It is clear from all the research that the church is facing some major challenges. Our cultural anti-institutional bias militates against the success of churches. One can see that in the rise of people who say they believe but do not belong to a church. It is particularly apparent in the struggle that almost all denominations are having and the increasing trend in churches wanting to disavow their denominational affiliation. Churches advertising themselves as “community churches” are on the increase. As has been pointed out, all of this is taking place at a time when there is evidence of a strong spiritual hunger within our country and a rapid explosion of Christianity in some of the developing parts of the world.
Christianity is not dieing but the survival of viable church communities is under increasing pressure. The most recent revelations of sexual scandal in both Ireland and Germany will only serve to increase the disenchantment of many spiritual seekers. While such stories are a direct threat to the Catholic Church, one should not be naive about how it will affect the rest of us. Nor should one doubt that there are equally devastating stories hidden among the closets of most other denominations. There seems to be little correlation between the relatively liberal or conservative stance of a denomination and their ability to avoid sexual scandals.
At a time when the viability of our denominational and perhaps congregational shape of Christianity is being severely challenged, we need strong leaders to help us move among the mine fields. Yet there is also a strong resistance to real leadership in our society. I will speak more about this tomorrow.
