I received this recently (Edited to remove identification) and have not yet responded. I'm interested to hear what others think. Many times have people shared with me why they don't "come to church". Some are completely reasonable ("I don't believe in God so why or who would I worship"), others... well... they were simply full of it (so they make stuff up feeling guilty while the priest stands in front of them). Not often though do people write their feelings down. The following is an extract from a reflection written by someone who attended a ... . "I went to Mass on Wed afternoon - which was a mistake - it was awful!!! And I spent half an hour crying afterwards. Another story for another time. ... ." So few humans in Australia in 2021 have any experience with, understanding of or practice of liturgical worship. Biblical and theological literacy in the broader community is zero. They are not going to "come to church" because there is no reason to do so. Regardless of the nature or expression of worship we might offer, they are not going to come to a service, to structured worship. That horse has long since bolted! The question now is: "if the mission and purpose of the church is to bring people into deeper union with God through Christ and traditional liturgical worship as a method of doing so is off the table, how might the church fulfill this mission and purpose?" Many Australians, especially younger ones, are not motivated even remotely by tradition or custom or institution or community - they are motivated by personal development, personal growth, personal peace. This is the heart of the "spiritual but not religious" movement. How do we respond? Is it even possible for us as a small local parish to respond? Do we seek to respond (missional church) or do we focus our remaining finite resources on those who come to us (maintenance church)? There are lots of different expressions of Christianity even in our local ... community. So do we have a role in that mix? If so, by doing what? These are some practical questions to ponder alongside the theological ones we have been discussing lately. Some food for thought...
I read some where and I agree with it, is , Christianities greatest enemy is indifference, not Atheists or Richard Dawkins. I also suspect Christianities decline is due to a lessening of going to church being seen as a sociable acceptable thing to do. Once a certain amount of people say " I don't want to go to church" other people are more inclined to join them. My view is also, 5% of people only enjoy reading Shakespear, 15% like classical music, 30% watch your favourite TV programme. I think the core number of people who want to go to church will settle down to 5~10% as seems to be the case here in NZ. To a lot of people Christianity seems irrelevant, God doesn't influence their lives. Miracles for example seem unbelievable, how did the sun stand still ( or the earth stop revolving). If God does do miracles he seems to have given up doing them in ways that seem meaningful to people in the last 2000 years. Ask the next person you see in the street about the Apostolic succession. The laying on of hands to many seems to be an academic exercise on a par with arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. How can people laying their hands on each other for 2000 years have any relevance to them? Why for example have Christians got things right and Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons Atheists got it wrong? I'm not trying to be antagonistic. CRfromQLD asked what his or her Parish could do to interest people, and this is what I think they are up against. I think the best their Parish can do is practise what they preach, love and help others less fortunate and be seen to be actually doing it, not just saying it. I view this exercise as time expensive rather than money expensive.
The reasons a non-Christian might attend church comprise a fairly short list. Let's face it, the person who said, "I don't believe in God, so why...?" is telling us something important. Unless a person already feels motivated to seek knowledge of God, he isn't too likely to want to go. Now on the other hand, there are plenty of people who are lonely or who enjoy social activities and social outings, and some of the 'feel-good' Protestant churches are pandering to this in hope that, once they've drawn people in for social reasons, they'll hear the Gospel and come to faith. It sounds (to them) like a good strategy, and maybe they will pick up a future committed Christian here or there, but mostly I think they're going to wind up with a building full of social club members. Meanwhile, by imitating the world's ways, those churches fail to stand out as "lights shining on a hill." Honestly, I think the act of inviting a non-Christian to church misses the point of the Great Commission. We aren't called to add "congregation members," we are called to teach the Good News: man, who was created by a loving and perfect God, proved to be imperfect and lost his right relationship with God; God, in His great mercy, came to earth in a mortal body to show us His love and to restore to right relationship with Him any who would have faith in Him. Jesus tells us to go and teach people this Gospel; and then, after they believe, we are to teach them to be baptized and to live in a manner that pleases God (Matthew 28:19-20). In other words, if we haven't taught them anything about their sin-soaked, spiritually lost condition and their need for (and availability of!) a Savior, of course they don't see the proper reason to attend church. Church is where they'll learn what the word of God says about getting baptized and living right with & for God, but the first thing they need is to hear the Gospel and respond to it with faith. A faith response will cause God to convert their hearts in the new birth, and they will begin to be motivated by the Holy Spirit to do good things like seeking out a place with like-minded believers, praising and worshiping God, getting baptized, learning the will of God from the Bible, living uprightly, and so on. It is individual Christians like you and me (not just the pastor/priest, and certainly not the church building) whom Jesus calls to be salt and light. Lights are beacons in darkness, like how a camp fire in bygone days would draw wayward travellers (stumbling about on foot or by hoof) from miles around. Salt is the savory ingredient (and at the same time a vital nutrient) that makes bland food appealing. A person who is visibly a committed Christian should stand out like a bright fire as he allows the indwelling God to shine through him. The Christian should affect the lives of those around him with the savory appeal of God's undying love and His offer of undeserved grace. Instead, most Christians prefer to blend in with the unbelievers. They camouflage themselves as members of the 'socially acceptable.' They prefer looking respectable and normal over looking like a burning bush because, let's face it, burning bushes might get attacked, ridiculed, sometimes even doused. Hmm, isn't there a scripture about denying oneself, picking up one's cross and following Jesus?