The Office of Research and Evaluation of a major mainline church denomination just released their projections of decline in membership and attendance. From 5 million in 1988, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America can expect fewer than 67,000 members thirty years from now. Average attendance will be less than 16,000 in about twenty years. This projection means that thirty years from now this denomination will have membership less than two percent of what it was thirty years ago.
What interests me is understanding why this already-40-year decline is continuing among mainline denominations—Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, Episcopal. The real issue is what these institutional churches can do to have a brighter future.
Dwight Zscheile and Michael Binder* from Luther Seminary propose three ways of naming the root cause.
1. We live in a culture that makes it hard for people to imagine and be led by God.
2. We aren’t clear about what’s distinctive about being Christian.
3. Church isn’t helping many people make meaning of their lives.
Church leaders cannot do much about the rapid change in our American culture. But they can certainly work out what is distinctive about being a Christian and how better to help participants find meaning in their lives.
It is difficult to describe mainline denominations without using the distinction between liberal and conservative theological assumptions. And each of these denominations has plenty of member congregations that respect the authority of Scriptures for defining beliefs and Christian living. But the agenda at the national level has been set by leaders who are skeptical of a special inspiration of biblical writers and who seem to let behavioral language and causes set their priorities. For many, the cause of promoting peace and justice has become a form of piety hard to distinguish from a political cause.
What has been distinctive of Christians over the centuries is their conviction they were created by God for a purpose, humans are sinful, salvation for eternity is through Christ alone, and the Gospel needs to be shared with others. In today’s discourse, these priorities are called evangelical. Many mainline churches seem to work with the assumption that love for others means accepting them as they are without asking them to take on distinctive Christian beliefs. That’s a sure formula for shrinking to two percent of their membership over sixty years.
According to Zscheile and Binder, the third cause for decline is that churches are not helping many people make meaning of their lives.
Christian churches used to do that by holding out assurance for a better future in heaven. That, of course, is still true. But in many ways daily life in America today is a lot easier now. Getting a better life in the next world is not as motivating as it was generations ago. Many churches tried to offer meaning by involving participants in their community life, and in the process they became like other social organizations, which are now in a comparable decline. That has not worked.
“People have a deep psychological need for direction in their lives. This need is more basic than their craving for social power or their desire for material possessions. Having a clear path forward is basic to life,” according to church observer Peter Steinke. Clearly churches in steep decline are not offering that.
Many Christian churches around the world are bursting with growth and energy. If you look closely at those that are growing well in this country, you will see a much greater emphasis on the Holy Spirit and the inner experiences God can produce in believers who know what they are looking for.
Meaning and direction in life come from a relationship with God through Christ in a life transformed by Christ’s Spirit.
How do you turn around decline in mainline churches? Get back to the biblical basics and learn better how to cultivate the Spirit’s work in a congregation.
*https://faithlead.luthersem.edu/decline/?fbclid=IwAR3mQDapEfeBv_7Dkp0l5XAYAxmZVno5cX1llK-7giAsGf9GiygKXXBaTzk
Wow! Scary numbers and outlook. I felt the pull and tug on my heart to share #2 with others. I need to do a better job of that.
We need the Holy Spirit and He was sent to be our Helper as Jesus said. I need to let Him guide me more while I can still be effective for the Kingdom.
Hi, Mike. The decline is dramatic. Let’s do lunch sometime soon.
There are not many voices in society that offer meaning and direction in life. This seems like such a great opportunity for the church. If we are not taking about this what are we talking about? Death is one day for all of us. What about the 30,000 or so days? So many look for any external safety from God. So few look for a transformed inner life by the Holy Spirit.
Hi, Tom. The fields are ripe for harvest. But we will need to do it by emphasizing the value of the Gospel and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. That’s a whole paradigm shift that will take decades to happen in mainline churches. You wondered whether I would be available to interact with your Bible class last Sunday. I could not then but try me again for a telephone conversation with your Bible class.
As a member of a thriving mainline church, I got to say that the theology that emphasizes the Holy Spirit leading Christians, via looking inward, or looking externally by looking for signs… either one is a losing battle itself, since it does not emphasize the word of God as the basis for church.
Consider how Paul connects the Word and the Gospel with the Holy Spirit. Yes, the word of God is the basis for church. The Word works through people, the community as fellowships encourage one another, sharing their experiences. Paul saw plenty of evidence of changed lives in his churches. We can too, if we know what we are looking for.
I agree Pastor Dave 100%.
We have to fully accept Our Lord’s gift of the Holy Spirit.
He is real and desires our relationship with Him and through Him. Stay close to God and He will stay close to you.
No one can mature in Christ without the Holy Spirit who lives in all who believe in Jesus our Savior
I appreciate your solid grounding in the Spirit, as I observed when doing the workshop several weeks ago. I think good things will happen in your now-small congregation. Give my greetings to Pastor Jill. I hope she will pick up on the momentum in your congregation.
Thank you Pastor Dave and I agree.
There will be great things coming!
We have been blessed by your teachings
Thanks Paul! Blessings!
David – How if at all does this differ from Kelley’s book in the 90’s about why conservative churches were growing? Our LCMS is certainly conservative and estimates an annual loss of 40k a year. Thank you for your insights.
Hi, Bruce. Yes, Dean Kelley called it right 50 years ago. By now it should be evident that people are looking for direction and source of authority in their lives. I worked my way through higher criticism of the Bible and concluded that this approach, getting popular in the 60s, left little motivation for ministry.
Possibly they being so liberal they don’t have a foundation or a mission to preach and teach Christ as the means of Salvation. I gather weekly with 5 clergy from LCMC formally ELCA.( I am an LCMS pastor) They got pushed out because of their biblical views. Their Bishops did that by preventing them from not receiving calls. Their churches left also. It is no wonder their numbers went other places. Remember Even Carl Braaten in his autobiography did not have a good view of the ELCA leadership. No wonder their numbers look low. How do you preach Christ when you don’t believe in him in his mission. Liberal Christianity makes Jesus just another way. Check out the LCMC, NALC. And ask them the same question. They have mission zeal.
Well said. I wonder if anybody in the ELCA will have enough fortitude to call for repentance. Not likely. I appreciate the LCMC and especially the NALC, having some contact with various pastors. I really like the School for Ministry in Ambridge PA. I wish our seminaries would focus more on ministry rather than so much on academic theology. Alas, they are stuck in a paradigm that is fast fading.
THis seems accurate to me. I resigned from the ELCA ordained clergy roster about a year ago and found a great mission-driven LCMS church at which I worship. Great to hear that Jesus is Lord and we’re not!
George,
Just out of curiosity, what is this LCMS congregation? I would like to hear how they are mission-driven.
Mission-zeal is a good measure of a congregation’s character. Unfortunately, there are many LCMS congregations that never had such zeal to break beyond their ethnic role. I think it is this lack of zeal that lets traditionalism become such a high priority. Mission-zeal leads to innovation, which is sorely lacking in so many LCMS congregations.
To your point, Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa, is an ELCA congregation worshiping 12,000 a week and growing. The Holy Spirit is on the move!
Hope’s Mission
“Reach out to the world around us and share the everlasting love of Jesus Christ!”
Hope’s Vision
Powered by the Spirit to bring Christ to all cultures, revive the world with God’s love and make heaven more crowded!
Yes, the trend can be reversed and, yes, Zscheile and Binder‘s case in the positive is well illustrated there.
http://www.hopewdm.org
I missed completely how Church of Hope in West Des Moines emerged as a true megachurch. I notice that you have satellite congregations. That seems to be the direction for the future. I looked you up in the ELCA Annual and found that your senior pastor is Mike Householder. I met him and learned of his ministry in his church Hosanna in the Minneapolis area. Of course, I was much impressed then and even more so now. I doubt he will remember me; I was speaking at a conference at Luther Seminary.
I see you have a very large pastoral staff. If you send me their email addresses I will be glad to put them on the distribution list for the weekly blog. I would love for them to also share their thoughts and opinions.
I am surprised you are still in the ELCA. The two biggest Lutheran churches in Ohio left for the LCMC.
I pray God’s blessings on your trendsetting congregation.
Great, provocative and insightful article, Dave. Keep up the great work. Blessings.
Thanks, John. I know you were interested enough to read the Harvard Business Review years ago. I would like to believe that I am doing a church version of the HBR–applying analysis and highlighting new concepts.
I truly believe we are not equipping our future leadership with the skill-set needed to effectively bring Christ to life within the hearts of their members as well as their community. We are very good at teaching theology and maybe some methods of faith building within congregations, but we are severely lacking in how to engage with the general populous.
We have got to do much better at reading what the needs of the communities are that surround our churches and figure out how to meet them in such a way that Jesus is given all the credit & glory, then wrapped this all in a warm invite to come to church/school/youth activities and so on where they can learn more about Jesus. If we do not promote Jesus and what we are actively doing (or what we need to begin doing in service to ALL the people of our communities) then how can we expect a brighter outcome? Our most recent P.A.C.K. (Planned Acts of Christian Kindness) event was a major undertaking. While we have been collecting names of families in need from a number of agencies in our community and delivering non-perishable food to them for many years this year the Lord challenged us with 146 families! While this is a unique type of PACK event as we are targeting a specific group of people we still follow the same principles. Within each food delivery we include a New Testament, a prayer letter and our PACK Connect card. Each assigned lot of food is hand delivered to their home on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Our congregation is challenged to build a giant mountain of food up at the front of church throughout the month of November. They are encouraged to contact friends, family, neighbors, local businesses and so on. Boldly share with them all that Jesus is the focal point of this event. Every soul will know that He is the source of our joy, peace & hope! Watch how the Holy Spirit will do amazing things! We had someone step up and donate hundreds of dollars if we put it toward supplying fresh fruit/potatoes to each family. Someone else donated tote bags which worked out perfect to place the apples & potatoes in and then be a gift to the recipients as well. At least 80 people of all ages showed up to help break the mountain of food down, sort it, and then bag it in the process of laying out 146 deliveries! Then we needed many volunteers to help deliver all of this come Saturday morning. Sounds overwhelming? We didn’t start out like this. We began with 25 families and the Lord has BLESSED us with the opportunity to love on more and more every year. Each delivery is an opportunity to sow the seeds of His Spirit and to do it in a loving way. Each delivery gives all the glory to Jesus and everyone is personally invited to come and join us on this faith journey with the Lord! Every month for the past 21 years we have done PACK somewhere and in most cases we just put ourselves out there to love on everyone that comes our way. So many times God shows up in amazing and powerful ways serving to strengthen our own faith. Through PACK many of the usual roadblocks are removed making it easier for believers of all ages & faith levels to get involved. The PACK program is totally free and is now at work in 111 countries (just hearing for the first time from the Republic of Niger this week!). Just go to http://www.acts18.org for the free download. Have a blessed Christmas!
Hi, Lee. Again, thanks for your affirmation. Increasingly. communities are evaluating congregations not for what they believe but for what they do with their beliefs. I have forgotten where your congregation is. Let me know what kind of results are emerging from your outreach to your community.
The church in the West desperately needs Christians who will live their faith.
https://churchgrowth.foleon.com/cmg/october-2019/the-two-keys-you-must-use-to-reach-the-lost-and-dropout-christians/
Please tell me more about your organization. You do the New English Translation. Do you work with a network?
The problem was very well addressed by all, I especially enjoy and agreed with Lee Larsens comments. So what do we do, go to the big City and tear down all the Churches?
In my small Nursing Home Ministry I strive to bring them all closer to our Lord & Savior, not to make them all Lutherans. I have always been shocked by what is around the corner, we know the Holy Spirit works within everyone and he has rewards for his own.
Keep the faith and ask for direction that we do what he commands, the Holy Spirit will rejoice with us and hopefully reverse the spiraling decrease within our field.
Thanks, Bob. We live in interesting times.
What will happen to big church buildings is a good question. I advocate that a dying congregation find a growing church and give them the building. Otherwise, they will turn into luxury apartments, like the Congregation church in Tremont.
Pastor David,
This is very, very helpful.
Although I am not a part of the Lutheran tribe, I am witnesses this same phenomenon in the evangelical denomination I’m currently serving in (Church of The Nazarene). Having grow up this this denomination and left to serve in independent churches for 15 years and returning back to serve in COTN – the progressive, social agenda has crept in and is eroding the central tenants of the Gospel the denomination was founded upon and because they are embracing the more liberal theology they are experiencing a dramatic downturn in attendance.
What advice would you give to “us” who are just now experiencing what decades of disturbing trends has decimated the Lutheran church? What can someone like me who has recently returned “home” do to change the trajectory of the same results? I know this is only the work the Holy Spirit can accomplish, but I’m trying to discern if I should stay and start a revolution back to holiness or transition back into the independent evangelical church where there are no denominational strongholds.
Once again, thank you for this portrait. I too see the writing on the wall for COTN.
Vic
Executive Pastor
MISSION CHURCH
Very perceptive comments. “Tribe” is a good word, especially for Lutherans. My perspective moved beyond my tribe during my seven years at Fuller. I have gained a lot of respect for Nazarenes. A big reason is the work one of our members is doing with a Nazarene mission called Lighthouse in inner-city Cleveland. He (Harold) shared with me a catechism of Nazarene beliefs that was very well done, including infant baptism. It did not at all say what my 1950s LCMS book on church bodies claimed to be their beliefs. One of the good things about denominations that emerged in the last 100 years is that they remain fluid in beliefs and can “adapt” beliefs to what is needed and working in new times. I know of two individuals who are in new churches that have an Assemblies background but know nothing about speaking in tongues.
In answer to your specific question, I think the day of denominations is done. In their place is networks of congregations that share similar values and commitment. What you can do in your congregation is stay committed to evangelical beliefs and emphases and then interact with the congregations you can learn from. In our rigidly controlled LCMS, the big mission-oriented congregations don’t pay much attention and do what makes sense for outreach in their community.
I hope this helps.
Dave
The ELCA has lost the Holy Spirit and replaced Him with worldly causes, social justice, the “liberation Gospel” and false teaching. Ultimately, this is what’s going on in the ELCA.
Rev Daniel Carlson,
I have been reminded that there are still many faithful congregations in the ELCA. One reader pointed to Community of Hope in West DesMoines, Iowa — led by a very innovative pastor who remains true to the Gospel.
Dave
Pole Francis was right on target when in his first public writing he said let the Church no longer be defined in peoples’ minds by its stand on the social and cultural issues of the day. Those positions of the Church are historical, well known, and unchanged; but let the Church reemphasize calling people to repentance, finding the joy of salvation in Christ, and the fellowship of believers in the Church. That must be the mission of every church.
Well said.
I’ve been an ELCA pastor for 23 years and counting and my first parish was a redevelopment. I have served in rural Minnesota and for 18 years in metro Los Angeles and now the San Francisco Bay Area where I serve an energetic, intergenerational, growing church in the Silicon Valley, arguably one of the more secular places in the country. These numbers just *don’t* work. The death rate necessary to accomplish that kind of decline is Plague scale. That said, there is some relatively serious decline, and/or perhaps consolidation, happening. I believe the ELCA will be here in a century in some form. It may be noticeably smaller, but it will be here.
Our church, in many corners, has chased after every last worship trend in the last 40 years, in many, many cases losing our identity and becoming pale reflections of neighboring traditions. Perhaps innovating ourselves into ambiguity. I believe there is a valid question about whether some of our worship innovations of the last generation have been part of the problem . . . losing a sense of what makes us unique (an excellent marketing question). The usually unchallenged assumption is that we need more of this kind of innovation. Please don’t hear this as a desire to return to 1950’s worship. I’m not even 50 years old. However, many paths related to worship took us away from the question that we should always be asking . . . What does it mean to be a sacramental/liturgical tradition in this time and place?
I also found this recent Op Ed helpful on the overstated case for decline:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/opinion/american-christianity.html
Matt,
I am glad to see that you have had such exciting ministries, especially now in Silicon Valley. I would like to hear more about what ministries and approaches are working.
I agree that this straight-line projection into the future likely overstates the rate of decline. Somebody in the ELCA wants to grab attention and this simplistic projection does that.
Why is there such an emphasis that Lutherans be unique? I know that is a reason to emphasis historic liturgical worship. I think that is the wrong question, though. It is our grace-oriented theology that is our strong point. We should welcome others who are finding it. I think the right question is how we Lutherans can be most effective in outreach. Our competition is not other Protestants. It is the worldview you are trying to reach in Silicon Valley. Look around. I for one would like to hear what is working in other churches. I know Menlo Park Presbyterian has had a great ministry.
Thanks for your good questions and dialog!
I would say a few things. I was born in 1970. Since at least then, the conventional wisdom in most of the church has been ‘be more like Menlo Church’ (they dropped Presbyterian). In fact, when I did Mission Developer training in 1997 we spent (on the ELCA’s dime) a lot of time at Community Church of Joy in Glendale, AZ to see how it was done.
I would humbly suggest that, if the conventional wisdom had been right, we would have a few thousand mega churches by now in the ELCA.
In reality, we have become, in many cases, the sad pale copy cat neighbor of the Menlo Churches of the land. Forgive the analogy, but it’s as though we’ve spent a generation being Volvo saying that Ford looks like they’re doing well soooooo . . . . let’s make cars like them and call ourselves Vord.
Conventional wisdom also states that ‘historic’ must always be the adjective associated with ‘liturgical’. I wonder if words like ‘modern’ or ‘contextual’ might be better, or using the the word ‘sacramental’ instead of ‘liturgical’ just to step outside the calcified definitions of the terms altogether?
I would 100% AGREE that our grace centric theology is our unique voice in the Christian community. However, it requires a visitor to come back several times to really get full exposure to it . . . which leads to the question of their worship experience . . . from the quality of music, to caliber of the preaching, sacraments, the element of ‘you can’t get this elsewhere’ on a Sunday, hospitality, warmth of community, physical plant, electronic communication, social media presence, and a host of other things.
The necessity for a unique worship identity (at my congregation our two services are identical for that matter) comes down to a few things. The desire to mimic a church like Menlo Church creates pale copies. Why would one go to my church when they can get the real deal at Menlo Church itself? Honestly we’ll never do it as well as they can, and why try? Also, Christianity is experienced on a deep level often with diverse preferences related to personality and cultural background. So, why would we remove one distinct worship voice from the Christian community to cover another base that is being ably covered by the Menlo Churches of the world? Also, from a marketing standpoint, there is value in articulating the unique experience that one will have. (sorry, my undergraduate degree is in Business, so I had to throw that in!)
At the end of the day, our ‘competition’ is anything else someone might do from 8:30-9:30am or 10:45-11:45am on a Sunday.
Blessings to you as we wait.
Thanks for your good questions and dialog!
Here is my response for your observation below.
The growth of congregations depends on a lot of factors beyond copying somebody else’s worship. Willow Creek had (and may still have) an association of congregations who wanted to reproduce their growth. I am not aware of any that became mega-sized. When the Church of Joy was flying high, they tried to franchise their approach and invested heavily in new plants, one of which was a suburb of LA. I am not aware of any great successes out of that. And of course, Church of Joy withered away. I know LCMS tried to plant a mega-church in the LA area, without getting spectacular results.
Growth depends on personalities and opportunities probably even more than techniques. You will never become another Menlo Park Presbyterian in Silicone Valley. One reason is that they already have the market. Our Royal Redeemer spurt of growth came in the 1990s, was triggered by favorable coverage in the Sunday Plain Dealer and an unexpected gift of $1,000,000 that allowed us to build a bigger Activity center for our contemporary worship. You can’t plan that.
The key to bringing new people is an informality that connects people with more than the leader. Authentic relationships don’t happen much through scripted interaction. I think our Lutheran steps toward sacraments became sacramentalism that reduces authentic relations. I know when I planted a church, I found our once a month Lord’s Supper divisive, with guests sitting alone.
If you have “good quality of music, to caliber of the preaching, sacraments, the element of ‘you can’t get this elsewhere’ on a Sunday, hospitality, warmth of community, physical plant, electronic communication, social media presence, and a host of other things” you are well on your way. How is it working?
I used to draw an analogy of Lutheranism as a well-designed Volkswagen. Lutheran theology is well designed. But VW lost the American market to Japanese cars because they did better marketing.
Again, why do you need to have a unique worship identity? You are not in competition with other Protestants. You are seeking to convey the Gospel to “moderns” who don’t have it. Do what is most effective.
Dave
The vitality of our country has regularly been enhanced by the infusion of new energy from immigrants. I think that will be true for the traditional congregations as well, if they will allow it. The Christians in Africa and Asia are committed and active. They are church- and family-oriented.
I have demographic data that show how 30 years from now European Whites will be a small minority in America. If we don’t incorporate immigrants, Lutherans will be further along in becoming just a footnote in American history. I still remember your book on how we traditional Christians would do better if we referred to the one God worship, before referring to the three persons or “masks” this one God works through. That seems very sensible.
Pastor David: Your comments and writings are right on, but nothing happens in a church without pastoral support and leadership. The LCMS has created barriers to prevent creative “marketing” with significant peer pressure and synod/district restrictions. Until seminaries change the passive learning techniques to a contemporary problem based, active learning that considers relevant needs of people and until the church structure encourages real support, the result of church decline will not change.
The Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines has had amazing growth (with over 600 students in a confirmation class and 10,000 students in VBS) because they look at true ministry without the restrictions. There are other successful mainline churches that have much in common with Hope.
Synods are not going to be out ahead with innovative ministries. It is up to congregations to take the initiative. At least in the LCMS our Royal Redeemer ministries are well known. We have not gotten any pressure to stop. Nor am i getting any pressure about these blogs. Go and do what makes sense for effective ministry.
It is hard to imagine ELCA putting any pressure on Pastor Householder and Church of Hope to stop doing what is working so well.
Reality is that there is peer pressure to conform for Pastors. Without pastoral support and enablement, change cannot occur in the congregation in any meaningful way. Significant lay leadership in the LCMS is very limited, especially in certain districts. As a professional leader, I am used to barriers to change, but the LCMS provides substantial culture resistance to pastors and especially to Lay people. Your opinion has not been our experience.
Even Pastor Householder has had his share of ELCA conflicts, which he has weathered as a very unique individual.
Robert,
Your analysis is right on. Years ago I projected that only 10% of pastors would be interested in new ways. The Pastoral Leadership Institute in the LCMS has been promoting better innovative leadership. They maxed out at 13% of LCMS clergy.
I see myself as way out on the outer edge of innovative ministry while maintaining my credibility. Somebody has to be there to move the middle.
I looked up Church of Joy in West Desmoines in the ELCA annual. It’s not listed. So your church is probably in the mission oriented church body. The two very effective former ELCA churches in Ohio similarly left.
Dave
It is called Lutheran Church of Hope in WDM.
I am a member of a LCMS congregation but watch Hope online weekly or in person when I visit Iowa.
Thanks. I am much impressed with Pastor Householder and what is happening at Church of Hope.
I have enjoyed your work since the ’80s when you wrote “Evangelical Style, Lutheran Substance.” Excellent book and right on target.
The loss of members in the mainline denominations is troubling! There are many reasons given for the loss in the LCMS, the denomination I am a pastor in. Two professors at the seminary in Ft. Wayne have voiced their opinions. One said that we are not having enough babies. The other said that we have dropped our standards in Hebrew and Greek. It is sad to say, but I think both professors are out to lunch.
Ken Ham and a research expert wrote a book about 10 years ago called “Already Gone.” They showed that we have failed our people by presenting the Bible narratives as cute stories. When Sunday School kids grow up a little and get into school, they are most often taught that there is the “real world” which we view with “facts and science,” and there is the world of “faith” which, they claim, is an assembly of “ancient myths.” This is especially prevalent in the American university, but is also taught in movies, news reports, science texts, museums, and cartoons. It even begins in kindergarten classes and before.
Besides that, Ham shows how our culture has changed in the West. In the past, we were like a Jewish culture which had a basic Bible knowledge, but now, we are in a culture like that of the Greeks without any meaningful knowledge of the Scriptures. But Jesus as Savior only makes sense in light of the fall and corruption of creation and entry of sin and death into the world. The only way the foundation can be restored in the present environment is through a defense of the early chapters of Genesis which tell us of why we need a Savior; how we got the fossil record; how we got the spread of people all over the earth and languages; why we have a seven day week; why there should be one man for one woman; the dignity of the human being as created in the image of God; and how there is a basic design and genetic structure in the animal world which can branch out but does not allow one “kind” to become another, as is claimed in the naturalistic and evolutionary worldview.
The bottom line is that we must begin teaching the solid defense of the Scriptures to young and old alike.
I fully agree with all you say. We live in a very different American culture than the one you and I grew up in. I am continually surprised by those Christians and pastors who do not recognize our new culture where more than half no longer accept the biblical worldview. Our usual defenses of the Christian faith no longer work with those who no longer recognize a personal God.
I think the defense now has to be an answer to the question, So how is your lifestyle working out? The touchpoint is more the result of sin than individual sins. Deaths of despair (suicide and overdose) are the highest ever. It is neat to see how DNA questions basic assumptions of evolutionary world views.
After 34 years serving the same LCMS congregation, Amazing Grace, in Seattle, Washington I have watched, studied and engaged in change, change and more change. 15 years ago the congregational leadership realized from demographic studies what the future would be for our small congregation. That future eventually came to pass last year. We sold the church property to another ministry because there was less than 15 people worshipping each Sunday at a church that once worshipped about 200 adults consistently Most were now in their 80’s and 90’s and the neighborhood had changed..,,BUT theIr vision for continuing ministry after Amazing Grace was no more had been planted 15 years ago and that vision is THRIVING. We knew our beloved LCMS Amazing Grace congregation would not survive now surrounded by 27 ethnic groups in a 5 mile radius and that what used to be a predominately all white
neighborhood would continue to change. But we also knew that quality education would always be a ‘need’ and high priority for immigrant families so 15 years ago we intentionally began reimagining and recreating our Christian School. We actually downsized from 9 grades to one class of 4 year olds, can’t put new wine in an old wine skin, and began an intentional rebuilding of a school that would become our outreach platform to share the Gospel with our changing community. What we could not have envisioned is how God would use the school to reach the world with the Gospel.
Last year, it was time. We sold Amazing Grace and merged our now two school campuses into one campus which we call Renton Preparatory Christian School. It serves 26 ethnic people groups and 12 faith traditions and has been selected as one of only 22 Microsoft Flagship Schools in the world. We are the only K-12 Microsoft Flagship School in the US. In the past 3 years we have had political, educational, corporate and research delegations from 21 countries fly into Seattle to visit our school campus and speak with our students about theIt use of cutting edge technology and creating a community of learners whose maturity and commitment to making the world a better place encourages meaningful discussion and interactions with adults and students from around the world. Visitors are generally awed by what they hear and experience from our diverse student population and this, as is often shared from visitors, they would have never expected from a ‘Christian School’ whose Lutheran identity is celebrated.
We welcome the world to experience a Christian community of learners with an unashamedly clear message of hope in Jesus Christ. That’s why we do what we do! To prepare children to live out the Gospel message in a way that draws others to come and see.
Our leadership team just returned from 11 days in Doha, Qatar where we visited with Islamic Education leaders in Doha’s impressive Education Center. They wish to join with us to do quality research about how Muslim and Christian youth understand the world they are living in and how contemporary faith and science might impact their theological perspectives. In doing so we have a forum to share the Gospel in a professional, calm, loving way.
Our Executive Director’s newly published book ‘Teaching AI: Exploring New Frontiers in Learning” has been translated into Hebrew for Israel and Arabic for 7 Gulf Countries in the Middle East. She took Martin Luther’s approach to use contemporary means to teach the world with the Gospel. We send students throughout the US to lead workshops and share their skills in using technology to learn and they share the Gospel when they can. My point is this. We changed NOT our theology, we changed our organizational structure outreach means of sharing the Gospel. Not through a congregational structure, which we knew would not survive, but through an educational structure that has opened global opportunities to share the Gospel with otherS who actually ask us to explain why we are able to do what we do. The world comes to us and we go into the world because we have a message that is so clear and affirming about the love of God and the peace that HE offers through a relationship with Jesus Christ and we imperfectly live that out in an intentionally diverse community of learners. Yes, the congregation intentionally changed its focus from simply Sunday worship and boards of this and that to living ministry Monday through Friday in a school ministry. I truly wish we could have done both: congregation and school but we had to make a decision. And though Amazing Grace congregation intentionally died, its legacy intentionally lives on, at least for now because we know nothing lasts forever. For us, at this time the sails of the boat are fully opened and driving us across through a sea of change. As an LCMS pastor I believed the school would be the vehicle, not the aging congregation, to bring people together around the Gospel and I believed God had called us to make a difference, not just in our local community but in the world.
Our challenge is now seeking Lutheran teachers who have a passionate missionary zeal but also have the professional pedagogical and technological skills that requires they unlearn what our traditional LCMS Schools of Education teach about teaching and then work hard to apply themselves toward a level of excellence wherein mediocrity is not accepted.
People in the world are seeking answers to contemporary questions and we have chosen to work in the messy global marketplace rather than stay safely cocooned in the confines of a sacred building opened only on Sunday morning.
Unfortunately, our LCMS denomination tell us they cannot supply the type and numbers of professional teachers we need who have a passion for global ministry. We have now moved from a staff of 90% commissioned ministers to a staff with only 20% commissioned ministers.
We have no idea how long our public-private partnership with a local city entity, we lease space from a large city in their old city hall to house Renton Prep, will last but it has been quite the journey. Last month I was asked by a fellow LCMS pastor how it felt to be a ‘loser’, having experienced closing a small aging Lutheran Church. I did not answer him. But while I sat in Qatar in the office of a world renowned Islamic Studies professor and spoke about youth and the Gospel, I silently responded to that pastor’s question: Simply Delightful! When one door closes another opens!
I rarely write on blogs but I have spent hours reading these highlights and believe your thoughts and discussions are encouraging. I have no desire to replace congregations with schools. This is what God asked of us and we worked hard to glorify Him in what we have done! It has been quite a challenge, especially financially, but at the end of the day, it has been worth it because HIS message is still being shared. I am no expert but every congregation can find its niche and do God’s work and that will never die! Congregations and schools come and go! Nothing lasts for we but enjoy what you do and do what you are called by God to do.
Thanks for the careful thought that went into all our comments below. You are doing what I am advocating: innovation for a better fit with the social environment a congregation faces. Looks like you came up with a good plan. Your imagery of new wine in an old wineskin is right on. You were able to let the Holy Spirit guide your wisdom to work out new forms. I will keep an eye out for continuing news about Renton Prep School.
Dave Luecke