THE CHURCH MODEL IS DYING . . . AND THRIVING . . .AND MAYBE BESIDE THE POINT

NOTE: I am offering an online Spiral Dynamics™ Workshop in June – Information and Registration at the (LINK)

 

In my multi-part series “Is the Church Model Going Away?” (LINK), I explored a number of factors, both micro and macro in nature, that are impacting the Sunday gathering style of spiritual community.

On the one hand, macro trends which include cultural evolutionary factors*, technological changes, and changes in family dynamics have led both to fewer people being available on any given Sunday morning and to a relaxation of the social system that encouraged some form of worship attendance. What this means is that the overall trend is down in terms of Sunday attendance (which is also true in New Thought). (LINK)

While these larger trends are clear in terms of the resulting decrease in overall worship attendance, the experience across denominations, demographic groups, and geography varies. Urban centers have a different experience than suburban or rural areas; younger people different from older; New Thought different from Islam.

Since writing that series, I have traveled quite a bit in the United States and attended and spoken at a number of Centers for Spiritual Living Centers. I have done this in California, Oregon, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia in the past six months – at 14 centers. While anecdotal evidence is not always reflective of overall experience, I can share what I have observed.

Almost everywhere I have been, attendance is down over the past five years, in some cases significantly. I have been at only two centers where attendance is steady or up over that period. There have been a number of factors present:

Some of those centers are without ministers, and that certainly has to be taken into account. Frequently, centers without ministers struggle to offer a compensation package that will represent at least a living wage for their area; some struggle to pay for candidates to come to their centers and speak so that congregants can vote.

A few centers have a significant degree of internal strife of one kind or another. These range from insufficient income to open hostility within the leadership. Such factors are not as uncommon as you might think. My observations are that in some centers there either a lack of leadership skills or an insufficient amount of emotional and spiritual intelligence among the leadership, or both.

Those that are sustaining or thriving tend to be more traditional in their approach to “doing church.” This does not mean that their attendance is not declining – but it is declining more slowly and there is a presence of strong support from a core group of members who donate generously.

A challenging thing about how these macro and micro trends are expressing is that there are so many factors at work that it is often difficult to identify which factors are playing a role in any given situation. And while there is really nothing that can be done to alter the macro trends affecting worship attendance, there is much to be done in the area of the micro trends – that is, the things going on at the local level that are keeping a community from thriving.

Which ties in to the more recent series on “Creating the Beloved Community” (LINK). This concept speaks to the essential nature of spiritual community – the healthy and loving pursuit of the consciousness of compassion and mutual expression of love necessary to manifest The Beloved Community. I believe that regardless of the form that a spiritual community takes, the creation of The Beloved Community is its reason for being. And I believe that The Beloved Community can be created regardless of the form that a spiritual community takes. Although the macro dynamics affecting the church model are important, they are essentially beside the point in terms of living the true essence of spiritual community.

For New Thought communities, vitality and vibrancy, compassion and connection, success and thriving, depend on the dedication and focus of those in leadership to inspire themselves and others to really learn and practice the principles of their philosophy. That means that Unity communities learn and practice the principles of Unity; that Divine Science communities learn and practice the principles of Divine Science; that Centers for Spiritual Living communities learn and practice The Science of Mind.

The foundation of any spiritual community is the philosophy/theology/principles of its teaching – how they are taught and practiced. This is always the first place to look when an individual or community is in struggle. I am frequently told that the principles of the Science of Mind are not evident in the business of the center and the actions of leadership. When you think about it, when we are not thriving, is there anything else that it could be?

Well, yes, actually, there is. And I will cover that in my next post.

 

*I am offering an online Spiral Dynamics™ Workshop in June – Information and Registration at the (LINK)