I love the Logo. But like all mainline churches in the US the Methodists seem to be in trouble. Loren Mead of the Alban Institute said that mainline churches were going to meltdown financially and he made the prediction back in the 90’s. It seems his prophecy is coming true. The Methodists see the writing on the wall and believe the church as it is presently constituted is incapable of continuing.
They are working on getting new members.
Some critics say the focus on growing membership at local churches goes too far. Thomas E. Frank, professor of religious leadership at Wake Forest University, said developing better Christians, not more churchgoers, should be the goal.
“I am concerned about a creeping theology that says what’s important is to get people into the church,” he said.
Dan Dick, Methodist blogger and former researcher for the Methodists’ Nashville-based General Board of Discipleship, agreed.
“If we don’t know what to do with the … people we already have, there’s no reason to believe that we’ll do any better with another million people,” he said.
At least that is an honest assessment. Scary, but honest. “We don’t know what to do with the people we have”…… There’s a theological paper in there somewhere.
