Church

It is my son-in-law Norman's Birthday today. It is also Epiphany- the end of the 12 day Christmas Season. It is the day which commemorates the visit of the  3 Magi to see the Holy Infant Jesus and give to him worship and gifts. 

The word epiphany means manifestation or "revelation", specifically the manifestation or appearing of Jesus to the Nations, symbolized in the 3 "Kings" of the Story. It is ideally a day to renew our commitment to worldwide missions.

One of the more provocative reports on the future of world religion, 2010-2050, was recently released by the Pew Forum. Six years in the making, and encompassing data from 234 countries and territories, it is a landmark piece of research.

Based largely on population growth projections, it revealed how rapidly the religious profile of the world is changing. The précis of the report is nearly twenty pages in length, the full report much longer (245 pages), so here are a few headlines:

*The rumors of religion's death have been exaggerated. Almost every major world religion (except Buddhism) will rise in numbers.

 *The fastest growing world religion will be Islam.

*Despite Islam's growth, Christianity will still be the world's largest faith by 2050, but only barely. However, by 2070-2100, Islam will gain the numerical edge.

*Islam and Christianity, combined, will represent 6 out of every 10 human beings on the planet.

*In the United States, Christianity will retain its majority but decline, and Muslims will grow to surpass Jews as the second largest non-Christian American religion.

*The "rise of the nones" will continue in the West, but not on the wider global front, where the lack of religious affiliation will actually decline.

There is much more that could be reported – fewer countries will have Christian majorities, the explosion of Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa – but the gist of the report is clear.  The race for the world's soul is between the cross and the crescent.

http://www.churchandculture.org/blog.asp?id=9120

A brief overview of the the missio dei movement and its tragic downfall and lessons for today's "missional" churches and Christians to learn

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/march/3-historical-streams-of-missional-church-stream-part-3-miss.html?

The Landscape Survey confirms that the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country; the number of Americans who report that they are members of Protestant denominations now stands at barely 51%. Moreover, the Protestant population is characterized by significant internal diversity and fragmentation, encompassing hundreds of different denominations loosely grouped around three fairly distinct religious traditions - evangelical Protestant churches (26.3% of the overall adult population), mainline Protestant churches (18.1%) and historically black Protestant churches (6.9%).

26.3% of adult Americans belong to Evangelical churches today.  When I was born 76 years ago most Americans were Protestant and most of them were Evangelicals. 

http://religions.pewforum.org/reports#

Since 1990, the percentage of unchurched adults in America has risen from 30% to 43% of the population. Even as this segment has grown, has their profile changed?

With the aid of more than two decades of tracking research—a sort of cultural time-lapse photography—Barna Group has discovered real and significant shifts in unchurched attitudes, assumptions, allegiances and behaviors. We’ve identified five trends in our research that are contributing to this increase in the churchless of America.

https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/685-five-trends-among-the-unchurched#.VEaOTxY4KHH

Here are 25 Myths about Christianity and the Church

http://www.churchandculture.org/blog.asp?id=5489

http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2013/09/syria-in-flames-is-this-how-to-defend-our-faith.php

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/september/counting-cost-accurately.html?utm_source=ctdirect-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=11430839&utm_content=202094450&utm_campaign=2013

Which City has the most Christians?  Which has the least?  Check out the latest fascinating Surveys of Believers, Churches, Unbelievers and non-church goers (including their politics) in all the States and Regions of the Country

http://cities.barna.org/the-most-post-christian-cities-in-america/

I have just posted a NEW Essay on my website.  It concerns the problem of youth dropping out of the local church and offers an approach that considers the characteristics of The Generations.

I have also posted links to 4 other helpful web articles on the subject 

http://www.reformedliving.org/