The FaithX Project

Inventing the Future of Faith-Based Communities and Organizations

Correlation is Not Causation: Why Theology is Not What Makes Churches Grow

Part 3 of the series “The Dis-Integration of the Church” – click here for part 1, click here for part 2
Table of Contents

 

In the first post of this series, “Religious Homophily: A Theory of Conservative Church Fragmentation,” I presented sociological and psychological support for the notion that “conservative” Christian churches (principally, those whose congregations adhere to exclusive theological beliefs) fragment and divide because factions within the congregation eventually split over biblical interpretations. The research into conservative fragmentation was in response to Ken Howard’s article, “The Religion Singularity: A Demographic Crisis Destabilizing and Transforming Institutional Christianity,” which demonstrates that church splitting is on a significant rise, even to the point of outpacing the growth of Christianity itself.[1] In the second post of the series, “Status of the Liberal Church: Fragmentation or Dissipation?,” I explained that “liberal” Christianity suffers more from congregational dissipation than fragmentation. In other words, dwindling memberships occur more frequently in liberalism than actual church splits. Those who leave mainline Protestantism either transfer into an unaffiliated status or into evangelical churches.[2] In this article, I will seek to answer whether theological conservatism and strictness play a vital role in denominational switching, as well as what factors cause churches to grow numerically. In the end, the idea that liberal theologies cause a deterioration in mainline Protestantism, while conservative theologies produce growth, is an oversimplification of the relevant factors that account for congregational development. Though theological conservatism tends to correlate with numerical expansion, it does not do so consistently and in all cases. Nonetheless, correlation does not equate to causation. Conservatism and strictness are merely two among a myriad of other influences that are present among growing churches, including (most notably) higher birth rates, higher youth retention, and a focus on evangelistic efforts.

[Read more…]

A Paradoxy Post-Election Conflict Transformation Journal – Post #1

By Ken Howard

That the recent presidential election turned the existing political and social divide in the United States into a gaping chasm is news to no one. And it should also come as no surprise that this chasm of division has extended to conservative and liberal Christian denominations. Yet what is not as widely known is how badly the election has divided individual congregations. But a growing number of church leaders are realizing that these divisions are deep and dangerous, and are seeking ways to break down the walls of pain, anger, and distrust before it results in schism.

In that regard, several dozens of churches across the country have taken me up on my post-election offer to provide a free 10-pack of my book, Paradoxy: Creating Christian Community Beyond Us and Them, to use as the basis of conflict transformation dialogue. One of those congregations is St. Philip the Apostle Church in Scotts Valley, California, a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, where a team composed of two priests, Mary Blessing and Lucretia Mann, and a lay leader, Tina Grubbe (pronounced “Groob”), are facilitating a Paradoxy Conflict Transformation group. Members of the team have agreed to keep journals on the sessions, the content of which I will summarize (anonymously) in this and future blog entries.

[Read more…]

Groundbreaking Research Article Published – “The Religion Singularity”

Click on image to download PDF copy

By Ken Howard

I am pleased and excited to announce the publication of my peer-reviewed article, “The Religion Singularity,” in the International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society. The full title of the article is “The Religion Singularity: A Demographic Crisis Destabilizing and Transforming Institutional Christianity.” In this article, I trace the emergence and impact of a worldwide church demographic crisis that has recently entered a critical stage, but has been developing without attention for more than a century. Click here to download a pdf copy of the article or click here to purchase a bound copy.

The crux of the crisis I describe in the article is this. For nineteen centuries, Christianity experienced strong and steady growth in the total numbers of Christians, worship centers, and denominations worldwide. Since then growth in the number of Christians has continued largely unchanged. But growth in the number of denominations and worship centers, mostly due to fragmentation and schism, turned sharply upward in recent decades, substantially exceeding the growth rate of the total Christian population.

This in turn will send attendance and membership numbers in every denomination into a freefall that will soon make denominations and churches unsustainable in their current institutional forms. Denominations are unlikely to survive in any form. Churches on the other hand, given their smaller size and more organic structure, worship centers may be more likely to survive the religion singularity than their larger counterparts, but only if they are willing to become vision-guided and experimental. Stated plainly, we are witnessing the death of institutional Christianity as we know it, and we have already passed the point of no return.

In the paper, I suggest that this presents us with a window of opportunity. We can choose to view the impending death of our longstanding institutional paradigms as an evil and try to fight it (…and fail). Or we can choose to view it as the work of the Holy Spirit, bringing about the death of the old Way, and join with the Spirit in welcoming the birth of the new Way. Our window of opportunity will not remain open long – perhaps ten years at most. Which means we need to get start getting ready now, preparing ourselves not only for the emerging paradigm but for the journey to get there.  The journey will not be easy. In the article, I compare it to taking a dangerous trip through a wormhole, and ending up in an entirely different place and time.

Future blog posts will explore the religion singularity in greater detail, as well as ways to both survive and thrive through the journey and beyond.

We hope you will join us in that conversation.

Paradoxy 10-Pack Giveaway Continues (200 copies so far)

by Ken Howard

The response to our Paradoxy Congregational Conflict Transformation 10-Pack Giveaway has been great. In the last 10 days 20 congregations from San Francisco to Washington DC have claimed free group discussion 10-packs along with facilitator guidelines and other downloadable resources. And they are putting them to use right now to move beyond the tension and conflict that has arisen in their congregations as a result of the recent presidential election.

click here to order a 10-pack for your congregation

Paradoxy: Creating Christian Community Beyond Us and Them was written for times like these. I wrote Paradoxy for faith leaders and congregations to demonstrate that UNITY does not require UNIFORMITY – that getting to US does not require a THEM.

It will help you with questions like: 

  • How do we counteract our current epidemic of out-of-control “othering”?
  • How do we engage issues of justice and truth without alienating without deepening the divisions between people who disagree
  • How do we maintain our sense of community without submerging our responsibility to seek justice and truth?

Paradoxy describes a radical middle way of honest, compassionate, and respectful dialogue between people who disagree, and shows congregations how to get there.

Paradoxy is designed for use for for small group study, conflict transformation dialogue, faith leader education, and more. Each chapter contains Biblical reflections and discussion questions.

Best of all, paperback copies of Paradoxy are available FREE (postage only) in two quantities:

  • Single copies – for individual reading.
  • Ten-packs – for group or congregational study and dialogue.

The Paradoxy 10-Pack for Group Study includes:

  • 10 free copies of Paradoxy for the cost of postage
  • Immediate free download of Paradoxy in PDF format
  • Immediate free download of Paradoxy Conflict Transformation Facilitators Guide in PDF format, with handouts for various applications
  • Free 30 minute introductory coaching session on putting Paradoxy to work in your congregation.

How to order:

  • Ten-Packs for Group Study: $0.00 + $10.00 postage [click here]
  • For groups larger than 10 order additional 10-packs at $10.00 ea).
  • Single copies: $0.00 + $6.65 postage [click here]

All non-Amazon versions include immediate FREE download of the Paradoxy Facilitation Guide for Conflict Transformation with handouts for various contexts.

Praise for Paradoxy

by Brian McLaren

Again this year, literally tons of new books will be published – shelves, libraries, trucks, dumpsters full – and most among them won’t carry a fraction of the substance this book holds. A bunch of them will become big sellers too, even though they don’t hold a candle – in terms of content or readability – to this one. There are many reasons for this paradox, including this: too many people want simple, easy, quick, and formulaic answers to the problems they face, and those books deliver what the customer wants:  information that is simple, easy, quick, and formulaic. But those readers will eventually discover that formulaic answers don’t serve. They don’t match the complexities and unpredictabilities of the real world like this book does.

That’s why I know you’re in for something better with this book.

Get the book recommended by
Brian McLaren, Len Sweet, and Phyllis Tickle

Paradoxy:
Creating Christian Community Beyond Us & Them

2nd edition, updated with new content
click here or on image to order from Amazon.com

Press Release: Open Letter to President-elect on Post-election Violence

Conflict resolution experts ask President-elect Trump and other government officials to take a stand to reduce post-election violence

Hundreds of post-election reports of vandalism, beatings and threats since the US election have prompted dozens of leading experts in conflict resolution to urge Donald Trump and government officials at all levels to take an urgent, public stand against post-election acts of discrimination, harassment and violence across the US with significant spillover into Canada.

In an open letter to Trump, members of Congress,State Governors and other officials sent today, dozens of conflict resolution academics and practitioners from across the US, Canada and other countries are asking Trump and other officials to “to use their leadership positions to ensure public understanding that no elected or appointed leaders will condone violence or discriminatory acts or speech.”

The letter advocates that government leaders make “urgent and firm public statements that emphasize the rule of law and the US Constitution, including the First Amendment that guarantees peoples’ rights to freedoms of religion, speech, the press and peaceful assembly.” The experts also seek concrete steps to prevent acts hatred and to foster mutual understanding, respect and civility within the USA.

For the full text of the letter, click here.

Signatories’ quotes:

Barbara Coloroso, internationally recognized speaker and best-selling author of The Bully, The Bullied, and The Not-So-innocent Bystander and Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide…and Why It Matters warned, “It is a short walk from hateful rhetoric to hate crimes to crimes against humanity. ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes,’ Mark Twain once said. We are on the precipice of a new stanza.” Contact Barbara Coloroso at info.kidsareworthit[at]gmail.com; phone (+1) 303-478-8253.

Dr. Michael Loadenthal, Executive Director, Peace and Justice Studies Association, stated: “As academics, activists, and educators committed to advancing peace and justice in our world, we are concerned that without an explicit, loud and recurring condemnation of recent hate crimes by the incoming administration, their silence will only encourage more acts of violent hatred.” Contact Michael Loadenthal at info[at]peacejusticestudies.org; phone (+1) 202-681-2057.

Dr. Julie Macfarlane, Distinguished University Professor and professor of law at the University of Windsor in Canada, and author of The New Lawyer: How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law commented: “It is not the unique insight of the conflict resolution community that there are profound fault lines of difference and privilege in American, and Canadian, society – differences of race, gender, ethnicity and even opinion. The election rhetoric and result, rightly or wrongly, has empowered those who exploit these differences in a hateful and aggressive way. These acts must be called out, and we expect the state – in both Canada and the US – to act to protect us all from harassment, threats and abuse.” Contact Julie Macfarlane at Julie.Macfarlane[at]uwindsor.ca: phone (+1) 519-733-3327.

The Rev. Ken Howard, Executive Director of The FaithX Project and author of Paradoxy: Beyond Us and Them said: “This election has presented us with a crisis containing both danger and opportunity: we can go further down the dangerous path of destructive, us/them, friend/enemy, left/right divisions, or we can seize this time as an opportunity to seek the radical middle path of transcending our differences by treating all our neighbors as we would like to be treated. I vote for the latter.” Contact Ken Howard at ken@faithx.net; phone (+1). 301-704-3290.

Professor Kevin Clements, Foundation Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand “urges the incoming administration to do all in its power to put an end to the divisive environment in which we are seeing racism, intolerance and challenges to taken-for-granted constitutional rights. The consequences are global. Here in New Zealand, which prides itself on harmonious race relations, new groups have emerged since the election that are stirring up hatred against indigenous peoples and Asian migrants to New Zealand. For the sake of American and global harmony, all leaders in the US must now work to put a stop to rhetoric that fuels prejudice and discrimination.” Contact Kevin Clements at kevin.clements[at]otago.ac.nz or phone (+64) 3 4794546, DDI (+64) 3 4799468, mobile (+64) (0) 212471103 or Skype kevinpclements.

For more information, contact:
Catherine Morris, Director, Peacemakers Trust, Canada, office[at]peacemakers.ca; (+1) 250-477-0129.
www.peacemakers.ca

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