Yesterday my colleague Jeff Walton posted about the opening of Falls Church Anglican’s glorious new sanctuary outside Washington, DC. Their history is extraordinary. George Washington served on the parish vestry, and the original historic sanctuary dated to the 1760s. After the Episcopal Church elected its first openly homosexual bishop in 2003, igniting a schism, The Falls Church, one of that denomination’s larger congregations, quit to help form the new Anglican Church in North America, aligned with growing Anglicanism in the Global South.
After litigation, Falls Church Anglican lost its property and was forced into seven years of roaming, which included often meeting at a Catholic high school in Arlington, Virginia. Its new sanctuary, costing more than $20 million, has a very prominent place in Fairfax County, its steeple now looming over busy Route 50, a major commuter route. It’s also now closer to ethnically more diverse communities.
Despite litigation, losing its original historic property, and having no permanent base for much of the last 7 years, Falls Church Anglican has continued to thrive. As Jeff noted, it has more than 2000 members, and its new sanctuary seats up to 1,000. But more impressively, even after losing its property, it founded eight new congregations in the DC area and beyond, which now have collective membership of nearly 1500. The Episcopal congregation that retains Falls Church Anglican’s old original property cannot match this record. Of course, the Episcopal Church like all liberal Protestant denominations in America and around the world, is fast declining. It’s lost half its membership since the 1960s and 27% just since 2003.
A recent column featured this headline: “Is Political Activism Responsible for the Decline of the Episcopal Church?” It explained: “The Episcopal Church, and indeed most of the mainline Protestant denominations, have traded the wants and needs of their parishioners for alignment with the social and political views of what passes in this country for the intelligentsia.” There’s a lot of truth here. The social and political views of Mainline Protestant seminaries closely align with secular academia, and many if not most Mainline clergy parrot those views.
But the politics predominant among Mainline Protestant elites are not, I think, the utmost cause of their 55 year-long implosion, although the membership decline correlates with their increasing political radicalization in the 1960s. The politics in many cases became — if not a complete substitute — then at least a supplement to the Gospel’s call for salvation, repentance and transformation. Early in the 20th Century the Social Gospel, in its frenzy to reform society, shifted from soul saving to political utopianism. The Liberation Theology of the 1960s-1980s amplified this shift.
Theological Modernism, which minimized or denied Christianity’s supernatural aspects, is now mostly over. Liberal Protestantism is now comfortable with miracles and divine interventions. But soul winning still is not very large on its agenda. The LGBTQIA++ movement with which nearly all of liberal Protestantism now identifies is especially focused on affirmation rather than transformation. Under this rubric, church becomes a self-celebration. But the historic Gospel is ultimately about self-denial and following Christ to the cross.
Self-celebration with its wide and easy path superficially seems more appealing. But religions that demand little to nothing typically command few adherents and little energy. They make few converts. Why should they? Everybody is already wonderful! And everyone can self-celebrate at home, without need of church or other institutions. Growing religions, Christian or otherwise, intuit that all humanity realizes in some sense its spiritual quandary and is in search of redemption. Movements and organizations, religious or not, that are energetic and growing call for sacrifice in pursuit of a higher good. They don’t focus on self-celebration, which only leads to futility.
Growing churches like Falls Church Anglican understand their mission ultimately is to seek and save famished souls with the Gospel’s unique message of redemption in Jesus Christ. Much of the old Episcopal Church, at least in its national policies, and like the rest of USA Mainline Protestantism, is largely captive to self-celebration. For the churches that have historic liturgies, or hymnals, the old language about sin and salvation is still there. Doubtless many still hear it and believe it. But it’s not the dominant message. Governing conventions of liberal Protestant denominations don’t focus on calls to soul saving. They prefer, more banally and vaguely, to stress inclusivity, without fully explaining the inclusion’s ultimate purpose. Most of their seminaries are similar.
For much of liberal Protestantism, politics fills some of the vacuum left by vague theology. If the church is not about soul saving, then it can be about saving the environment, or expanding the welfare state, or reducing USA military spending. But contrary to the headline of the earlier mentioned column, I don’t think political advocacy is a major focus in typical Mainline Protestant congregations, or of itself a major cause for decline. Most clergy prefer to avoid needless controversy. The political stances of national denominations are mostly unmentioned in typical local Mainline congregations. But also mostly unmentioned is the imperative of winning souls to Christ. And without evangelism, churches stagnate, decline and die.
Churches in liberal denominations aren’t the only ones failing to evangelize and consequently declining. Plenty of conservative churches, while theoretically committed to spreading the faith, have become insular and evangelistically indifferent. Evangelism is not just about adopting a stance, it is commitment to action. Growing churches almost always act on this commitment. Falls Church Anglican, based on its steady growth, and confirmed by my personal observation in the community across decades, is dedicated to winning new people to Christ. Most of the old declining Episcopal Church that it left behind, and to which it lost its historic property, is not.
“…nearly all of liberal Protestantism now identifies is especially focused on affirmation rather than transformation. ”
EXACTLY!!!
the only way that those beng affirmed will see Heaven is if Christ transforms them from their sins
…And if critical thinking skills were being cultivated in our schools and communities, some of these things would be recognized more broadly…
Old advertising axiom: Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.
This is a great subject for discussion. Just what are the keys to a growing Christian community? What are the no nos? The Three Amigos seem as perplexed as myself concerning church direction and growth although George presides over an island of hope. Branding? Guitar music? Hugging? British accent? Common sense? Constant intrigue? Those that have it figured out need to come out west to the Soviet of Washington and show us how it’s done. Anglicanism has a tough time out here although there are mega churches, community churches, non-denominational churches, and Korean churches doing just fine.
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Soul Winning, Evangelism, getting out of the 4 walls of the church, Jesus said Go. Most Christians do not share their faith, they are nervous or scared or do not feel the need. The practice of Evangelism is being lost even in the Baptist circles. It is easier to hope they just come to church. Church members need to be taught how to share their faith, then they need to be given opportunities to share. They need to learn that God will give Divine appointments, opportunities to share Him, we need to keep our eyes open. And we need to be bold in sharing the truth of Christ with a lost and dying world. When Jesus says the fields are white for the harvest…it means it is ready to be brought in…people are ready to be brought to Jesus, we need to go get them!
The Falls Church story is an encouraging one for the many churches that have lost assets and found themselves trying to start fresh. I daresay most of the folks on this blog would concur that faithfulness to the tradition will be recognized by those seeking authentic Christianity, and will also be blessed by God.
And yet… there are many churches where faithfulness has not produced measurable results…
“As the reading of [sick list] names went on, and on, and ON, it began to strike me as “bad optics” – there were more names on the list than there were in the pews…”
– from http://contemplativegardener.com/the-sick-list/
I can recognize this scenario and I’m not sure it represents a judgement. I think sometimes that “real growth” is something that happens in hearts, minds, and lives.
These two extracts pretty much cover it. They explain why, in Mainline Churches, many traditions remain–at face value they seem more conservative than the rock bands and blue jeans of their Evangelical counterparts. It is more based on a veneration for customs and (dare I say it) a tacit love of pageantry–the music really is wonderful–but the message is often blander than a communion wafer. Some Episcopal churches–usually the most leftwing–are overtly political. The others are moderate but they haven’t replaced evangelism, personal accountability and saving souls with anything else of great substance. Thus, most of their homilies are pleasant but completely unmemorable. And since nothing is at stake for the congregants, it’s no big deal if they show up every other weekend, or once a month, or twice a year. And thus the decline continues unabated.