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For a church whose eschatology eschews the “secret rapture” theory, in which believers are snatched away before the tribulation period begins, some Seventh-day Adventists may feel “left behind” these days.
It’s not a prophetic reversal, but rather a continuing trend of “church dropouts,” people who once attended faithfully, and then stopped showing up at weekly worship, Bible studies, and other events. They often are still in the neighborhood, but they no longer attend church.
In 2007 the world church reported that “out of the 5 million people baptized into the [Seventh-day Adventist] church between 2000 and 2005, 1.4 million left.”1 That would suggest a dropout rate of 28 percent among new members, but the number isn’t as clear-cut as might first be suspected. Some of that adjustment comes from more thorough checking of church records. Since 2000 world church leaders have insisted on more accurate membership records and audits, which have resulted in the “dropping” of long inactive, perhaps even deceased, members.2
Yet even after allowing for improved recordkeeping, a good percentage of the membership decline comes from people who entered the church through the “front door” of evangelism and left via the “back door” of unmet needs, personal crisis, or neglect, observers inside and outside the Adventist Church say.
“Most of our churches have about 25 to 35 percent of the names on the books that have not participated in church in any meaningful fashion for a year or more,” says Monte Sahlin, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor who is director of research and special proj- ects for the Ohio Conference. “Some church boards have an aversion to dropping any names, while others have dropped names in violation of the rules,” he noted.
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A Journalist Investigates Why Christians Are Leaving Church
Several recent studies reveal that churches across America are hemorrhaging--they are losing members at a life-threatening rate. Intrigued and disturbed by what appears to be an epidemic, Julia Duin, a religion reporter for the Washington Times, amassed research on the issue, interviewed many who have left church, and attended numerous churches in hopes of making sense of this phenomenon.
Quitting Church reveals the startling findings of her research. It explains to church leaders why this mass exodus is happening--and what can be done to reverse it. Beginning with the cold, hard facts, Duin then takes readers through a number of issues that influence a person's decision to leave the church, including irrelevancy, hidden suffering, family-centric programming that leaves singles out, impersonal or bland worship services, a lack of biblical literacy, and much more. This eye-opening book will be essential reading for pastors, ministry leaders, and churchgoers who wish to bring these disenchanted Christians back into their midst.
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From another thread, it is suggested that the Bible has become uninteresting. I would suggest, that if one allows EGW to do the thinking that may be true. But I have found the Bible more exciting since setting her aside. INTERESTING, EH?
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Bob have you read everything EGW wrote?
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Nope, don't spend much time there since 1980.
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See other thread for answer.
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