Mainline Decline, Part 3
January 19, 2007
From Dave Shiflett, Exodus: Why Americans Are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity:
"Most people go to church to get something they cannot get elsewhere. This consuming public--people who already believe, or who want their children to believe--go to church to learn about the mysterious Truth on which the Christian religion is built. They want the Good News, not the minister's political views or intellectual coaching. The latter creates sprawling vacancies in the pews. Indeed, those empty pews can be considered the earthly reward for abandoning heaven, traditionally understood" (p. xii).
"Most people go to church to get something they cannot get elsewhere. This consuming public--people who already believe, or who want their children to believe--go to church to learn about the mysterious Truth on which the Christian religion is built. They want the Good News, not the minister's political views or intellectual coaching. The latter creates sprawling vacancies in the pews. Indeed, those empty pews can be considered the earthly reward for abandoning heaven, traditionally understood" (p. xii).
