Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #4 More Connected – Less Geographically Dependent When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will be more connected and less geographically dependent. The increased abilities of technology along with increased utilization within the church will facilitate many changes, including: Most congregations will move from being identified primarily by a physical presence (e.g., church campus that includes one or more buildings) Read More …
Trends
Future Church – More Begin by Belonging (#0703)
Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #5 More Begin by Belonging – Less Begin by Believing When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will offer a new order to the faith that begins with belonging instead of believing. Diana Butler Bass rightly recognizes this shift as the one capable of moving the church from "religion-as-institution" to "religio as spiritually vital faith" (Christianity After Religion, 2012: p.204 -- read my review here). The Read More …
Future Church – More Jesus-Centered (#0702)
Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #6 More Jesus-Centered – Less Focused on Tradition When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will be more Jesus-centered and less focused on tradition. This shift offers considerable hope for renewal within the church and growth from those who find its new emphasis appealing. While past efforts have tended toward extremes (e.g., Restoration movements on the right and the Jesus Seminar on the left) new quests will be Read More …
Future Church – More About Questions (#0701)
Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #7 More About Questions – Less About Answers When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will be a community that is more open to questions and less about providing black and white answers. This change in philosophy will be evidenced in many ways, including: Increased focus on both the content and style of Jesus’ teaching with a particular emphasis on parable. When teaching with parables Jesus invited his followers Read More …
Future Church – More About Following (#0700)
Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #8 More About Following – Less About Membership When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will focus more on following and less on membership. This shift places the emphasis on following the way of Jesus rather than being a faithful member of a local church. Toward this end, likely changes include: An approach to belonging and deepening individual's connection to the faith community that values assimilation into a Read More …
Future Church – More Scalable (#0699)
Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #9 More Scalable– Less Fixed Costs When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will be intentionally and strategically more scalable as it progresses toward fewer and fewer fixed costs. This change in philosophy will be evidenced in many ways, including: A willingness to evaluate the annual operating budget, especially human resources, in light of mission and vision. In 2012, many congregations spend in Read More …
Future Church – More Collaboration (#0698)
Church v.2020 - Ten Changes: #10 More Collaboration – Less Competition When compared with the American church of 2012, the future church (v.2020) will feature significantly more collaboration and markedly less competition. This will occur in many areas, including: An approach to marketing, church growth, and evangelism shaped by abundance rather than scarcity that encourages all people already on a spiritual or religious path to earnestly and faithfully pursue it. Efforts to Read More …
The Church in 2020 – Major Changes Ahead (#0697)
I have spent a considerable amount of time studying the landscape of American Christianity since the 1950s. Any time I make a presentation on the topic, people always ask about the future. In order to more fully answer those questions I devised a list of changes I believe to be most likely. The original list was created in 2006, before I entered the blogosphere. When I revised the list and turned it into a "top ten" in 2009, I published it on my blog. In light Read More …
Churchgoing = Better Moods (#0692)
Recent research by Gallup finds, "Americans who attend a church, synagogue, or mosque frequently report experiencing more positive emotions and fewer negative ones in general than do those who attend less often or not at all." So What? Higher levels of religiosity correlate to higher levels of well-being according to other findings from Gallup's research (see my post on the benefits of being religious). Within that context, it makes sense that those who are most involved in Read More …
Associate Pastors & Technology (#0691)
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently released its first systematic look at associate pastors in an 88 page report "Associate Pastors in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." The comprehensive report is based on a 2011 survey of associate pastors and a 2008 & 2009 survey of key leaders. The survey found associate pastors spent an average of 11 hours a week "emailing, text messaging, or using the Internet" in their personal lives. Professionally, these pastors used differing Read More …