SBC Baptizes Almost No Millennials

[JM]

Divine pruning has begun.

Quote:

The report identifies five problems behind the baptism drought:

Spiritual: "Many of our SBC pastors and churches are not effectively engaged in sharing the gospel and yet continue business as usual. We need a sense of brokenness and repentance over the spiritual climate of our churches and our nation."

Leadership: "Many pastors have confessed to being overwhelmed in the operation and ministries of the church to the neglect of being involved in regular personal evangelism. This lack of leading by example is negatively impacting our church members' engagement in personal evangelism."

Discipleship: "Many pastors have confessed to focusing on attendance while giving little attention to reproducing fruit-bearing disciples who are involved in intentional evangelism."

The Next Generation: "Although our churches have increasingly provided programs for children, students and young adults, we are not being effective in winning and discipling the next generation to follow Christ."

Celebration: "Many of our churches have chosen to celebrate other things as a measure of their success rather than new believers following Christ in baptism. We have drifted into a loss of expectation."

Source

An Elder lead congregation is biblical and would help with these issues.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

 

[Albion]

A serious question for you, JM, or any other reader--

The report and its five points read like there's no thought that theological liberalism has played any part in this downturn in both baptisms and membership. That makes it seem like the "fault" is put totally on how well the church is functioning but not at all on what it stands for.

The SBC, long famous for being a leader in conservative values, has been reported as having become more diverse lately (to put it politely). The convention is still generally thought to be among the more conservative church bodies in the USA, but I've also noticed with other denominations, including many that are further down the road towards change, that when the leader that's been counted on to hold the line is no longer doing that...the result seems to be that it's hit harder by withdrawals than some of those that are known already to have become more liberal. Count it as a reaction to the feeling of having been betrayed, I guess.

Anyway, is there anything about the recent downturn in baptisms and membership totals in the SBC that relates to this ^ idea that I've been wondering about??

 

[JM]

I believe it is due to a stream of Liberalism, this same Liberalism has caused a resurgence in conservative Reformed theology as you probably already know, but Liberalism is there in the SBC. The Standards are pretty much ignored. J. D. Hall is annoying but he is often correct in his criticisms of the SBC.

Come Lord Jesus!

jm
PS: I would rather go to a conservative Anglican or Lutheran church than a Liberal one of any stripe.
PPS: Check out Just & Sinner Podcast. It's not bad.

 

[Albion]

I believe it is due to a stream of Liberalism, this same Liberalism has caused a resurgence in conservative Reformed theology as you probably already know, but Liberalism is there in the SBC.

My suspicions are confirmed then, at least as you see the matter. Thank you for the reply.

If this is correct, I'd expect that other Baptist conventions would have gained in the last few years, taking in those leaving the SBC. Is there any evidence that this is the case?

 

[JM]

Liberalism, I've learned from my reading, doesn't lead to grow but is adopted to retain unbelievers. It is a concession of the faith to the world. If there is such a growth in Liberal conventions I doubt it would last very long.

 

[Albion]

Liberalism, I've learned from my reading, doesn't lead to grow but is adopted to retain unbelievers. It is a concession of the faith to the world. If there is such a growth in Liberal conventions I doubt it would last very long.

If you're responding to my comment above, I wasn't supposing that liberal Baptist bodies (like the American Baptists) have gained from the SBC's losses, but other, generally conservative, ones. That would be the pattern that held when The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the leading bodies in other denominations went more liberal.

 

[JM]

If you're responding to my comment above, I wasn't supposing that liberal Baptist bodies (like the American Baptists) have gained from the SBC's losses, but other, generally conservative, ones. That would be the pattern that held when The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the leading bodies in other denominations went more liberal.

Misunderstood.

The church I attend is very conservative, ex-fundie and we grew from 23 people 14 years ago to 200 plus. I believe you are correct.

j

 

[miamited]

Hi JM,

I agree with the points that the SBC gave for the drop in baptisms, but I doubt that they are the only reasons or that they are necessarily the largest single reason.

I think that much of it has to do with changing world views overall. Fifty, seventy-five years ago in the U.S. fellowship attendance was very, very strong. It was pretty much expected that 'good' families attended worship services somewhere. Now, of course that wasn't universal, but I believe there was a much greater expectation of families attending services.

Today, our culture is more ok with, and in many cases supportive, of people not giving any allowance for spiritual things. We've got more now to fill our Sunday mornings. Used to be that most stores were closed on Sunday mornings and what else was there to do. Granted all of this fellowship attendance doesn't necessarily correlate to more born again believers, but...

Hearing the message of the gospel is the first step in bringing others to understand and accept the mercy and grace that our God and Creator has shown us. Sadly, about the only place people hear that message is in worship services. This, of course, is not a blanket statement to apply to everyone, but I think that the percentages of those who don't attend services is way up since then and no matter how faithful pastors are to explain the gospel in services, if no one's there to hear it, it isn't going to have any effect.

So, if we add all these reasons up, it certainly wouldn't be any surprise that baptisms are down.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[mikedsjr]

I'm not a historian. But I have listened to an historian,Prof. Daniel Van Voorhis, state in the early 1800s the % of professing Christians in America was under 10%.

There are hi points and low points. The church should not be concerned about numbers as a barometer of spiritual health. I find that there is value in the concerns of the church but I believe millenials generation is just being more natural to their values than past generations who crowd into church like its a country club. The country club Christian is dying out. Thats it.


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[JM]

Millennials suffer from a secular, even done right pagan at times, worldview.

 

[Striver]

A lot of the dwindling numbers comes from a focus on church growth. Yes, it's a complete paradox but pick up many of the books published by the SBC publishing house (who publish many good books as well), and you'll see hand-washed corporate strategy or the latest and greatest business trends with verses thrown in. The President of that arm of the SBC, for example, sells mentoring services to pastors. All of this hollows out the meaning behind the pastorate and church. It comes perilously close to the money-changers in the temple episode.

Additionally, too many smaller churches are chasing after the model of larger churches and finding themselves unable to replicate the results-driven process due to economies of scale. That's not commentary on the theological correctness of megachurches, but just a reality of trying to be something you're not.

Of course, this fits hand-in-glove with the spiritis mundi in that the atomization and personal-freedom-first nature of our culture is pulling people away from the church either into a sort of paralysis of moralistic therapeutic deism or away from faith altogether. This alone would decrease baptisms and conversions as the culture is now growing much more hostile to the idea of Christianity, particularly any kind of organized or traditional religion.

Contra some commentary in the article, most SBC churches I know value baptism very highly, but they're unable to do the things to get people in the door outside of the usual new members from moves or grabbing their share of the revolving church door crowd.

 

[Albion]

Some good points there! And it makes sense. The rapid ascent of the SBC to being the largest Protestant church in the world may well have caused some of the problem. Too soon, too fast, hard to adjust, too many new possibilities and challenges. I certainly think this must have something to do with the recent losses.

 

[miamited]

Hi JM,

I've got a question for you and others here. I see a lot of folks posting that the SBC is the largest 'protestant' denomination. I've always believed that the protestant denominations came about during the protesting of some in the Catholic organization from which they then split into other denominations with a lot of the Catholic organization's foundations, but adopting some different core values of faith.

It has always been my understanding that the Baptist denomination was never a part of this separation as they were never part of the Catholic organization. Here's an article on the subject:

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's Corner/why_baptists_are_not_protestants.htm

I do understand that over the years since the reformation when the many protestant denominations sprang up, that a lot of folks have lost this understanding of the definition of 'protestant' denominations. So, my questions are:

Do baptists consider their denomination to be protestant?

If so, then what is the definition of 'protestant' today?

It seems to me that if the word protestant was coined from the act of protesting during the reformation, then maybe we should come up with another word to describe denominations that just aren't part of the Catholic organization.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[Albion]

Hi JM,

I've got a question for you and others here. I see a lot of folks posting that the SBC is the largest 'protestant' denomination. I've always believed that the protestant denominations came about during the protesting of some in the Catholic organization from which they then split into other denominations with a lot of the Catholic organization's foundations, but adopting some different core values of faith.

It has always been my understanding that the Baptist denomination was never a part of this separation as they were never part of the Catholic organization.

They came along slightly after the Lutherans, Reformed, and some others but during the same Reformation era. More to the point, they're classified as Protestants mainly because they agree with the cardinal themes of the Reformation -- Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, the priesthood of all believers, etc. -- no less than do the others.

If the word Protestant were to be applied only to the specific religious group that "protested," then only Lutherans would be Protestants.

 

[DawnStar]

Here is another view on the same subject.

http://religionnews.com/2015/06/16/make-southern-baptists-declining-numbers-commentary/

From the article
" The Assemblies of God, now the second-largest evangelical denomination in the U.S., has seen 25 straight years of growth, and its views are similar to the SBC’s. Likewise, nondenominational churches, most quite conservative, are exploding in numbers and membership. Meanwhile, the more liberal denominations are in a much steeper decline than the SBC."

".......no matter what happens to the SBC, Christ will build his church."

 

[Albion]

If I may, there are several obvious defects in that analysis. For one, the Assemblies of God have not experienced the meteoric growth that the SBC did a few years back. So, if there were a problem for the SBC in adjusting to such rapid growth, the AOG experience would not be parallel to it.

In addition, the AOG has nowhere near the number of members as the SBC does, even if the former is gaining and the latter has recently experienced some losses.

Third, Non-denominational churches are just that--churches. The comparison here is invalid because it pits one convention, the SBC, against thousands of separate "mini-denominations" that have in common only their independence from any denomination.

 

[DawnStar]

Third, Non-denominational churches are just that--churches. The comparison here is invalid because it pits one convention, the SBC, against thousands of separate "mini-denominations" that have in common only their independence from any denomination.

It is not invalid if you take into account the churches in the SBC that are losing members versus the conservative churches that are springing up and gaining members that want no part of the SBC.

 

[Albion]

It is not invalid if you take into account the churches in the SBC that are losing members versus the conservative churches that are springing up and gaining members that want no part of the SBC.

But this still is comparing one church body, the SBC, against thousands of others at once.

And then comes a generalization saying the SBC is (whatever), as compared to the alternative. Well, there isn't a single alternative in this comparison.

Some non-denoms may have blossomed in recent years while others no doubt have declined. And the reasons for each to have happened is not the same across the board. For one thing, non-denominational congregations don't all teach the same doctrines or worship in the same manner. And, of course, there is no overall administration whose decisions affect anything for all of them jointly.

This "comparision" is the religious version of comparing apples to oranges.

 

[-57]

Divine pruning has begun.

Quote:

The report identifies five problems behind the baptism drought:

Spiritual: "Many of our SBC pastors and churches are not effectively engaged in sharing the gospel and yet continue business as usual. We need a sense of brokenness and repentance over the spiritual climate of our churches and our nation."

Leadership: "Many pastors have confessed to being overwhelmed in the operation and ministries of the church to the neglect of being involved in regular personal evangelism. This lack of leading by example is negatively impacting our church members' engagement in personal evangelism."

Discipleship: "Many pastors have confessed to focusing on attendance while giving little attention to reproducing fruit-bearing disciples who are involved in intentional evangelism."

The Next Generation: "Although our churches have increasingly provided programs for children, students and young adults, we are not being effective in winning and discipling the next generation to follow Christ."

Celebration: "Many of our churches have chosen to celebrate other things as a measure of their success rather than new believers following Christ in baptism. We have drifted into a loss of expectation."

Source

An Elder lead congregation is biblical and would help with these issues.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Just throwing it out there....
The bible says God draws people "John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."

The bible also says you can't come to Christ unless God grants it John 6:65 "Then Jesus said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him."

.....Could God be quite now? If so could it be because of the reasons above or might it be an example of the end times?

 

[mikedsjr]

The idea of assuming a church, or denomination, is "blessed by God" due to the increase or decrease number of baptism shows people are concerned about numbers. You go to anyone of these conservative nondenominational churches and let me know if Scripture is truly taught. I quit going to SBC church which baptized a lot of people, even millenials. It was multi racial. But I couldn't stand the pastor talking about his trips for Jesus, allowing Muslims to pray in the church somewhere on days they invited Muslims to church(a ministry of the church to just love Muslims), we need more money to do the Lords work and the first verse being read maybe 15 minutes after sermon time started.


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