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“Becoming All Things to All Men”

“Becoming All Things to All Men”. Understanding the Challenges of Christianity in the 21 st Century. Metropolis of Denver Clergy Retreat Wednesday, May 29, 2013. The Results are Obvious.

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“Becoming All Things to All Men”

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  1. “Becoming All Things to All Men” Understanding the Challenges of Christianity in the 21st Century Metropolis of Denver Clergy Retreat Wednesday, May 29, 2013

  2. The Results are Obvious “In North America…Christianity generally, not to speak of Orthodoxy, is not a respected, accepted and supported part of public life and education, but is rather warred against, scorned and ridiculed by powerful forces in society.” - Fr Thomas Hopko, Keynote Address: 13th AAC, 2002

  3. In Other Words, Orthodoxy is irrelevant... …and it’s our fault!

  4. “Overall, total U.S. church membership declined by 1.05% over 2010 to 145,838,339 members.” "The direction of membership (increases or decreases) remains very stable.” (i.e., growing churches continue to grow, declining churches continue to decline.) The Latest Church Growth Statistics • ¹ National Council of Churches' 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches

  5. What Are We Up Against? • Great Commission 9% knew; 84% could not even guess • John 3:16 25% knew; 63% had no clue, 12% guessed wrong • The “Gospel” 37% knew; 31% did not

  6. What Are We Up Against? Over the last decade: • “Regular Bible reading dropped 45% to 37%. • Volunteering declined from 27% to 20% • Church attendance slipped from 49% to 42% • 40% of Christians do not attend church or read the Bible in a typical week • 70% of Christians are not involved in a small group that meets for spiritual purposes • There are more than 10 million more Christians who are un-churched”

  7. What More Are We Up Against? • Christians and Muslims worship same god 59% • Bible, Koran and Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same truths 43% • All people are eventually saved by God 25% • All religions teach the same lessons 26%

  8. The Importance of Religion

  9. “Any church that places few demands on its congregants, and does not pay attention to the ultimate questions of faith, will find itself on the sidelines.” “Another factor in the decline was the lack of emphasis on evangelism or invitation among mainline churches, in contrast to evangelical churches.” Factors in the Slide of MLD • ¹ In Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Mainline Protestant Baby Boomers, by Dean R. Hoge, Benton Johnson, and Donald Luidens

  10. The level of "engagement" among congregations is also of key importance. Gallup research strongly suggests that the role of engagement within congregations has very little to do with theology or doctrine, but has a great deal to do with the engagement level of congregation members. Factors in the Slide of MLD • ¹ Al Winseman, Gallup's Global Practice Leader in Faith Communities

  11. From all of the data the following steps are important if a particular denomination seeks to experience growth in the depth and breadth of its followers in the years ahead: Focus on faith Place demands on faithful/"engage" them Build youth programs: One in four (18-29) have no religious affiliation. Stress evangelism and invitation” Factors in the Slide of MLD • ¹ Results of a nationwide US survey throughout 2002 conducted by the Gallup organization

  12. The Church of Yesterday:A Church Culture Sports Social Educational Help and Assistance Family

  13. The Church of Today:A Missionary Field

  14. Early 1900’s • Traveling Itinerant Priest from Greece • Early Faithful • Hire

  15. 1920’s – 1940’s • Full-time Priest Hired by parish • Early Parish Councils

  16. 1950’s – Present • Professionally Trained Priest • Elected Parish Council • General Assembly • Parishioners

  17. Can you think of any other non-ecclesiastical organization that is successful and is using the same organizational structure for 60+ years?

  18. The State of the Church: • Church attendance is at a 40 year low • 28% have left the religion of their youth • 4,000 (Prot) churches close each year • 4 churches close per new one started • 50,000+ people leave church each week • 80+% of all churches are losing members

  19. The State of the Church: • 80%+believe in “god” or “higher being” • 70%+ believe God cares about them personally, but the church doesn’t • 80%+ pray • 70%+ are part of a religious group • 70%+ have not experienced the presence of God in their lives or in their church

  20. Do They Understand what the “church” is saying? The Protestants: “Seeking the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” “Repent of thy transgressions” “Not trusting in yourself” “Preparing for the dawn of the millenial age” • “Being covered in the blood of the Lamb” • “Being fed by the Word” • “Being slain in the Spirit” • “Possessing a broken spirit” • “Pursuing a Christian walk”

  21. But We’re No Better! • “We’re the Church of the Seven Councils” • “The Eucharist is the heart of our liturgical life” • “The Exopostilarion of the Sixth Ode of the Canon” • “In baptism we die to Christ” • “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” • We’re offering “Orthodoxy” but not always offering “Christianity”

  22. How Can We Reach Them? “I have become all things to all men, so that by all means I might win some.” - St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:22

  23. True Evangelism is Not: • Pew stealing from the Greeks… • Pew transfers from “up north” or other ‘burbs… • The disaffected who don’t like the new Antiochian mission… This is NEITHER church growth, NOR evangelism, NOR missionary expansion!

  24. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” - St. Paul “Remember always that the conversion of a sinner or a heathen to the right path comes not from us or from our skill, but directly and solely from God.” - St. Innocent (Veniaminov)

  25. Why Don’t We Understand This? “I have become all things to all men so that by all means I might win some.” - 1 Corinthian 9:22 • Paul knew what it meant to be a Jew… • …but he also knew what it meant to be a “Roman” • We need to know what “they” are like • We need to know the culture, but… • We also need to know how to adapt and contextualize

  26. If They Don’t See the Relevance, They Can’t Embrace the Truth! “Being exposed to information does not mean they are able to absorb it, understand it or embrace it.” –George Barna

  27. Jesus and Evangelism • He spent time with the community • He discerned their felt needs and addressed them • He attracted their attention • He provided them with something of value • He challenged their thinking

  28. They LISTENED to Him... They RESPECTED Him! “From the moment when you first enter into your duties, strive, by conduct and by virtues becoming your dignity, to win the good opinion and respect not alone of the natives, but of the civilized residents as well. “Good opinion breeds respect, and one who is not respected will not be listened to.” – St. Innocent of Alaska

  29. Non-churched, or De-churched? “There is a hunger for spirituality in the general poplulation which isn’t reflected in the number of people going to church each week.” –RegBibby

  30. Listening to the Unchurched:Why Don’t You Attend? • 70+% - No value in attending • 60+% - Too many problems • 45+% - Too busy, no time • 40+% - Simply not interested • 40+% - Ask for money too often • 38+% - Never found one of interest

  31. Listening to the Unchurched:Why Don’t You Attend? • 35+% - Services are too boring • 35+% - Prefer to pursue other activities • 33+% - Unaware of church they’d like • 33+% - Yet to find church with theology and doctrine paralleling own

  32. Listening to the Unchurched:Why Don’t You Attend? • 31% - Lifestyles would be incompatible with the expectations of the church • 30+% - Hold no relevance for my life • 17+% - Do not believe/unsure God exists 80+% Believe, but only 20% are in Church on any given Sunday!

  33. Listening to the Unchurched:What Do You Want? • Worship: to experience God (34%) 70%+ of Americans say they have never experienced the presence of God. • Developing relationships: A non-threatening environment in which to meet other people in the community (25%)

  34. Listening to the Unchurched:What Do You Want? • Valuable religious teaching or training for their children • A better and more practical understanding of the Bible • To discover better ways to deal with their everyday problems

  35. Listening to the Unchurched:What Do You Like? • Friendliness of parishioners (86%) • Friendliness of church staff (45%) • Preaching (44%) • Worship, including music (44%) • Facilities (43%)

  36. Listening to the Unchurched:Where Will You Go? • Adults are more likely to change parishes than switch denominations (76%) • Only 15% are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to switch • At any given moment, over 4 MILLION Americans are seeking a new church home

  37. Listening to the Unchurched:Where Will You Go? • Average church size in America: ~ 100 • 61% of adults would rather attend a church of 200 adults or less

  38. Listening to the Unchurched:Where Will You Go? • 58% of regular church goers first began going when they were invited by someone they knew. • 63% of those who do not go to church said that none of their friends or acquaintances had ever invited them. Source: George Gallup

  39. Turn-On’s • Build honest caring relationships with non-church people (i.e, to “engage the culture”), eventually inviting them to attend • Sponsor non-religious events • Sending top quality brochures about the church to people’s homes • Thank-you note from pastor after they visit

  40. Common Theme: Churches growing faster than 10%/year are spending 10-20% of their budget on evangelism AND a large percentage on youth ministries

  41. Where Do We Go From Here? • Declines do not have to be a “given” • Many examples of turnaround ministry • Commitment of time, energy & resources • 7 years • Support from church health coaches: http//oncd.us/coaching.html • Do we really have any other choice?

  42. Not reaching the lost ... ...is the same as telling them they can go to hell!

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