You have probably been reading about yet another study documenting the decline of the  church in America from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Here is a portion of Brian McLaren’s comments on the findings on the study from the Emergent Village Weblog.

Brian McLaren has weighed in on the new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which details “the religious affiliation of the American public and explores the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape.”

Writing on the God’s Politics blog today, McLaren says, “Data is accumulating that business/ministry as usual is not a great strategy for most U.S. denominations and nondenominations. The new Pew study highlights the fluidity of commitment among the American people of faith, and it raises important questions for church leaders in at least three areas.”

The three areas McLaren outlines are:

* If congregations and denominations are not connecting with people’s questions, needs, and desires — people are moving on.

* People are dropping out of church altogether.

* Old categories are blurring and old identities are diversifying and fragmenting.

McLaren suggests, “The new data could challenge leaders to ask, not simply, ‘What do the customers want?’ but, ‘What does God want?’ … and not just ‘What do members need from their church?’ but ‘What does the world need our churches to become, be, and do so that God’s will can be done on earth as it is in heaven?’”

Another interesting note: People not affiliated with any particular religion stand out for their relative youth compared with other religious traditions. Among the unaffiliated, 31% are under age 30 and 71% are under age 50. Comparable numbers for the overall adult population are 20% and 59%, respectively.

I just finished reading Unchristian a few days ago and have to say that the findings there or in this study are not news to me… and they are probably not news to you either. The questions are, What does it mean? and What are we doing about it? Those seem like fair and basic questions. Let’s see…

Don’t try harder. The old ways of doing church are neither sacred nor effective. Don’t beat the horse. He’s dead, Jim!

Don’t get cute. The time for tweaking is past. Appealing to felt needs, jazzing up the music, moving in some candles and couches are all gimmicks and the age of gimmickry is past.

Find out what people are thinking. It’s time to get in touch with our missionary context. The Pew Study and Unchristian are good starting points. Engaging people in the community and those under age 35 by asking their honest opinion is a good next step.

Search your soul. Are you willing to let only the teaching of scripture and the people in your community set you on a wild and crazy re-imagining of what your church needs to be? If not, quit playing games.

Loosen your grip. Taking this approach will cause problems. You will likely become suspect in the eyes of your denominational officials and loose any sense of credibility or prestige you had with them. Also, it will change the focus and the activity of the staff and volunteers. It could even render some of them unnecessary. Ouch! It has to be about Jesus and the Kingdom, not us and our church!

Go and show. We church types have been doing the “come and hear” routine for ages. It won’t work anymore! We must go to where needs exist and be a beautiful, active demonstration of the Gospel. It’s time to move to a”go and show” modus operandi.

Hold on. Nobody knows how all of these changes will affect the church. Nobody knows what the church of tomorrow will look like beyond a few generalities. People are clambering for something that is real and relational which reminds me of what I read about the church in the pages of scripture.

What do you think about the study and my rather curt comments?