Thomas J Parlette
“The Great Dechurching”
Mark 13: 1-8
11/17/24
About 15% of Americans are “dechurched.”
What does that mean exactly? Well, it doesn’t mean that they are not Christian – most would still say that they are. It does not mean that they’ve lost their faith – most would say they still believe in God. And it does not mean that they have been kicked out of church – because most have not been.
Those that are “dechurched” are those who used to attend a service of worship at least once a month, and now they attend less than once a year.
They are dechurched, and their number is huge – more than 40 million Americans.
Seats are empty in churches across the country, in large part due this exodus. This trend transcends denominational boundaries – all churches seem some evidence of this movement, and we’ve been seeing for years. In fact, I would say that this has been a trend that I have seen since I first started in ministry some 35 years ago.
Pastors Jim Davis and Michael Graham explore the trend in a book called The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? They write, “More people have left the church in the last 25 years than all the new people who became Christians from the First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening and Billy Graham crusades combined. (1)
Look around, and you can see it. The trend has impacted every congregation, hitting every category, from Evangelicals to Catholics to mainline Protestants. The median congregation in the United States now has 65 people – down from 137 people just two decades ago.
One man left the church because of the pastor’s sermon.
“What was the sermon about,” asked a friend.
“Babylon.”
The friend was confused, “The pastor preached on Babylon?”
“No – I’m talking about the pastor’s delivery – Babble on and Babble on.” (2)
I tell jokes to keep from crying. But I suppose change is inevitable.
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus predicted that change would come to the religious institutions of his day. As he came out of the Temple in Jerusalem during the last week of his earthly ministry, one of his disciples said, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
That unnamed disciple was right to say, “what large stone.” The foundation stones of the Temple, which are still visible today in the Western Wall, are probably the largest building stones in the ancient world. The smallest stones are between two and five tons, and the largest is estimated to weigh 570 tons.
And Jesus’ prediction came true – the stones above the foundation did indeed come down. In the year 70, the Romans attacked the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. Many people were killed or enslaved and the treasures of the Temple were stolen. The destruction of the Temple was one of the greatest tragedies of Jewish history, and it caused Jewish and Christian residents of the city to scatter.
You might say that these people were “detempled.” But unlike today, their change in religious activity was forced upon them.
After walking to the Mount of Olives, across from the Temple, a group of disciples asked Jesus privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”
And Jesus said, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.” Yes, many violent and upsetting events were going to come, and their lives would be threatened. But then Jesus ends on a hopeful note – “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
Ah, yes – the birth pangs. Jesus knew that detempling would be painful, but there would also be hope for new birth. In fact, the Jewish faith was completely reshaped by the destruction of the Temple, forcing Jews to shift to worship in synagogues led by rabbis. Christianity also became more congregation-focused, because the followers of Jesus could no longer gather in the Temple as they had done in the early days of the church. The Book of Acts tells us that the first followers of Jesus “spent much time together in the Temple… broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all people” (Acts 2: 46-47)
Without a Temple, both Judaism and Christianity had to focus on worship and fellowship in congregations outside of Jerusalem. And as painful as the destruction of Jerusalem was, it set the stage for both faiths to become global religions.
So, what is going on in the American church? No Roman army has attacked us. But still, we are scattered. The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect, keeping people away from church buildings for more than a year. We learned ways of being the church, and we are coming back, but many people fell out of the habit of attending worship and they developed new habits instead. Others left because of church scandals or arguments. Others left because they didn’t fit in, their friends were not there, or they didn’t feel much love at church.
Kristen Fowler of Kentucky was raised going to church every Sunday. But she tells On Point radio that she no longer goes as an adult because, “the views of the church just don’t align with my views.”
Bill Fowler of Oregon was also raised in a church, but had a falling out with the local church because the sermons were becoming too political.
And Brigette Bishop of Massachusetts grew up going to church every week. She taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, and was even a church organist. She stopped going to church in her 30’s because they hurt her so deeply. “I got postpartum psychosis after the birth of my second child,” she says, “and the pastor of the church we were attending accused me of being possessed by a demon.” (3)
The reasons for dechurching may vary, but the losses are consistent and real.
Despite these departures, there is reason for hope. Today’s dechurching may be part of the “birth pangs” that will create the church of the future. According to The Washington Post, evangelicals are looking for friendship, while mainline Protestants and Catholics are looking for spiritual practices and outreach programs. (4) Many of the dechurched are seeking stable and healthy congregations that find a way to avoid the polarization affecting churches and other institutions.
Davis and Graham write that, “The single best piece of good news to come from our study is that more than half of those who have left evangelical churches are willing to come back right now. That’s nearly 8 million dechurched Christians. The reasons why they’re willing to come back vary from group to group, but on the whole, people are looking for two things: healthy relationships and a local church that actively demonstrates how the gospel is true, good and beautiful. Those two factors are almost entirely within our control. Church leaders can grow in their ability to exercise relational wisdom and build healthy communities. Our local churches can grow institutionally to be bolder and clearer with our doctrine, religious affection and cultural engagement. (5)
The bottom line is this: The church is not a building, constructed of large stones that can be thrown down. Instead, it is a stable and healthy community of faith. Davis and Graham say that congregations need to work on “relationship wisdom” and a “quiet calm and curious demeanor.” Church leaders – pastors, elders and deacons – need to be quick to listen and slow to speak. The path toward new life is not easy, but it is simple.
Birth pangs are not easy. In fact, they are painful. But the path to life is quite simple, if the church is willing to listen to people, respect different points of view, work on developing friendships, and offer spiritual practices and outreach programs.
In a radio interview, Graham offers a vision for ministry that could really help us in the future. He says that when we put the kingdom of Jesus first, “that allows us to love our neighbor as ourselves. It allows us to love our enemies, and it allows us to live in the sacrificial way that he did. In Jesus’ kingdom, the last is first, and the first is last, and this is the opposite of the American story. And so, we have an opportunity to be radically countercultural and really care for people, particularly the least of these people who have really fallen through the cracks and people who are suffering.” (6)
He makes a good point. The church that needs to be born today is one in which we love our neighbors, even our enemies – the people across the political aisle perhaps, with radically different points of view. It is a church that focuses on living in the sacrificial way that Jesus did, with outreach programs that serve a world in need. Such a church will be made up of a group of Christians who develop friendships and show that they care for people, especially those who are suffering and in tremendous pain. This new church can be like the old church of the Book of Acts, in which Christians “broke bread at home… praising God and having the goodwill of all people.”
A woman from Los Angeles called On Point radio once and said she still identifies as a Christian, but she left the church because it no longer seemed to reflect Jesus. Having heard too much in church about “going to hell” and “needing to repent,” she said, “I just don’t feel that is the Jesus I know, it’s not the God that I know, it’s not the Christianity that I have come to know and was raised in. But I would honestly love to go back to church.” (7)
Can we help create a new church for people like that woman who has become dechurched? A stable and healthy community of faith? A congregation that reflects Jesus, loves people, and engages in sacrificial service? Over half the people who have left the church are willing to come back if they find a true expression of Christianity. At the beginning of this sermon, I invited you to look around to see the evidence of dechurching that is all around us. Well, now I invite you to take a second look around, and see all the evidence that we are stable and healthy congregation, loving people and reflecting Jesus as we engage in sacrificial service.
The birth pangs that Jesus spoke about are still here – that is true. But here’s the thing about birth pangs. It hurts during delivery – but when the new creation arrives, the pain fades into distant memory, but the joy remains.
For that, May God be praised. Amen.
1. Jim Davis and Michael Graham, The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back”, Zondervan, 2023.
2. Homileticsonline, retrieved 11/4/24.
3. Jonathan Chang and Chakrabarti Meghna, “The great dechurching: Why so many Americans are leaving their churches.” On Point, January 24, 2024, www.wbur.org.
4. Bob Smietana, “Pastors book crunches data on “dechurching”, posits how to fill pews again.” The Washington Post, Sept. 16th, 2023, B#.
5. Jim Davis and Michael Graham, “5 Misconceptions About Dechurching in America”, The Keller Center, Sept. 5th, 2023, www.thegospelcoalition.org.
6. Ibid…
7. Jonathan Chang and Chakrabartic Meghna, On Point, Jan. 24th, 2024, www.wbur.org.
