The de-evolving church. I think this may be an original term, but perhaps not an original idea. When something evolves, it gradually becomes more complex, or it adapts.
The American church has mostly been in decline for decades in numerical representation and societal impact. It is moving from a more complex organism backwards into a simple and in some cases, non-existent entity. It is de-evolving. There are, of course, some organizations that have maintained membership or even grown in recent years, but overall, it is not a trend that any clergy member would be happy.
So, what is the church going to look like in this de-evolutionary cycle in 10 or 20 years? Will it still exist, for instance?
Biblically, there is no mention that the church will completely de-materialize; however, there is much mention of declining faith and faithfulness on the part of its membership and leaders. The Apostle Paul saw such a future, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
This may be the first reality of the future church—less theological adherence and more humanistic ideology.
For those churches that do survive, what interactive and stylistic changes will be present? There was a time not so long ago when the primary expression of worship was a liturgy that included choirs, responsive readings, ceremony, and ‘sages of the stage’ interpreting the Bible for the masses.
Today, many fellowships have members sip gourmet coffee while listening to finely tuned club-like bands and have a well-polished speaker who answers many of the felt needs of life. No judgment—just a reality. In fact, to some extent the church I serve embraces many of these latter styles warmly. But this is all changing, too.
With the continuing proliferation of technology, our ability to create cyber communities, and information available at a “click”, one can only wonder what the relevance of even the hippest churches will be. How will the church adapt in a hyper-individualistic, uniquely eclectic, and philosophically divergent world? In short, it may not be able to do so save God’s intervention.
An element of society will hang-on to the established brick-and-mortar assembly of the saints, but more likely the church will become only one choice among many ideologies and philosophies—a part of the whole, but not a leading influence.
At this point I wish I could offer the optimism you may be hoping for—the turn-around statement of “We can change all this”. We may not be able to.
My fear is what it will take for us to return to not only our heritage, but the faith that was its foundation. Will it be a terrible tragedy, a flood, a fire, a famine, or a war? When we are shaken, we often return to the God who alone can remedy our situation both temporally and eternally.
In an interesting moment when God was preparing to exile the Jews to Babylon (586 BC), God asked a simple question of the people, “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me?” When we can answer this inquiry, we will know the beginning point of our de-evolving faith.
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ.
