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Greg Smith

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decline

More Decline in the Mainline: UCC in Florida (#0645)

2012/02/20 By Greg

I recently received the latest statistics about the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ.  Between 2000 and 2010 membership declined 23.6% and giving through congregations to Our Church's Wider Mission (provides funding for the work of UCC Conference and National ministries) declined 42.7%.   So What? The Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ is not unique.  Mainline churches have been experiencing membership decline for decades.  In Read More …

From Death to Life – Mainline Decline (#0634)

2012/02/09 By Greg

David Henson recently wrote a guest post on Bruce Reyes-Chow's site  suggesting that the best approach to the deathly ill group of denominations known as mainline Protestantism is realistic hope.  Henson does not propose a new way forward that will reverse the decades of decline.  Instead he suggests that those aware of death's nearness are more likely to act boldly and that for Christians and the mainline there is life beyond death.  He ends the article with these Read More …

How to Reverse Mainline Decline (or not) (#0510)

2011/10/08 By Greg

Rev. Cameron Trimble is the Executive Director of the Center for Progressive Renewal, which seeks to "renew Progressive Christianity by training new entrepreneurial leaders, supporting the birth of new liberal/progressive congregations, and by renewing and strengthening existing progressive churches."  Recently, she spoke in Connecticut to a group of seventy-five United Church of Christ pastors and educators.  In her speech, Trimble made the historical observation that Read More …

Liberal Protestant Decline – Fact Check (#0506)

2011/10/04 By Greg

Yesterday, I wrote a review of Mark Chaves' new book American Religion: Contemporary Trends (2011).  In that post, I included  a quote that offers a basic overview of something most people take for granted: the decline of liberal Protestant churches over the last several decades.  As a result of this shift, there were twice as many Americans who "claimed affiliation with conservative denominations as with theologically more liberal ones" (p. 87). Chaves goes on to Read More …

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Greg Smith

Greg is a follower of the Way of Jesus who strives to make the world a better place for all people. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of White Rock Center of Hope and as Interim Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church. He has served ten congregations, taught religion to undergraduates for eight years, and helped three organizations provide quality healthcare to underserved populations. (Read More)

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Recent Posts

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