Trending Down?

After his dramatic conversion, the apostle Paul saw His mission as developing and training those who were - and are - part of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 3, he writes this:
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord...

We are recipients of the presence of Christ in us, enabling us to know the Scriptures and to connect with God's wisdom - through Christ, the mystery throughout the ages has been revealed and we are called to, as verse 10 suggests, make it known.  We make it known through reliance on God and devotion to allowing His love to flow through us and His Word to guide our thinking and doing.  We are called to partner with the Savior to show the world who He is.

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The Church has been appointed to be the representatives of Jesus on this earth - we are called His body, and we are to function by the power and love of the Head. Ephesians 2 states:
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is weeks away, and if you are a Southern Baptist or follow trends within the SBC, you know that it has been a rather rocky ride from a national level. But, you also must remember that the Convention is a loose collection of local churches who are, by and large, attempting to serve the Lord, minister to their congregations, and reach their communities for Christ. What may or may not happen in Anaheim could have very little effect on the work of the local church.

But, there is a key issue that is affecting Southern Baptists, as well as other denominations - that is, the issue of drift.  In the SBC, you have primary and powerful voices that believe the denomination is heading in the right direction, that there is no drift; you have others who want to, as the hashtag suggests, #ChangeTheDirection.  I think that, generally speaking, the Church as a whole has to constantly be on guard against drifting from the teachings of Scripture - no one person or entity is immune from the strategy of the enemy to take out the Church and defeat the undefeatable Christ.

Each year, going into the annual convention, the Southern Baptist Convention releases its Annual Church Profile.  And, the results of this year's release, consisting of 2021 statistics and influenced by the COVID pandemic, are, well, mixed.  Around 7 out of 10 Southern Baptist churches report to the ACP.

Grabbing the headlines at Baptist Press were two areas of increase: baptisms and giving.  An article on the website said:

Southern Baptist congregations baptized 154,701 in 2021, a 26 percent increase from 123,160 reported in 2020, according to the Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions. Although baptisms are not back to pre-COVID levels, Southern Baptist leaders rejoice that numbers are moving in the right direction.

But, Religion News noted that the level of baptisms was significantly down from 2019, with over 235,000 baptisms.  

Overall giving increased $304 million. Later in the article, you read this:

Total church receipts, undesignated receipts, total mission expenditures and Great Commission Giving all increased in 2021. Total church receipts reported through the ACP increased 2.6 percent to $11.8 billion. Undesignated church receipts increased 2.6 percent to nearly $9.8 billion.

Congregations reported total mission expenditures of $1.1 billion and Great Commission Giving of $516 million.

One of the discouraging signs that the Baptist Press article reported: Overall membership declined 3% from 2020 to 2021, with the overall membership standing at just under 13.7 million.  In checking last year's ACP, I saw that membership in 2019 stood at 14.5 million. Religion News stated that "membership is continuing its decline of many years."

Also, attendance was down 18.75% and small group attendance, including Sunday School and Bible study, was off 21.15 percent. 

It's certainly been a challenge to rebuild the culture of local churches in light of the COVID pandemic. These statistics certainly are influenced by that reality.  Certainly the denomination has its issues: there are concerns over allegations of denominational leaders mishandling complaints of sexual abuse; you have those who would contend that it is a matter for local churches and law enforcement to deal with - a report by the Sexual Abuse Task Force, appointed by the outgoing SBC President, is due out this weekend.  

There are those who believe that the denomination is accepting progressive ideas - a press release from the Conservative Baptist Network earlier this year stated:

Individuals of the Network’s founding Steering Council noted in 2020 increasing concern among Baptists in the pew with what many have described as a progressive direction of the Southern Baptist Convention, citing more specifically a departure from long-held Baptist distinctives, capitulation to culture, and a functional embrace of worldly ideologies and practices.

So, messengers from thousands of Southern Baptist churches will convene in Anaheim next month, with the intent on electing leadership and setting policies for the years to come. Another contentious election for President of the SBC has already emerged - some might say the position is merely titular, but when you consider the Convention President has the responsibility to appoint leadership roles and committee positions, you see that position is important.

But, all in all, you have to remember the action is at the local church level.  And, each church has to make sure that it is holding to Biblical ideas, promoting the practice of holiness, creating a culture of community, and deploying into the areas it is called to serve.  A denomination can set a course, but the local churches predominantly carry out the mission. We can make sure that we are following Christ's mission and devoted to growing in Him and rejecting drift, which is certainly a human tendency if we are not staying grounded in Scripture.