Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

It's good these CoC's are closing. Islam is growing and we could buy their buildings and turn them into mosques.

I believe it was on the old board once when we had a discussion about the churches we grew up in and how they were all much smaller now than they were then. I know the church I grew up in had about 120-130 on an average Sunday (and we were the big congregation in the area) but talking to my family now they struggle to even get 100 anymore. That's not a huge difference, but last time I was there it was the same old couples with a few young families. The average age I would say is well over 50. Then there was the church I briefly attended in college. They did good to get 60 people in the door on a Sunday morning and about 40 of those people were over 65. It seems most CoC congregations are getting smaller and older every year. I even know of congregations that have only 10 people, but they refuse to merge with another local CoC because "they don't believe what we believe". It's no wonder these churches are closing. Not only is attendance dropping constantly and the members dying off, but no two CoCs can even agree on the petty little things enough to join and make a bigger church and work together to try to attract new younger members.

I am not overly optimistic that the COC will die out completely, nor do I believe that the hardcore brand of the denomination will cease to exist. I do believe it's going to diminish greatly, but as is often the case, this often adds fuel to the fire of the hardliners and makes them double down on their doctrines. There are always people out there who are looking to enslave and punish others by saddling them with legalism and religion. And, I imagine, the pendulum will one day swing toward the other end with a resurgence of conservatism.

I sort of base this on what I saw in the Disciples of Christ. Despite their claims of progressive theology and "unity above doctrine," there is a very forceful faction in that denomination that is pushing toward extreme conservatism and hardline behavior. I am almost convinced that some of these people joined the DoC as "missionaries" after a manner, to try to get the denomination back on what they consider the straight and narrow. The fact that the denomination as a whole declared itself "open and affirming" to LGBT people has fueled that fire to some degree.

I don't think we'll ever be lucky enough to be rid of the COC or fundamentalism.

B.H. wrote:It's good these CoC's are closing. Islam is growing and we could buy their buildings and turn them into mosques.

BH, that's a great idea. You should start snapping up some of these clapboard and brick, windowless boxes as an investment.

The CofC won't completely die out, but many will dwindle to few members or just shutter up like the church in the article. The graying of the CofC is a reality, and many just aren't adding new members or having sufficient children who will stay in the fold.

GuitarHero, there is a resurgent hardliner response in some denominations, but I don't believe it will radically affect their longterm prospects - they will continue to be fringe in number and message. I do worry about those poor children resigned to growing up in those environs, though....there may be relatively fewer of them, but they'll still be suffering.

And as far as Mormonism, that's a different subject...but that church is losing lots of members, for sure. Their strong missionary and discipling focus helps stanch the flow, but make no mistake, there are lots of people walking out their doors. I was talking to a friend who is in the local LDS branch, and he candidly admitted that they lose about as many as they gain, and aren't actually growing, at least not in this area, but are roughly holding steady to their membership numbers. He said that their leaders are quite concerned about the next 30 or so years for the LDS church, and there is a great focus on recruiting overseas right now. The CofC never grew like the Mormons did, despite all the talk about the CofC being the fastest growing church in the '50s and '60s.

One reason the Mormon church may not appear to be shrinking while it actually is is because to no longer be considered a Mormon you must go through an official rigamarole to get taken off the membership. It's not just a matter of not attending. For many people it is too much trouble, so even if they are not attending and no longer believe, they are still counted as Mormons. The Internet is a big factor in the exodus, just as in other religions.

GuitarHero wrote:I am not overly optimistic that the COC will die out completely, nor do I believe that the hardcore brand of the denomination will cease to exist. I do believe it's going to diminish greatly, but as is often the case, this often adds fuel to the fire of the hardliners and makes them double down on their doctrines. There are always people out there who are looking to enslave and punish others by saddling them with legalism and religion. And, I imagine, the pendulum will one day swing toward the other end with a resurgence of conservatism.

I sort of base this on what I saw in the Disciples of Christ. Despite their claims of progressive theology and "unity above doctrine," there is a very forceful faction in that denomination that is pushing toward extreme conservatism and hardline behavior. I am almost convinced that some of these people joined the DoC as "missionaries" after a manner, to try to get the denomination back on what they consider the straight and narrow. The fact that the denomination as a whole declared itself "open and affirming" to LGBT people has fueled that fire to some degree.

I don't think we'll ever be lucky enough to be rid of the COC or fundamentalism.

Spot on. I have been hearing about the cOC being "gone" within a "few years" for just about all of my life, and nothing even remotely close to that has happened. Sure, you will always have a handful here and there to close up shop, but that's about it. I can certainly understand wanting to see it wither and die, but at the end of the day, that is simply wishful thinking.

margin overa wrote:The CofC never grew like the Mormons did, despite all the talk about the CofC being the fastest growing church in the '50s and '60s.

I think it's funny how the COC is all, "we're not a denomination" until some inter-denominational comparison arises that makes the COC look good. Then they're not only a denomination, they're the best denomination!

Lev

Lev wrote:

margin overa wrote:The CofC never grew like the Mormons did, despite all the talk about the CofC being the fastest growing church in the '50s and '60s.

I think it's funny how the COC is all, "we're not a denomination" until some inter-denominational comparison arises that makes the COC look good. Then they're not only a denomination, they're the best denomination!

Lev

If growing "The One Church Founded in A.D. 33®" was really about getting the message out and converting lost souls, the CofC could have gained something by looking at the Mormon model. Not that it would be a pleasant sight, but CofC expenditures and efforts pale in comparison.