One perspective was that churches would resume their practices just as they were before the pandemic. Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that "God seems missing from my experience of church" (20%). The following 21 are in no particular order and are by no means exhaustive, and they are largely (but not exclusively) reflective of an American evangelical context. We also help you craft a plan to step into transformative new practices. The counterintuitive way forward into transformative territory is facing problems and difficult issues head-on, rather than avoiding them or hoping they will fade away. This makes church inherently challenging for them, not only because they have a hard time trusting leaders but (more importantly) they struggle with submitting fully to the authority of Christ and the authority of Scripture. Politics 3. The organization of the church needs to be simpler. This has been a struggle for the church since her earliest days. Your email address will not be published. But with the second wave, we see many denominational structures destabilizing. Like racism, sexism includes personal prejudice where individual persons harm other persons, this time on the basis of a socially constructed hierarchy that makes one biological sex superior to the other sex. walked on Earth as testified both in the Acts and the epistles till today. When we go to churches that fit us (how we look, talk and worship) we will naturally be surrounded by people who look, talk and worship just like us. Consumerism turns creation and people into objects for my use; again, denying the image of God in others and the reality of creation as a gift. It is simply the next decision they have to make. Thats why addressing these issues faithfully is necessary for moving into more whole, just, and loving forms of life together. 13) The Struggle for Balance in an Immoderate Age. We come alongside your congregation and craft a custom research project that helps reveal hidden dynamics and gain a more clear understanding of whats happening in your particular context. The primary moving force of today's economic global system is the transnational capitalist class made up of globalizing bureaucrats, politicians . Also like racism, sexism is infused in the institutions and systems that characterize our lives. Closely associated with social media, the allure of celebrity and platform has become pervasive in the 21st century and can destroy a church, particularly when pastors and leaders become more interested in impressing their audience than tending to the flock of God. The consumerism of contemporary Christianity has unsurprisingly led to churches that are more homogeneous than ever. 8) Consumer Christians. Denominational structures destabilizing. Several neighbors listened from their front porch. Exactly! My basic premise in this lecture is that the main challenges that the Church faces today are directly derived from the phenomenon of globalization. The first major wave of COVID did not have the sense of hopelessness that is endemic with the second wave. We live our mediated lives via windows and boxes. Churches must counter this and disciple people to submit their convictions about themselves, however sincere and authentic they may be, to the authority of Jesus Christ as revealed to us in Scripture. hurches are closing at rapid numbers in the US, researchers say, as congregations dwindle across the country and a younger generation of Americans abandon. Chief among them is the challenge of posturing, a performative obsession that feeds pride and hypocrisy. Everything is fast-paced and harried; we can hardly remember which Netflix show we loved last month or which restaurant was the rage last year. You have to realise that science is data driven and what worked today wont always work next week. In fact, that's another big problem in our churches. Hospitalizations were down. Once more information comes in, either supporting or refuting the decision/hypothesis, the next decision/hypothesis gets made based on the totality of evidence. Scientists who do things correctly dont contradict themselves. This phase is a dialogue. The decisions that church leaders make do have consequencesshort-term consequences and long-term consequencesconsequences for the church and its members, consequences for the community and its members. Many leaders I know feel completely depleted and hopeless after a long season of dealing with the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Things that seemed certain are being shaken. I think all of us who got vaccinated feel somewhat cheated, hoping that the vaccine would help us get back to normal unmasked church life. The most vibrant centers of global Christianity are not in western countries these days, and the face of western Christianity is becoming much more diverse. The second and majority view was that churches would face a new normal and must learn to adjust. The second and majority view was that churches would face a new normal and must learn to adjust. How can the Church win over the minds and hearts of those Catholics whose attitudes toward abortion, stem-cell research, cloning, and sexual issues mirror those of their non-Catholic fellow citizens? The second wave has been a real challenge. Required fields are marked *. All those divisions still exist, but the polarization over vaccinations has been added to the mix. By vaccinating the healthy, young people, we left no hosts for the virus. I pray for your fatigue of a constantly changing world, and for Gods blessings as you learn to navigate it. Anyway, Im in Gods hands and one cannot do better than that. My main concern about this surgery is the possibility of developing blood clots which can be quite the threat to ones health and possibly life. In 1900, more than 80 percent of Anglicans lived in Britain; in 2008, that number had fallen to 33 percent. The recent Massachusetts state law, which forces churches to allow transgender people to use church bathrooms and shower facilities of their choice, is just the tip of the iceberg. They gathered information, made recommendations based on the evolving information, and answered practical questions regarding the CDC policies. Churches that are a part of a denomination had to deal with the reality that the level of resources and help was not nearly what it was in the past. And so the younger generation just doesnt feel like theyre being accepted in a church environment or some of their choices arent being accepted by those at church.. The biggest challenges we face today are not from tyrannical regimes or oppressive governments. Its hard to have to return to masks in church again. The entire process usually takes about one month. We chat with multiple people at a time, post one fragment of our lives here and another there, consume visual media in one window and read the Bible in another. One of the difficulties many people have (as alluded to elsewhere here) is the desire to make the perfect decision. Youll also find that you can only get so far on your own. It is exhausting to read the scores of books that come out every year that provide a new paradigm or prescription for a revived church. Stephen Bullivant, author of Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America and professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Marys University, said in the Christian world it had been a generational change. We must remember that the *virus* is our enemy- not science or medicine- they are our allies. Christ calls us to missional living out in the world. We have an fixed, inflexible way of looking at things. Now and not yet. When people are heard with empathetic ears, it catalyzes Gods work in their hearts and prepares the soil for transformation to take root and grow congregation-wide. This makes church inherently challenging for them, not only because they have a hard time trusting leaders but (more importantly) they struggle with submitting fully to the authority of Christ and the authority of Scripture. Third: Mission, outreach and empathy is essential. LECTURER'S NAME: Dr. J.O Adegbite Introduction May God strengthen His church to stand firm in this day and seek to face these challenges with the truth of God's Word. I know it is no fun, but we are all in this together. Protestant pastors reported that typical church attendance is only 85% of pre-pandemic levels, McConnell said, while research by the Survey Center on American Life and the University of Chicago found that in spring 2022 67% of Americans reported attending church at least once a year, compared with 75% before the pandemic. Fasting is one of the traditional disciplines of Lent, but because its so counter-cultural and difficult for us, not many people know how to fast well. Les. Church leaders particularly feel the exhaustion of dealing with so many issues. The situation means some hard decisions for pastors, who have to decide when a dwindling congregation is no longer sustainable. Even while scientists are learning new things about it, their knowledge quickly becomes obsolete because the virus, as all new just-born life, experiences more frequent and drastic changes in its early days. 3) Disembodied Tendencies. Public health is also in the Torah when lepers were to be put outside the camp. This was ancient quarantine. More Challenges Facing the Church Today After reading through just a brief overview of those heavy issues, you might be feeling overwhelmed. Against this backdrop, churches can be relevant not by reinforcing unencumbered individualism but by challenging people to connect and commit to the body of Christ. A stationary ship which is just starting is slow to turn, but a ship that is moving, however slowly, turns much quicker. We are all tired. One of the biggest challenges for theologically conservative churches will be to maintain a consistent biblical ethic on these matters, speaking in truth and love about (for example) the witness of Scripture on divorce as much as the witness of Scripture on homosexuality. He believes that is partly down to Texass response to the pandemic, where the governor allowed churches to open in May 2020, even when the number of new Covid cases was extremely high. As you begin to name the themes and patterns that emerge, begin a dialogue about the story they tell about who your community is in practice, about your points of struggle and pain, and also about how God might be bringing renewal into the future. Our anemic belief in change is coupled with a fetishizing of brokenness, and its a toxic combination. In our prayer time, that is the message we kept hearing: preach the word. Word and Spirit. That aside, closures are often due to a failure of churches to adapt. As always, the best are praying and making the best of it and using this opportunity to teach/reach people they would never have even thought of 2 years ago. Schools are wondering what to do. Convicted terrorists will be banned from taking a leading role in religious services and face more rigorous checks for extremist literature. Tagged: authenticity, authority, Bible, church, commitment, consumerism, elder, holiness, Incarnation, Individualism, race, relevance, religious freedom, sexuality, theology, uncomfortable, 21 Challenges Facing the 21st Century Church, 91% of us expect to stay in a job less than 3 years. While grandparents might have been regular churchgoers, their children would say they believe in God, but not go to church regularly. When Jesus talked about loving others, he was talking about a sacrificial love, not a pretense of love that puts our interests first. Yet churches must lean into the "transcendent authority" of Christ, countercultural as that may be. And then we are off to the races in bearing witness to what . Rather it reflects the influence of todays me first culture. God has certainly blessed our efforts as we see new visitors weekly, and our average attendance is up by quite a bit. Again, this requires holding space for the life of your community to be revealed as it is rather than how it ought to be. The problem of patriarchy is not simply about holding an anthropology that teaches women and men are different. 9) The Temptation to Homogeneity. Too many churches are insulated and self-focused. That was ten years ago, but the shallowness persists. In fact, we are now beginning the initial stages of exploring an expansion of our current facility to meet our current and future needs. 20) Distrust of Authority. More from Thom, The definitive, custom report that will help you to reach and attract your local community. But church leaders today wonder if any stability is on the horizon. 4. We are the generation that has rendered RSVP-based party planning a futile endeavor. Understanding your local context does not primarily consist of reading books about culture or staying updated on the latest church statistics (although there is a place for that).