christ, countercultural as that may be. The following 21 are in no particular order and are by no means exhaustive, and they are largely (but not exclusively) reflective of an American evangelical context. 1. The organization of the church needs to be simpler. The power of the gospel is that of unifying diverse groups of people, breaking down the walls of hostility that naturally divide us (race, class, culture, gender, music preference, whatever). Most challenges confronting the church today involve how local churches respond . In the last three years, all signs are pointing to a continued pace of closures probably similar to 2019 or possibly higher, as theres been a really rapid rise in American individuals who say theyre not religious.. About a quarter of the young adults who dropped out of church said they disagreed with their churchs stance on political and social issues. 20) Distrust of Authority. Interesting information but, at this point in time, our congregation seems to be doing very well which of course, includes Lita and myself. The days are numbered for churches to freely conduct their affairs according to traditional beliefs and practices on issues of sexuality and gender, without government interference. About 6% of Americans identified with Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. 2020 Fieldstone Pkwy. They cant have it both ways, and Im sick and tired of the double talk. But churches must challenge rather than cater to this mentality. No longer can church leaders simply sidestep complex questions around human sexuality, hoping that merely teaching the right answers or avoiding controversial questions will somehow cause the issue to fade into the background. One is tempted to just become Catholic so as to avoid the nauseous glut of The church must become _____ to survive blog posts and book rants. And so the younger generation just doesnt feel like theyre being accepted in a church environment or some of their choices arent being accepted by those at church.. This destructive assumption is often called white supremacy. But its more than personal; its institutional and social. Churches must lean into the complexities and paradoxes of these things and try to seek healthy balance, tempting as it will be to claim radical and extreme positions so as to appeal to Generation Antsy. Every week, many church leaders are confronted with gather or dont gather, masks or no masks, and other issues unique to the pandemic. "Just start. Most pastors I talk to, including myself, will not be shutting down the churches they pastor. Yet churches must lean into the transcendent authority of Christ, countercultural as that may be. And when that gets to a critical point, churches close. People breaking that habit of attending church means a lot of churches had to work hard to get people back to attending again, said Scott McConnell, executive director at Lifeway Research. Consumerism turns creation and people into objects for my use; again, denying the image of God in others and the reality of creation as a gift. We are an antsy culture. Reason #3 - Churches come across as antagonistic to science. Third: Mission, outreach and empathy is essential. If our motives are pure then even mistakes become opportunities. Your email address will not be published. The most vibrant centers of global Christianity are not in western countries these days, and the face of western Christianity is becoming much more diverse. By vaccinating the healthy, young people, we left no hosts for the virus. That aside, closures are often due to a failure of churches to adapt. About 4,500 Protestant churches closed in 2019, the last year data is available, with about 3,000 new churches opening, according to Lifeway Research. There is a difference. When presented with a list of possible challenges facing their church today, half of Protestant pastors note that "reaching a younger audience" (51%) is a major issue for their ministry. Culture and tradition 2. The challenges are aplenty here, with major theological and pastoral implications. I think that dampens it down until you get the millennial generation for whom the cold war is just a vague memory from their early childhood.. I wrote about this a few years ago and still believe its one of the biggest challenges currently facing the church. Both church leaders and members can get ornery and critical as a consequence of their exhaustion. Not only have women been marginalized, but these structures also often nurture cultures where abuse is rampant (more below). The goal is arriving at a handful of practical experimentsconcrete responses to what God is disrupting and renewing. The Challenges Facing the Catholic Church. 15) The Need for Racial Reconciliation. As they learn more and the virus changes, the methods to fight it must also change. The closures arent spread evenly through the country. The good news is that God is already working in the midst of these issues, bringing newness and transformation. Your email address will not be published. Remember, God gives rulers their power even those with whom we disagree, awful Csars including Nero. Anyway, Im in Gods hands and one cannot do better than that. Dr. Ligon Duncan empathizes with church leaders and reminds them of their ultimate hope during discouraging seasons. Weariness expanded. has been, and continues to be, affected by the sin of racism in complex and often subtle ways. The problem of patriarchy is not simply about holding an anthropology that teaches women and men are different. The era of bi-vocational and co-vocational ministry has arrived rapidly. b. A lot of people who were weakly attached, to suddenly have months of not going, theyre then thinking: Well we dont really need to go, or Weve found something else to do, or thinking: It was hard enough dragging the kids along then, we really ought to start going again next week.. The situation means some hard decisions for pastors, who have to decide when a dwindling congregation is no longer sustainable. Holding all my siblings in faith, those where things are going well and those feeling like theyre tottering on the brink, in great prayer. Closely associated with social media, the allure of celebrity and platform has become pervasive in the 21st century and can destroy a church, particularly when pastors and leaders become more interested in impressing their audience than tending to the flock of God. The second wave has been a real challenge. 4. Major personnel shifts in churches.

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