Decline & Renewal in West Coast Churches of Christ, part 2

West Coast Churches of Christ aren't the only group of churches in decline. Loss of membership is occurring across North America in practically all denominations. Conservative and liberal churches alike are shrinking and failing to attract younger generations.

I know it's not a shocking revelation and certainly not new but I want to say it clearly and boldly, "We have a problem!"

Our decline doesn't simply stem from technical challenges that we know how to fix. We're facing adaptive challenges that we've never before experienced. What do I mean by technical and adaptive challenges?

By "technical" challenge, I'm talking about the kind of problem that can be addressed with existing resources and knowledge. For example, our church in Fresno decided that we weren’t dedicating adequate space to our children’s ministry. We assessed our building, had lengthy conversations, and moved some pieces around to better accommodate our kids. This was a technical challenge. It required good leadership to pull it off smoothly, but it involved the use of competencies and resources that we already had.

By "adaptive" challenge, I am referring to a problem that requires the use of resources and knowledge that we don’t yet possess. For example, our church is in a community of people who are increasingly unchurched. We don’t know what to do about this. The typical things that we know how to fix (worship style, infrastructure improvements, better p.r., quality of youth ministry, evangelism programs) don’t seem have any impact on our community. The reason for this is that we are facing an adaptive challenge that requires skills and tools that aren’t yet in our possession.

Southern Baptist researcher Thom Rainer recently discussed one aspect of the adaptive challenge that we face. In his article "The Death of the Mall and the Future of Church Buildings," he described the generational changes that have shifted economic power away from giant shopping malls to boutique stores the size of your local Starbucks. This shift, he writes, is connected to the future of the church.

Is it then fair to suggest any relationship between the decline of the malls and the future of the church buildings? I think so. To be sure, most malls are adversely affected by the growth of online shopping. There are not too many brick and mortar stores that don’t feel the impact of the Internet. But there is more to the decline of the malls than the rise of the digital world. The Boomer generation has been the generation of bigness and sprawl. Their parents, in the aftermath of World War II, moved numbers of them to the new and massive suburbia. Large malls would soon follow. Most large megachurch buildings were constructed primarily for the favor of the Boomers.

The world has changed. Most of our churches haven't. And even those of us who do change are often changing based on the needs of the "old world order" rather than the "new world order."

But let's not be so hard on ourselves. We're facing challenges that we don't yet know how to address. We have to realize where we are and admit that we are overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. Only then can we give space for God's Spirit to blow a new wind of renewal into our midst.

Over the next few weeks, I want to talk about decline and renewal in West Coast Churches of Christ. I hope to have several guest "columnists" during this series. My goal is to build some conversation and think together about what this all means. I have no interest in beating us up. Nor do I hope to find some simplistic answer that will solve our membership loss. There is no "easy" button.

Please spread the word and join the conversation.