By Mark A. Taylor
Don”t count CHRISTIAN STANDARD among today”s crop of church bashers. Even when we don”t headline our cover with “I love the church,” we make a point of encouraging the local church and its leaders.
Justin Miller preached a series on Colossians in 2013 at Real Life Christian Church, Clermont, Florida, one of 62 megachurches listed in this year”s report.
But posts at our site this month give special reasons to feel positive. For example, we couldn”t agree more with Bob Russell”s local-church cheerleading. Think of all the dysfunction and distress our world would face without the healing and help the church has extended through the centuries.
Then there”s Kent Fillinger”s annual update on the state of megachurches and other churches among the Christian churches and churches of Christ. They”re growing, they”re reaching new members, and they”re meeting needs in creative and sacrificial new ways. And we”re pleased to share Chris DeWelt”s report on missions progress stimulated by megachurches. We can be proud of all the steps forward taken by so many churches in our fellowship.
Proud, yes, but not satisfied, because taken as a whole, the American church is losing its impact.
Consider statistics Simon J. Dahlman shares in our print issue this month: The percentage of Americans not identifying with any church is almost seven times larger today than 50 years ago. The number of those affiliating with non-Judeo-Christian religions has doubled since the 1950s. And while the share of Evangelicals in the population rapidly increased until the early 1990s, now it is declining.
Meanwhile, the Barna Group has come out with more negative news. Barna reported that 51 percent of all Americans say going to church is “not too” or “not at all” important to them. And only 2 in 10 of those under 30 say church-going is important. According to Barna, 59 percent of millennials (those born 1980″“2000) who grew up in the church have dropped out. And while Barna reported that 43 percent of those who attend church say they do so “to be closer to God,” fewer than 2 out of 10 churchgoers “feel close to God on even a monthly basis.”
Reports like this are disturbing if not shocking. But repeating them is meant to help, not damage the church.
Consider the “bride of Christ” metaphor. If my wife gets cancer, we”ll talk about a cure. If she”s having trouble with our kids or her job, nothing will be helped by my ignoring it. Discussing the problem does not diminish my love. In fact, helping her be healthier and more effective may be the most loving thing I can do.
Let”s not confuse acknowledging the church”s problems with questioning the church”s validity. Like Bob Russell, I love the church! That”s why I”m worried about her and glad for  glimmers of good news that show how some church leaders are working to increase her impact in an increasingly secular age.
Well said! To recognize problems within the church is neither endorsing them, participating in them nor inflicting injury on the church, however, these are accomplished by pretending the problems do not exist.