In a previous Outlook article, “Winded Thoroughbreds” (published Sept. 11, 2006), I wrote of a disturbing trend that emerged from our annual congregational statistics following the turn of the millennium. Many previously thriving churches began a serious downturn in membership and worship attendance, almost as if on cue. This article seeks to better understand the nature of this trend.

The recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reveals that most Christians do not conform to church doctrine as once assumed. It noted that 70% of American Christians, including 56% of evangelicals and 83% of mainline Christians, agreed with the idea that many paths lead to eternal life. The secular media have more than welcomed this report and lifted it up as the latest insight into Christianity furthering an unwelcomed and unhelpful stereotype, among evangelicals most especially.

After reading an article detailing how difficult it was for young people to find summer jobs I was reminded of just how instrumental my summer job of waiting tables was in preparing me for the pastorate. I gained humility from having to wear a hideous brown and green plaid shirt (this will happen when you look like a member of the Brady Bunch in the middle of the 90s).

When Graham Baird was approached about starting a new church development in Paso Robles, Calif., his response hardly required a second thought. “That’s the last thing I wanted to do,” recalls Baird. At the time he was an interim pastor in Red Bluff, Calif., after leaving a new church development in Texas that, in his words, was a complete failure. But, the request was a persistent one.

One of the first and most frequent statements Americans hear when conversation turns to religion is “I’m spiritual but not religious.”

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new survey by Baylor University researchers suggests that megachurches are more intimate, believers less gullible, and atheism less prevalent than popular stereotypes would suggest.

(RNS) A new survey shows that “unchurched” Americans may be worshipping more, and “churched” Americans worshipping less, than many people might think.

Copyright ©2008, by Merwyn S. Johnson. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Editor’s Note: This article is the first in a two-part series on the proposals to revise the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Order, Chapter 1, relating to the Form of Government (FOG) provisions. The author says, “Current/1983, PC(USA)  Form of Government (FOG) may not have caused our present polarizations and conflicts, but after 25 years it certainly has channeled and reinforced the worst dynamics at work among us now.

In a congregation getting started on a Church Wellness Project, teams are preparing to gather information from their fellow members. They will interview young adults, newcomers who joined, visitors who didn’t stay, former members, current and former leaders, and people engaged in various ministries, as well as staff.

Bill Maher is funnier than Pat Robertson. But he is every bit as dogmatic.

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a three-part series. Succeeding installments will appear in later issues of the Outlook The topics include: “Why Scripture divides us,” and “The priority of experience in moral debate.”

Of the seven factors that nurture health in a congregation, perhaps the hardest to embrace is “Listening Church.”