Christianity is in decline in North America today, generally speaking. That much is clear. And for many of my readers, the specific congregations they are a part of are congregations in some sort of decline as well. These realities, coupled with the frenetic pace of life in American culture itself, suggest that one thing church leaders might choose to do in response would be to ask Christian folk to do fewer Christian things, to make fewer congregational commitments. Maybe we have just burned people up with too much Christianity?

I think that such a conclusion is understandable—and it is completely wrong. It is actually time for church leaders to ask people to do more!

Context

But before you jump up and start doing more things, I would ask that you hear more fully what I am suggesting here. To get at the fullness of what I mean by “doing more,” I first need to say more about the context of the age we are now living in. Most of us grew up going to church, and we understand something of the value and importance of congregational life and worship. The rhythms of worship and small groups along with the communal value of church fellowship dinners and mission outings shaped our formation and the way we see the world. Yet we also live incredibly busy and full lives. We work longer hours, we spend more and more time in automobiles commuting, we have more and more options for what we may enjoy during our leisure time. Somewhere along the way, we found that we could let the busyness of our lives and the commitments we make to family activity or hobbies intrude into our congregational rhythms and communal activities. 

Slowly, we began to make a discovery. We found out that missing a Wednesday night class or a Sunday morning service did not make much difference in how we felt about God or our faith. Our family life continued right along as usual. All was well—in fact, occasional absences from the rhythms and practices of our congregation actually made family life and recreational life easier! In doing this, it was easy for us to create a very logical rationale: God values family, and God values recreation. Why not take time for soccer on a Sunday for a tournament? After all, kids need to pursue their athletic potential!

This sort of “slippage” has been in place for a long time. COVID ramped it up considerably more! It is possible now to actually be physically absent in an assembly for months at a time—and still consider yourself a congregational participant. In other words, the practices and rhythms of communal, congregational life have become marginalized. Going to a worship service is simply one of the equally good choices for a Sunday morning. And the same could be said for regular times for prayer or family devotions or commitments to giving or service. 

Reflection

In light of this, the temptation might be to rush in and start making demands of ourselves and our congregations. Yet such an approach would only create a sort of legalism that drains whatever joy people currently possess and drive away others who can only see a commitment to a task—rather than an invitation to a different way of life. So let’s do some reflecting here.

What does give true joy? What really matters in life? How might we find answers to the deep “why” questions that haunt human experience? Could our busyness really be a cover for the deeper human longing to be connected to the transcendent reality of existence? Such questions take us on a journey of discovery. By asking the deep questions that lurk under all human activity, we may well disclose what humans really need. And what humans really need is quite simple: identity, community, meaning, and purpose. 

The reason for the decline in congregational participation is ultimately not the busyness of life. Rather, the decline in congregational participation is because congregants no longer find that participation forms and shapes their purpose and their identity. Additionally, they have found other communities more compelling and have set out on their own in looking for meaning.

So, before we ask people to do more in our churches (and we certainly do need to invite people to deeper levels of commitment and connection), we need to make very sure that what we are asking them to do actually creates the space for identity, community, meaning, and purpose. Church potlucks may have been just the thing in a rural church in 1985. However, the church that I was with recently in a large international city found me sitting with young leaders in an urban restaurant instead. And being at worship twice on Sunday might have been the practice a few decades ago, but today inviting folk to participate in one service that lifts God up, proclaims the story of Jesus, connects the way of Jesus to contemporary life, and invites persons to leave different than they were when they arrived may take a very different shape. 

So yes, ask people to do more. Simply make sure that you are asking them to do things that shape and form them. Ask for the commitment—yet make sure that the commitment is to a living God, not to something that no longer fosters answers to the deep questions humans have always asked.

Blessings on your ministry,

Carson