For better or worse: What is the biggest shift/trend that you have seen in your church in the last 10 years?

survey sez!

Reader's responses to The Big Question.

April 7 , 2008

The Question: For better or worse: What is the biggest shift/trend that you have seen in your church in the last 10 years?

The Answer: “Better: an awareness of the social aspect of the Gospel. Worse: That we're still 10 years behind in everything!”

The Answer: “Only a vision to survive. There is not vision to thrive. Everyone wants to be doing the ‘latest,’ but no one wants to analyze the problem and build a strategic solution. Is someone building a tower without counting the cost?”

The Answer: “To me it went from all the girls wearing ankle length skirts to wearing them to knee length or even shorter. It was always so seemingly ‘bad’ to wear that in my opinion, and now its just a normal everyday thing.”

The Answer: “Ten years ago our church was just healing from a major split that had taken place in which most of our faithful families left and began going to a Charismatic church. When I moved here five years ago, we started Bible quizzing and our youth group solidified itself. The trend in our church? Revival. And it has been like that for the last 2-3 years. We can't get enough of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.”

The Answer: “Kiddie cartoons and DVD players in the church van to keep the bussed kids from rioting on the way to and from church.”

The Answer: “I’ve seen a pruning; those who were unfruitful, were cut off, and those who had been fruitful were cut back. I’ve been subject to the pruning, but I see how good it was for me, my church, and my city.”

The Answer: “Though most would never step foot in a movie theater, a lot of our youth watch the same junk in their living rooms. That along with everything else that goes with it has caused a lot of compromise amongst our young people.”

The Answer: “For worse: a trend towards entertainment in services, replacing involvement by everybody in worship.”

The Answer: “Saturday night services... who would have thought?”

The Answer: “For the worse: extreme worldliness in clothing and behavior (songs, conversation, shallow walk with God) of so many, many people.”

The Answer: “Readings from other Bible versions, such as the New International Version. I suspect that preachers prefer these versions to avoid reading aloud from behind the pulpit English words, such as ‘ass’ or ‘cock’ that has a tad of vulgarity today. Perhaps the King James Version as the gold standard is losing its luster or importance.”

Not sure this is really a big deal, but I have noticed a shift from dressy to dressy casual. It seems that as our worship style relaxes so does our dress—or is it the other way around?”

The Answer: “Not my church, but the UPCI as a whole moving from a steadfast stance against rock music to embracing it. It's leading to a total decay in the culture of our youth. Not a lot of people believe me anymore, but the fact of the matter is that rock music was born in Satanic worship, and you can't make something unholy into something holy.”

ninetyandnine.com

----------