Good to see that the Record will be looking at the decline in mainline denominations. Since our denomination has failed to communicate and connect with baby boomers, their children and grandchildren, a thorough examination of the issue is overdue.
Every issue of the Record places emphasis on theology and doctrine and most sermons are built on the same framework. While the 21st Century audience has much greater knowledge, the postmodern mind is aware of the extent of human ignorance. People are skeptical of encompassing intellectual constructs.
Since the postmodern mind is not amenable to this avenue of approach, the gospel of Jesus gets hung on the scaffold of intellectual assent. The failure of this approach does not seem to have encouraged alternative avenues of communication, but a reactionary move toward fundamental evangelism.
The big question is not whether churches as institutions can meet the needs of individuals. Churches have already been moved out of their role as one of the key institutions in Western society. The future of Christianity will be in communities that practice a different way of life. The big question is whether churches can change from being corporate institutions into communities. Every institution has its orthodoxy and institutional men that give its spiel. Communities need encouragers and examples of practice.
