The American religious landscape is constantly analyzed because so much is at stake.
Religious faith groups and so many para-religious organizations rely on data and trends to keep ahead in a field where so many billions are invested and so many want to reach the large unaffiliated masses and bring them into the fold.
What if churches intentionally and effectively reached the tattooed subculture? What are the implications of baby boomers staying in the work place longer and being just too busy to watch the grandkids? The majority of seminarians are women, yet congregations that heretofore think only in terms of male pastors may need to reconsider.
Phoenix-based Church Executive Magazine, a leading medium that keeps abreast of operations and leadership in Christian communities, carries an article True Trends or Passing Fads The Changing Social Scene Impact Churches. Its written by George W. Bullard Jr., who is ministry partner in a community of Christian leaders seeking to transform the capacity of the North American Protestant Church to pursue and sustain vital Christian-centered ministry.
Bullard has chosen to respond to seven issues he found in the 2007 book Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrows Big Changes by Mark Penn, with Kinney Zalesne. Bullards seven selected issues were some of 75 trends in the book. Bullard advices churches to choose only those trends that they can embrace, handle and make happen to go where God is leading it.
Under Swing is King, it suggests the North American religious culture is turning from rigid ideologues and more to pragmatists and the Third-Way movement, which includes seekers who want true dialogue. He says, When congregations declare left or right positions, they drive people away to other congregations or out of church life.
Another area is labeled Stained-glass ceiling breakers, which suggests that women may be thriving in many fields, but not really yet in religion. Still the implications are that women are changing the tone of congregational ministry as they lead the census at seminaries and move out into churches. In some cases, this is going to cause a theological clash, although some churches have long since moved beyond that.
The Mini-churched trend suggests all types and models of congregations are being developed, and that the world is getting more religious rather than more secular. By one count, there are 10,000 distinct world religions, and new ones being fashioned daily. Folks are choosing their faiths and their communities of believers and are presumably happier. It means smaller crowds in the pews, but presumably happier ones, the books authors said. As a result, the house church movement is back big time.
Bullard also singles out the issue of militant illegals. They are said to be a 12-million low-profile group that keeps growing. They are ripe for ministry in the shadows, an outreach that could be risky and daring. Bullard believes the theology of welcoming the strangers should be emphasized and adds that Ilegals are not going away, in spite of future laws.
The writers call for churches to provide support services for home-schoolers. Keeping kids home to learn online is booming. Once regarded as an oddball idea, home-schooling is gaining currency as just about the best way to bring up kids in this crazy online world, Microtrends asserts. They call on churches to help homeschools even if they already are strong backers of public schools. The target group is growing too fast to ignore, Bullard said.
Thanks for noting and referencing my article. Congregations can choose to learn how to address the various trends around them, and they can do this without compromising their message. We need to be continually learning the characteristics of the people we say we love.
I appreciae Church Executive for publishing this article.