Earlier this month, I wrote "A Shift in Theological Education" to highlight the shift in seminary education from primarily an on campus face-to-face learning experience to one that includes hybrid (using both face-to-face and online components) or online courses. This shift mirrors what has happened in higher education more generally where online enrollment grew 20% over the most recently available seven year period from 9% to 29%. Interestingly, The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Read More …
mainline
Reality Check: A Typical Mainline Church in 2010 (#0305)
The Research Services Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) just released the 2010 Survey of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Congregations, which was part of the Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2010 study of 10,000 congregations from 100 Christian denominations and other faith groups in the United States. The data was provided by leaders of 706 PCUSA congregations. Among the statistics worth noting: The median worship attendance for all Sunday morning services is 70 people Read More …
Research Suggests that Evangelical Christians are UnChristian (#0298)
"Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus" is the title of a recent Huffington Post article, which seeks to explain the findings of research conducted by the Pew Research Center. The post was written by two professors: Phil Zuckerman (associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College) and Dan Cady (assistant professor of history at California State - Fresno). They suggest the research confirms: what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the Read More …
Review of Open Source Gospel (#0286)
Landon Whitsitt. Open Source Gospel: Ten Commandments for the Future of the Christian Faith. E-book, 2010. Available online at http://landonwhitsitt.com/open-source-gospel/ Meet the Author Landon Whitsitt is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who serves as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Liberty, Missouri, and as the Vice-Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the second highest elected official in the 2.3 million Read More …
Lead by Letting Go (#0283)
The Reverend Canon Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. is an Episcopal Priest, Director of Spiritual Formation and Anglican Studies and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Previously he served as Canon Educator, Director of Programs in Spirituality and Religious Education, and Acting Program Area Manager at Washington National Cathedral. He is the author of seven books as well as numerous scholarly articles and Read More …
An Overview of American Church Membership (#0279)
Earlier this week the National Council of Churches released its annual analysis of church membership: 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. According to the Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner, editor, the data in this year's report suggests that recent membership trends have continued: "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." The yearbook reports Read More …
The Presbyterian (PCUSA) Church is Deathly Ill (#0267)
"Where Have All The Presbyterians Gone?" could be the title of a denominational funeral hymn for the 2.3 millionmember PCUSA, but is actually the title of a recent Wall Street Journal article by Russell Moore. Moore (pictured at left) is a Southern Baptist minister who currently serves as the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and as a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Read More …
Review of Whose Gospel? (#0184)
James A. Forbes, Jr. Whose Gospel? A Concise Guide to Progressive Protestantism. The New Press, 2010. ISBN: 9781595583970. Meet the Author James A. Forbes Jr. is a leading voice in the progressive Protestant movement. In 1989 he became the first African American to serve as Senior Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City: a congregation well known for its promotion of progressive causes and self-described as interdenominational (American Baptist Read More …
Moving the Mainline Forward (#0156)
The Future of Mainline Denominations Recently, I have written several articles designed to introduce my readers to a variety of perspectives related to the future of mainline denominations. Leaders within the mainline denominations understand that change is essential to reverse the decades of decline. In recent posts, I have shared many voices including those of Peter Wallace, Bruce Epperly, and Bruce Reyes Chow Stephen Sterner Landon Whitsitt Read More …
What if No One Comes? More Decline in the Mainline (#0154)
Fewer and Fewer Worshippers For the last several decades, membership in mainline denominations has been declining. Over time, membership has become a less helpful statistic in part due to a change in how younger people view church membership. Given these changes and others, church attendance has become the sociological standard measuring growth or decline. Lovett H. Weems Jr., distinguished professor of church leadership and director of the Lewis Center for Read More …