America’s Dying Mainline Churches

Lindsey Harts
Jul 20, 2017 · 4 min read

“If then there is any enouragement in Christ, any consoloation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” -Philippians 2:1–11

I was reading an article about America’s dying mainline churches when this passage of scripture arose in my mind. From that moment until now, there have been 9 months of this passage shaping me and showing up on my radar again, and again, and again. It’s quite rare that a passage of scripture remains in my mind longer than a couple of weeks or months, but this passage in Philippians has been an exception. I have so many thoughts on it at this point, but I want to speak specifically about it in regard to America’s mainline churches.

It seems like every few months, there is a new article full of statistics circulating that talks about declining attendance in mainline churches. I have tried to be mindful of others and really listen to their concerns when they’ve come face to face with these statistics. There are a lot of people, for whom, the thought of their church dying is paralyzing. There are others who continue to be blissfully optimistic and attempt to go about their lives as usual. On a personal level, I can understand feeling paralyzed and I can understand the need to ignore the statistics and roll on with life. But I will say that I have been overwhelmed by the amount of scrambling and panic that these statistics have brought with them. I sense a lot of fear.

I guess I just find all of the fear a little surprising. As Christians, death and resurrection are such a core part of our faith. In our liturgies, we proclaim that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. In baptism we are taken down into the grave and then raised to life with Christ. Jesus invites us to pick up our crosses and follow Him. Jesus bids us to come and DIE.

In Paul’s letter to the Phillipians, he touches on this as well and urges them to be of the same mind as Christ:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.

What if we stopped fearing the death of our churches and started humbling ourselves, even to the point of death. I’m not at all saying that we should “give up” or cease to be the body of Christ. What I am saying is that resurrection can’t happen if there isn’t first death. Death is natural. It’s a part of the cycle. We cannot recieve what is fresh and new until we allow the things that are holding us back to die. Dying is not pretty or painless, but it is innevitable.

If we are becoming a post-Christian nation, why fear it? I certainly don’t fear a post-Christian world. If anything, I find it to be exciting, uncharted territory. Since I’m from the bible belt, I know what it’s like for everybody and their dog to go to church. I know what it’s like to have random people in the grocery store ask you what church you go to on a Sunday afternoon. It’s almost as if Christianity has become so much a part of southern culture, that it has lost its weightiness and meaning for many people. But to be the Church in a society where people no longer go to church for show? I welcome that.

All of this to say, I believe there’s a beautiful future for the Church in America, but we won’t ever get to experience it until we are willing to die to ourselves, make sacrifices, humble ourselves, and hold our traditions with open hands. It will not be easy, but if we are going to truly follow Jesus, it is necessary.

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Lindsey Harts

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