Challenges

What would you think of a retailer with the following stats for its domestic outlets over the last five years?

1.      A loss of 300 store fronts

2.      A loss of 11% of its card carriers

3.      A loss of 16% of its regular active customers

4.      A business model where 68% of its stores had less than 100 customers per week

Would you be willing to invest in this business?  If you were an investor, would you be concerned?  Would you be satisfied with a mantra that “All is Well?”, or we are just rightsizing to our market/niche?  Would you demand a change in the business model?   

Now, what would you say if I told you those were the numbers for The Episcopal Church (domestic dioceses) over the last five years?  Here are the raw numbers 2006 & 2010:

1.      Parishes and Missions: 7095  & 6794

2.      Active Baptized Members: 2,154,572 &  1,951,907

3.      Five Year % Change in Active Members: -7% & -11%

4.      % of Congregations growing 10%+ in past five years: 28% & 25%

5.      % of Congregations declining 10%+ in past five years: 41% & 42%

6.      Total Average Sunday Attendance (ASA): 765,326 & 657,831

7.      Five Year % Change in ASA: -11% & -16%

8.      % of Churches growing 10%+ in ASA in the past five years: 17%

9.      % of Churches declining 10%+ in ASA in the past five years: 57%

10.  Median Active Baptized Members: 158

11.  Median Average Sunday Worship Attendance: 65

Note ASA is calculated on Saturday evening services and all Sunday services, including Easter Vigil and Christmas Eve (when it falls on Saturday, as it will this year).

I know it is a lot to take in, so I should let the numbers speak for themselves, but I will not.  The stats do not look good, and what we have to do is realize that we have a “burning oil platform” problem in the church.

If you are on an oil platform that catches fire, you have only two options: get off, or put the fire out.  You cannot run around and say it will all be ok, or it is all going to plan.  Agreed?  Mixed messages will not do, and that is what we seem to be getting from our leadership.  “Membership and attendance may be down, but we’re doing mission so it’s all ok!”  I am sorry, but healthy organizations grow, and well…

I am not getting off this oil platform, I love it and I pray for it.  It is burning, but I am not leaving.  Despite the challenges, I have great hope for the future.  God has revived the Church and can do so again. Therefore, I guess I am part of the fire brigade.

There may be (and are) many reasons why this platform is burning and decline is occurring, and of course, these will be debated based on which wing of the church one chooses.  However, I think that is one of the problems, while we are denying, debating, investigating, and fighting over where it began and what hoses to use, we forget to turn on the water to put the fire out.

So what are we to do?  The first thing necessary is to recover a belief that the Gospel truly transforms lives and is the best we have to offer to our friends, neighbors, countrymen, and the world. The second is to be faithful in our prayers, study, and attendance on the Sacraments. The third is to recognize the state in which we find ourselves.  The fourth is to recognize that the old structures may not hold, that culturally more people are not Christian than are.  The fifth, is to develop a passion for those not in the faith.  All of this comes from a recovery of the centrality of the Crucified and Risen Christ, a prophetic vision for the Church, and her place in God’s economy.

Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”

This is why I was enthralled with Bishop Daniel’s vision address at our Diocesan Synod.  It is a challenging vision of hope with a passion for the Gospel, all while realistically looking at the current state of the church and our culture.  It delineates a clear clarion call to put out the fire, to rethink our structures, and empower us to bring the Gospel to all corners of our Diocese. 

It starts with us.  Will we be among the number who are passionate for Christ and formed for the ministries necessary?