Where Have All the Presbyterians Gone?

That's the headline in an article in the Feb. 4, Wall Street Journal by Russell Moore, Dean of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I will assume that some editor came up with the headline, since it in no way expresses the point of the piece.

Moor starts out:
Are we witnessing the death of America's Christian denominations? Studies conducted by secular and Christian organizations indicate that we are. Fewer and fewer American Christians, especially Protestants, strongly identify with a particular religious communion—Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, etc. According to the Baylor Survey on Religion, nondenominational churches now represent the second largest group of Protestant churches in America, and they are also the fastest growing. More and more Christians choose a church not on the basis of its denomination, but on the basis of more practical matters. Is the nursery easy to find? Do I like the music? Are there support groups for those grappling with addiction?

After offering his theories to explain declining denominational loyalty,  he seems to suggest that his brand is exempt: And though nondenominational churches are growing, the Southern Baptist Convention -- the nation's largest Protestant group -- has over 10,000 students studying for ministry in six seminaries right now.

My own theory is that Moore wrote the opinion piece to try to outflank the news that his own denomination suffered the third year of membership decline in a row. Here's the news from the National Council of Churches' annual statistical summary: (By the way he's WRONG about Pentecostals.)

Mainline church decline continues, 2011 Yearbook reports

[New York: NCC News Feb. 14, 2011] Growing churches continue to grow and declining churches continue to decline, according to the National Council of Churches' 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. "The direction of membership (growth or decline) remains very stable," writes the Yearbook's editor, the Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner, in the newest edition released this week. "That is, churches which have been increasing in membership in recent years continue to grow and likewise, those churches which have been declining in recent years continue to decline." However, Lindner points out, "the rates of both growth and decline have generally slowed in comparison to recent years." Overall North American church membership, reported at 145,838,339, is down 1.05 percent over 2010 figures. The 2011 Yearbook reports on 227 national church bodies. Statistics in the yearbook reflect "continued high overall church participation, and account for the religious affiliation of over 163 million Americans," the editor reports.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's second largest denomination and long a reliable generator of church growth, reported a decline in membership for the third year in a row, down .42 percent to 16,160,088 members.

The Catholic Church, the nation's largest at 68.5 million members, reported a membership growth of .57 percent. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew 1.42 percent to 6,058,907 members and the Assemblies of God grew .52 percent to 2,914,669 members, according to figures reported in the 2011 Yearbook. Other churches that continued to post membership gains in 2010 are Jehovah's Witnesses, up 4.37 percent to 1,162,686 members, and Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), up .38 percent to 1,076,254 members.

Mainline churches reporting declines in membership are United Church of Christ, down 2.83 percent to 1,080,199 members; the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 2.61 percent to 2,770,730 members; the Episcopal Church, down 2.48 percent to 2,006,343 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. down 1.96 percent to 4,542,868 members; the American Baptist Churches USA, down 1.55 percent to 1,310,505; the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), down 1.08 percent to 2,312,111 members; and the United Methodist Church, down 1.01 percent to 7,774,931 members.

I don't pretend to deny the very real struggles and decline in my denomination. The figures are stark.

(click on pick to enlarge)

I'll be sharing this information with our Men's Luncheon today to invite their reflection. As always, my approach is to ask, What can we do to respond to this information in a helpful way?

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor