Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; - 2Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV)
"In today's society, it can be easy to wonder where all the church-goers have gone. After the pandemic in 2020, many people who went to church never came back. However, is it just because people got used to the comfort of their homes on Sunday morning, or is there another reason why people have fled the church? Here are seven reasons why the next generation is abandoning the church." - Charisma News
The above paragraph is the opening premise from the Charisma News article linked above. Forget just since the pandemic, it is true that about 40 million people have left the church in the past 25 years! The problem is that people at Chrisma News never look in the mirror to find the blame. They also never read the bible or they would see the key verse above teaching them that this great falling away was foretold by God Himself, who sees all time. I am reminded of the verse that declares how deep is the darkness when we convince ourselves that our darkness is light. The folks at Charisma never question what role they are playing in this great falling away. The fact is that 25 years ago was about six years after the Purpose Driven Church was released, which taught this generation of pastors how to sacrifice the gospel on the altar of "churching." Pastors became CEOs instead of shepherds. Blessed subtraction, where we encourage people to leave our churches, became a tool for these carnal hirelings. Instead of focusing on sin, we instead focus on relevance. Instead of trying to see people saved we bastardized that into seeing people "churched." The result is that plenty of people were churched and then they chose to dechurch. The average time someone spends in a purpose driven mega church is three years because that is all it takes to realize you have been duped. Instead of dealing with these facts, Charisma trots out articles like this designed to make them feel better by placing the blame elsewhere. So, let us reason once more together beloved.
"1. Modern American society is about a lifestyle of hustle and bustle. From hobbies, health, jobs and the desire to seek spirituality on their own, our culture does not make community within a church priority. Whether some have experienced prior church hurt and pain from others in spiritual communities, or simply find themselves busy, it is hard for many people to find the time to join a church and plant deep roots there. With more people moving and working from various locations today than they did years ago, it can be difficult to find true community in the brick-and-mortar church building. With our digital age, it can be easier to catch a sermon online than it is to fit time for church into an already full schedule. Unless this part of society changes, it will continue to be difficult to get people to view church attendance differently." - Charisma News
Let me remind everyone of how God designed all of this. There is only one way for people to be saved and that is through the preaching of the gospel. The act of being drawn by the spirit at that point is entirely of God. The vehicle He ordained for delivering the gospel is the church. The bible teaches us that narrow is the way that leads to eternal life and few are those who find it. Get that? Few - not mega church numbers. Why? Because the gospel divides people. It is a two-edged sword, not a blunt instrument. So, it does not matter how busy people are. People have always been busy and yes, even this busy. We just are more aware of everyone else's busyness because of the technology in this information age. Sinful man always pretends that this generation is somehow different than all the others throughout time. It isn't. If this is God's design, then I would suggest that we follow it. Drop the nonsense that passes for church today and preach the gospel. If people come, great and if not, preach the gospel some more. You may not have 5000 people lining up because the message of repentance is not favorable among sinners and that included all of us. You may not have huge buildings, adoring fans, book deals and mansions written off as parsonages but you will hear well done my good and faithful servant.
"2. America has become more diverse. Our nation has become more diverse over the years, and not everyone feels that the church today is conducive to an array of different views and backgrounds. With more Gen Zers coming from single parent families, immigrant parents, the next generation wants other global perspectives considered. Looking at Scripture from a classic, American perspective is too one-dimensional for this next generation. Perhaps discussion on persecution and the eternal value of the gospel would be more meaningful for this generation than the feel-good messages of the past." - Charisma News
