What's next?

James Emery White, a Crosswalk writer, wrote an article entitled "The Next, Next Church." He observes a pattern in many church congregations that Christians keep looking for that next exciting event. His comments to this trend are quite thought provoking. I think sometimes we all fall into this pattern and forget the present. We live for the next event, instead of focusing on what is going on now. Take a look at this article and see what you think!

"The iPhone is so last month. Which means, writes Adam Bryant in the New York Times, that “it’s been downgraded from the next big thing to merely new.” And these days, “new can seem so yesterday. What matters is what’s next.” Bryant then notes how “next” is the go-to buzzword of our day. There is “Next” the movie, released this spring with Nicolas Cage as a man who can see two minutes into the future. Newsweek’s annual “Who’s Next” issue, intended to run against Time’s Person of the Year issue, prompted Time to start a regular “What’s Next” feature of its own. "

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Tech in the Church Part 1: Church uses iTunes gift cards to attract visitors

Well, this is certainly a odd idea. Giving first time visitors who come to your church during their "iServices" free iTunes gift card is a bit desperate and over the top. Have churches come down to marketing and the use of others advertisements to attract people to their churches? These may seem like a harmless idea, but should the church be giving away a free iTunes gift card? We all know that how you get them is how you keep them and I dare say, that most if not all of the visitors during these services will not return to the church. Yes, one may argue that is how outreach works, but IMO this is wrong and makes a church look desperate and look like a marketing business and neglects what a church really is. A house of worship, not a den of thieves.

Source: Engadget and Church By The Glade

Do you like this idea?

Is an ATM machine appropriate in the local church? Time has a piece entitled "The ATM in the Church Lobby." I personally do not like this idea. I have seen donut shops, fast food restaurants, and the like in churches, mostly mega churches. I think these things make the church less of a church and more an entertainment place. While we know that a moneyless society is the future, I do not want to bring a feature like this into my church, there are other ways to track some cash gifts. It is one thing if you have a school or daycare and take credit card or debit payments, but it is entirely strange to have this as a means of giving your tithe and offerings. Wouldn't this encourage people to charge on their credit card their tithe and offering? Going into debt to give to the church, this seems to be promoting a wrong idea. Write a check, pull the cash out. I may love tech, but to me this is too much. What do you think?

"Is that an ATM in the church lobby? Credit and debit card swipe machines in churches may startle some of the pious, but such kiosks, already present in some houses of worship, might become even more commonplace now that a new IRS regulation is in effect. Beginning with gifts given in 2007, the IRS will demand documentation for charitable contributions under $250. Once, all one needed was a diary entry to vouch for such donations. Specially designed ATMs at church will help document such spur-of-the-moment cash gifts, as well as planned giving. Also as a result of the new IRS rule, credit card donations and tithing are likely to increase too because such electronic fund transfers leave a paper trail."

Will you still be attending a midweek service in 5 years?

Inevitably, people leave their church, not to go to another church or serve somewhere else, they leave church and their faith for good. The reason for this is quite simple, but complex all the same. It is sin, the pleasures of this world, the falling into temptation, and the entanglements of Satan's wiles. As pastors, missionaries, deacons, church leaders, it is our ministry to go after these lost sheep as best as we can and try to see them return to the fold of God. Some do and some do not. While our churches go thru this, we continue to reach the lost and saving them from the fire. I have found that more people seem turned off by religion, especially Christianity. I'm sure this is not true everywhere and it is certainly not an excuse to quit evangelizing, but it is a reality that we all face in our ministries. What do we do at these times? We are stedfast. We continue abounding in the work of the Lord. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord. The devil does not stop from battling and neither should we stop battling for lost souls and wayward believers.

The question still remains. Will you still be attending a midweek service in 5 years? Will you as a pastor stop the midweek service because of lack of attendance? Or will you continue to fight the good fight? I would like to share with your some statistics that I came across today. I cannot account for their accuracy, nor do I agree with much that they have posted, but if they are accurate, it is a scary reality for us, Christians.

The percentage of American adults who identify themselves as Christians dropped from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001. This is an unprecedented drop of almost 1 percentage point per year.

The percentage of American adults who identify themselves as Protestants dropped below 50% about the year 2005.

Confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low.

There appears to be a major increase in interest in spirituality among North Americans. However, this has not translated into greater church involvement.

Mainline denominations have been losing membership for decades in the U.S.; conservative denominations have been growing.

At the present rates of change, Islam will become the dominant religion in the world before 2050 BC.

At the present rate of change, most Americans would identify themselves as non-religious or non-Christian by the year 2035 BC.

The numbers of "unchurched" people has increased rapidly in the U.S. These are individuals who have not attended church in recent months.

Agnosticis, Atheists, secularists. and NOTAs (none of the above) are growing rapidly.

Interest in new religious movements (e.g. New Age, Neopaganism) is growing rapidly. In particular, Wiccans are doubling in numbers about every 30 months.

The influence of the central, program-based congregation is diminishing as more cell churches are being created.

Many Christians have left congregations and formed house churches - small groups meeting in each other's homes.

No doubt some of these trends are not at all positive for Christianity. For a moment think of what we have tried over the past couple decades to bring folks into church, Christian contemporary music, dramas, Christian movies, less focus on the Bible and more opinions, home services, power point presentations, etc. These things have not helped the cause of Christ like they were intended to help. No matter how good the intentions, they have not helped Christianity as a whole, but they have only made Christians more like the world, so the people are looking for something different. Isalm. Wiccan. They are different and people are be drawn to them because of that. I believe we ought to good back to "the old paths". Back to basics if you will. The disciples turned the world upside down and they didn't have music, dramas, movies, etc. They had the Word of God and it is more than powerful to change the sinner. Let us heed the Lords call and not say, "We will not walk therein."

Jeremiah 6:16
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."

Podcasts: Four Historical Stages of Fundamentalism

I'd like to recommend this going series of podcasts dealing with the subject of Fundamentalism. While all may not necessarily agree with the views shared, I do believe it is important for us to understand this topic. I do believe that the Devil is out to attack the foundation of Christianity and we as Christian ought be aware for this kind of attack. So I hope you take the time to listen and maybe this can help all of us see a bigger picture.

"Mark Farnham, Assistant Professor of Theology and New Testament at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary (Lansdale, PA), joins us for a series of podcasts on Fundamentalism. In this first interview, he goes over the four historical stages of Fundamentalism."

Click here for podcast.

Source: Sharper Iron