The Way it Looks from Here

An e-letter from Bishop Rogness sent June 18, 2010 to partners in ministry. The letter addresses three areas of comment connecting with several recent topics of conversation including comments about the synod assembly, a review of mission support, and the recent Pioneer Press article about King of Kings Lutheran Church. More>

The fastest-growing religious group is...

From FaithLink, May2010
The polls are in and the answer is clear. According to both Pew Research and Gallup polling, the fastest-growing religious group in the United States is—drum-roll, please— unaffiliated! Pew says that about half of adults report they have left the tradition of their upbringing for either a different tradition or none at all.

Fast forward to our own church life. I want to comment on two strands of conversation that I hear again and again. Putting the two together could position us well to challenge the trends about which the polls warn us.

Conversation Stream #1: Various renditions of “we need our church to grow.” Lutherans, like most religious groups, are losing members. The ELCA was formed 22 years ago with 5.2 million members; we now have about 4.6 million members. Some other denominations have slipped more rapidly.

Conversation stream #2: “We visited a number of churches but never got to know anyone.” This stream stands in stark contrast to what most congregations believe about themselves, that is “We’re a really friendly church.” I’m glad folks see their church as a friendly place, but I worry that those instances of people making connections and being drawn into the life of a congregation are outnumbered by the people who will visit but not become engaged.

I’ve become convinced that we could reverse our membership trends by simply becoming communities that intentionally engage the stranger. I don’t even mean the immigrant or those racially/ethnically different, though I include them as well. I think we have great room for improvement in how hospitable to those who simply slip in, unnoticed, and, too often, slip out unnoticed. We need to notice.

A colleague bishop told me of his daughter who moved to town, visited some churches here, and said she’d probably join one where the pastor showed some interest in getting to know her and her fiancé. (I was alarmed by his account of her visits where that wasn’t the case!) I’ve stood at the door greeting departing parishioners and watched pastors make sure they had contact information for a visitor in order to follow up. I’ve known a congregation whose pastor instructed the congregation to do a “two-minute drill” following the dismissal: for the first two minutes, they could not talk to anyone they knew-–they were to find someone they didn’t know and ask, “Have we met?”

Back to the polls. Research also tells us that young people in particular are full of spiritual questions and driven to use their lives for service, but are not finding an outlet for these things in religious institutions. I think we have great spiritual substance and wonderful service ministries. We simply need to engage, to make connections, and to build relationships. Bulletin announcements won’t do it. Noticing people and showing interest will.