The Success of the Christian Church
He leads me …
There is a slow abandonment of many Christian denominations, both in New Zealand and other countries like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. But before we say, ‘Whatever’ and tune out, let us look at what is happening – because there are some interesting changes currently taking place.
.New Zealand is becoming less religious, exhibiting a sharp fall in the number of people who identify as Christian.
Faith and Belief in New Zealand, is a report commissioned in 2018 by the Wilberforce Foundation, an Auckland based Christian organisation, and it says that a third of New Zealanders identify with Christianity, down from 43 per cent in the 2013 Census, and 49 per cent in the 2006 Census.
The report also says that older New Zealanders appear to identify more with Christianity, while younger generations are more likely to not identify with any form of spiritual belief. Faith and Belief is quoted as saying, ‘Perhaps the increasing busyness of modern-day life or the emphasis on individualism and self-created identity have also had an impact.’
Chris Clarke, former chief executive of World Vision NZ and now adviser to the Wilberforce Foundation, said the report confirmed what many church leaders already knew.
He says that, ‘Really importantly, what [this report has] done is give some quite clear pointers about how the Christian Church can re-engage with society in New Zealand. It's a wonderful opportunity, but they have to re-engage in very different ways.’
Wilberforce Foundation's general manager, Carl Vink, was a bit blunter. He said the report was a challenge to the Church. ‘If you're not happy about numbers, what are you going to do about it?’
The general reaction from representatives of Christian organisations was that they echoed the need to be active in the community where Christians would display humility, listening, engaging and living out their beliefs.
The Anglican Bishop of Wellington, the Right Reverend Justin Duckworth, believed the Anglican Church had to re-evaluate its relationship with society, because the Church's ‘core business’ had to be its involvement in the community.
Justin Duckworth believes the Church could play a role in a number of critical areas. They included –
· The ‘self-centredness’ in society that ignored issues like climate change.
· The deep social isolation and loneliness of a lot of people in our communities.
· The emotional trauma and anxiety experienced in all areas of the population, especially among those under 50.
· The longing for hope; and a ‘deep, deep desire for authenticity’.[1]
The point that existing church structure is not encouraging either spiritual or numerical growth and commitment, can be seen with virtually all other voluntary groups too. Most of them have been finding it difficult in the last thirty years to attract and retain members. Put another way, almost any organised association is losing its popularity regardless of whether it involved religion or any other activity.
Especially amongst people under 40, traditional volunteer organisations that require long term and undivided loyalties are giving way to less formal, smaller groups that do not require the same commitment, and supporters can come and go.
As an example, we can look at touch rugby alongside traditional rugby. Touch came to New Zealand from Australia in 1975, but only began in an organised sense in 1990. By 2000 it had 272,000 registered participants. This was a quite incredible increase, especially considering the decline in traditional rugby. Among 18-24 year olds it is the most popular form of sporting involvement, and among 25-34 year olds it is second most popular. So what made Touch so popular?
Firstly the game has a simple structure, is relatively cheap and it includes all genders. Individuals can choose to join an existing team of create one of their own. Each team has their own name and uniforms.
Socialising and fun are a priority, and no one minds too much if a player misses a game or two.[2]
So what can the church learn from this?
Mike Brantley is the vicar at St Christopher’s Church in Avonhead, Christchurch. He is described as a mentor and coach to empower leaders in church planting, church revitalisation, leader development and change in the twenty-first century. The following is taken from an article he wrote in 2004.
Mike was involved in a church group who followed the example of the Church as shown in the book of Acts.
He said that who the group was took priority over what they did or how they did it. As a result God worked in, through and with each one of them; and their combined love for people generally rose significantly.
Changes in the group’s culture meant that the leaders became fellow discoverers, sharing experiences, not as experts, but leading while travelling, learning, and remaining vulnerable. This encouraged the group to have the courage to give things a go. Everyone was learning and growing. It was okay to not be perfect, and there was always support to improve.
They made networking with non-Christians a necessity. They wanted to be able to effectively relate to the unsaved. This meant going to cafes, sporting events, and even places where the homeless lived. With time these places became part of the group’s normal way of life and they developed the important skills of listening and understanding as they went along.
Mike says that it is time for all Christians to see ourselves as missionaries to those we live amongst. To clearly understand the spiritually lost, we should open our hearts to walk with, hear from and radically obey the Lord in reaching them. This requires abandoning the 'anchored security' of 'how we have always done church' and begin to discover how to be a church on a mission in the twenty-first century.
Mike also says that we cannot simply continue to do church like we always have. He says that we should not water anything down, but instead, radically move from comfortably analysing God's Word to actually obeying it. Our problem is not understanding God's Word; it is applying it in our daily lives. This means transitioning from a people who worship God to worshippers who follow Him - recklessly[3]
Perhaps doing Church this way provides a genuine opportunity to be God’s co-workers - to bring about His purposes, and to honour Him with all that we are and do.
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Losing Faith: Why Fewer New Zealanders Are Attending Church, NZ Herald, 21 Jun, 2018; https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/losing-faith-why-fewer-new-zealanders-are-attending-church/MV25KTPVEVW27IFUCEXNUCZ3KE/
[2] Rugby and Church: Worlds in conflict? - Kevin Ward - issue #53 Reality Magazine; https://www.reality.org.nz/articles/53/53-ward.php
[3] Ministry that Works, Mike Brantley - issue #61 Reality Magazine; https://www.reality.org.nz/article.php?ID=297
