the "church"

Recently I have been reading a number of posts on why they left the church (see these two - by Rachel Held Evans & Kim Van Brunt).

I have been struck by these posts, as my experience of church has been different. I suspect that it is the community which has made my experience different. A community of people who are walking the same journey, who are sharing life's joys and struggles, and who are willing to wrestle with you to understand what God's word means for us and our world. 

It is a shame but this is not everyone's experience and we need to listen to those who leave 'the church' and find out what we can learn from their experience, recognising that they are not necessarily going to walk back through the door, as the 'damage has been done'. 

I think there is also something in the claim that the church is more concerned about what happens in our bedrooms; than who is living on our streets. In the political sphere, there also appears to be an unwritten rule that Christians should vote Liberal, not Labour (and definitely not Green - which I do kind of understand). It has certainly given me pause to reconsider my politics. As an aside, I am also disappointed with Federal Labour. (Aside: I think we also need to learn how to disagree with each other & make our case to the world)

A few other good books to read to explore why people leave church (and some of the lessons we should take) are:

• A churchless faith: faith journeys beyond Evangelical, Pentecostal & charismatic churches - Alan Jamieson (mainly looks at NZ)
• The Market Driven Church - Udo Middelmann (on how the church is adapting some behaviours of the market & popular culture).
• Quitting church: why the faithful are fleeing and what to do about it - Julia Dunn (from the US).

And one I haven't read which sounds good is You Lost Me: Young Christians are leaving Church and Rethinking faith. There are some stats about Australia's churched and unchurched here. I am also excited by the prospect of reading some of Rachel's thoughts if she decides to write a book on this topic. 

On church attendance..

An interesting piece in the Telegraph about research Kristin Aune has been doing on the number of women attending church in the UK, and how this number appears to be in decline.

Over the past decade, it claims, women have been leaving churches at twice the rate of men. In addition, the census is said to show that teenage boys now outnumber girls in the pews for the first time.Dr Aune says the church must adapt to the needs of modern women if it is to stop them leaving in their droves. She believes many women have been put off going to church in recent years because of the influence of feminism, which challenged the traditional Christian view of women's roles and raised their aspirations. Her report claims they feel forced out of the church because of its "silence" about sexual desire and activity, and because of its hostility to single-parent families and unmarried couples which are now a reality for many women. But it also says changes in women's working lives, with many more now pursuing careers as well as raising children, mean they have less time to attend church. Dr Aune believes churches must now introduce services and activities that fit in better with modern's women's schedules, such as Saturday morning breakfast clubs. She said: "Gone are the days when the mother was at home during the day and had time to visit the church's coffee mornings and mother and toddler groups. With the pressures women face, churches must adapt to make themselves more accessible."

(Note: the heading is a bit of a laugh - but the question is serious -how can the churches continue to attract women as well as men while staying faithful to biblical teachings).

Couple of shorts..

:: Here's some of the speeches from the Convention last week. [via NPR]

:: Found this piece about the athletes behind the salute in 1968 quite interesting; I am keen to see the film Salute, which was released recently. [via NYT]

:: A review of Sunday mornings, Staying home -how American evangelicals are quitting churches...

She reports, among other things: a lack of a feeling of community among church members, inducing loneliness and boredom; church teaching that fails to go beyond the basics of the faith or to reach members grappling with suffering or unanswered prayer; pastors who are either out of touch with their parishioners or themselves unhappy, or who fail to shepherd their flocks, or who are caught up in scandal, or who try to control the lives of church members in a high-handed way. She claims that many churches have "inefficient leadership models" and that many, preoccupied with the care of families, neglect single people. [via Wall Street Journal]

I also thought this quote, made a great point -- should we really be concerned with numbers anyway?

From a theological perspective, there is no guarantee that churches will prosper as they attempt to make disciples -- if we judge prosperity by church membership alone. A church might conscientiously carry out its biblical tasks and yet, by measures of popularity, do poorly in this world. Such a church would not be doing right if it adjusted its mission for the sake of higher attendance records. Note that by the end of his ministry the number of disciples with Jesus was down to 12. Now there was a decent church, one might say, if a small one.

:: An interesting piece on young American evangelicals and purity. [via The Chicago Tribune]

:: There's a the "gene's made me do it" excuse for everything... "a genetic variation may be responsible for weakening some men's ability to be monogamous" via NPR.