I recently attended a retreat with a number of church friends. We spent part of our time together looking at sociological data on religion in America over the last 60 years. We paid particular attention to mainline denominations, including their declining attendance and size. Over the course of an hour, we talked about all sorts of political, cultural, and sociological reasons for that decline. Not once, however, did we talk about anything the church may have done (or not done) to contribute to its decline. To be fair, that question wasn't put to us, as such.
This rather remarkable omission highlighted for me the struggle the church has with honest self-critique. This one instance is entirely consistent with almost every other conversation I have with friends and colleagues about church decline. The discussion is mostly about how cultural forces are eroding the church. We portray the church as a victim of culture.
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