Saturday, August 16, 1997

Mainline denominations face continued exodus of members

By TOM SCHAEFER / Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Statistics don't tell the whole story, but they point to an ominous the me:

Since 1965, eight of the major Protestant denominations have lost, on the average, 21 percent of their members.

That's one of every five church- goers out the door.

Some denominations must find the numbers more disturbing than others: 51 percent have left the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the past three decades, compared with 3.3 percent of those in the American Baptist Church.

Nonetheless, the direction for all - those two, plus Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, United Church of Christ and United Methodist - is not toward the plus side of the membership ledger.

When you look at the graying members in many of these churches, you sometimes want to shout: Will the last one to leave please snuff out the candles?

No wonder a big push is under way to bring several of these groups together.

Already this year, four major denominations - Presbyterian, Reformed, United Church of Christ and Episcopal - have approved pacts that would allow members to share Holy Communion and to permit ministers from one denomination to serve in the others.

Sometime this week or next, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, meeting in convention in Philadelphia, will decide whether it will join the others and vote for change.

Regardless of which way the Lutherans vote, some things will remain unchanged. Despite all the cries of unity among the mainline denominations, membership losses in most of the groups will continue, or membership will be static at best. Financial support for local efforts will supersede denominational requests for more money. And theological experimentation will have seminaries and denomination-supported committees at odds with many folks in the pew. Like an offering plate passed at a church service, all three things are sure to happen.

It's not that the problems of mainline Protestantism aren't well-known. Church leaders, sociologists and religious observers of various stripes have sliced and diced them more often than a Vegomatic salesman shreds heads of cabbage at a state fair. They've learned, in part, that:

-Baby boomers who drifted away in the 1960s and 1970s have been searching for churches that put families first. And mainline churches haven't always made those programs a priority.

-Organizational structures of many denominations have been been top-heavy, with too many staffers and not enough money to keep the various programs going. And churchgoers have looked at such bloated organizations as they view the federal government, with suspicion and sometimes disdain.

-Leaders in denominations have listened more to those with political clout and less to those in the pew who may not always agree with the church's political leanings.

It's no wonder that mainline denominations are in decline.

Still, there are other signs that give rise to hope - and they're not coming from any ecclesiastical headquarters. Some of the signs include:

-Churches that have a balance of lively worship, caring fellowship and community activism find that people will flock to join them.

-Renewal efforts such as small groups of church members regularly meeting together to discover a deeper sense of spirituality often spark the faith of an entire congregation.

-Leadership that arises from the congregation, not from the clergy or from organizational heads who often are disconnected from the body of believers, moves people forward in faith.

Those are a few signs of hope.

Despite recent decisions to seek a united front, mainline Protestantism faces major challenges. The fact is, divisions will remain. Churchgoers will be, at times, disenchanted with official policies. The flow of members out the doors rather than in will continue.

Whether these signs portend the death of denominationalism is unknown. No one can predict the outcome with certainty.

But one thing is clear: The survival of each congregation within mainline Protestantism will be determined in part by the decision each member ultimately makes - whether to light a candle and share the faith, or extinguish one more on the way out the door.

(Tom Schaefer writes about religion and ethics for the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle. Write to him at the Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201, or send e- mail to tschaefer(at)wichitaeagle.com )