tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post6192081471346729462..comments2024-03-22T08:29:51.173-05:00Comments on UM & Global: US Membership Decline and the Rhetoric of the Global ChurchDavid W. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17024204453848260271noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-92190068338849357242021-12-08T16:52:05.057-06:002021-12-08T16:52:05.057-06:00Amusing but not surprising that the UMC, which wan...Amusing but not surprising that the UMC, which wants to prioritize sin over God, is declining, and that the only faction that stands against them (the wesleyans) has remained static or even grown slightly.<br /><br />To quote some guy who's post I read on an episcopal church article mentioning it's not so eerily similar numerical decline (I believe he was quoting someone else):<br /><br />"Once renowned for its liturgy, now a stop on architectural and garden tours. Only tourists go there anymore.”Jimmy Q.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15726493455514397606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-42848558717086667672021-04-22T06:49:15.889-05:002021-04-22T06:49:15.889-05:00In Understanding Church Growth, Donald McGavran ex...In Understanding Church Growth, Donald McGavran explores theological reason why churches don’t grow. The “Universal fog” section shows how types of theology dispose a church or a denomination to decline. Finding excuses for no growth is one of the biggest reasons why churches don’t grow. Celebrating smallness or the notion that we should not prioritize numerical growth is a problem. <br /><br />Truthfully, the mission of the liberal denomination does not emphasize evangelism and “saving souls” in the same way at early Methodism. Likely, “counting the converts” means less to us than it did to the Book of Acts or early Methodism. Why? Have we discerned a new mission? If the pursuit of social justice is the real mission of the church, no one should expect membership growth. <br /><br />The Pew Research Center has shown that evangelical churches in America did not suffer a numerical decline in the last ten years. They exist in the same contextual milieu as the American UMC. At the same time, mainliners have plunging memberships. Theology has to play into this. <br /><br />Much has been written on causes for the decline and growth of denominations and the UMC. I have summarized that information in American Methodism, Past of Future Growth. Our current conversation needs to explore this material. Otherwise, we will continue to sink into oblivion because we don’t believe that we can grow.<br />Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141558221519018805noreply@blogger.com