Ministry Issues

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Religious Trends Since 1991

This week, The Barna Group released the first two installments in a series of briefs dealing with the state of the church and how religion in America has shifted over the past 20 years. In Part 1, Barna looks at 14 religious variables (six behaviors and eight beliefs), and examines how expressions of faith have changed over the past two decades. His research revealed that:

• Weekly Bible reading among adults dropped by five percent to its current level of 40 percent.
• Sunday School attendance is currently at 15 percent of adults – a drop of eight percent.
• Church attendance dropped from 49 percent in 1991 to 40 percent in 2011.
• The number of unchurched adults grew from 37 percent to 50 percent over the past 20 years.
• The number of adults who can be classified as born again rose from 35 percent to 40 percent.
• In 1991, 46 percent of adults strongly affirmed that “the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.” Just 38 percent hold the same belief today.

For the complete report go to Barna.org.

Churches Worship in Public Schools, Skating Rinks

It is becoming common to see portable church signs outside public buildings and schools promoting their worship services on Sundays. Thousands of believers each week are gathering more often in public schools, skating rinks, parks and empty buildings to avoid the financial burden of owning their own facility. However, some argue that having churches worship in public places is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that churches meeting in New York City schools are unconstitutional and must leave by the end of the school year. The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, is representing one of those churches and is appealing the court’s ruling by asking the entire court to hear the case. A Department of Education spokesman said the city will continue granting permits for religious services for the new school year, but the DOE can revoke them depending on the outcome of the litigation. [WNYC.org, Christian Post.com]

Banning All Fliers

The Garfield Heights Board of Education in Cleveland, Ohio settled a court challenge by agreeing to no longer single out Christian fliers for exclusion. However, the board then banned all outside community groups from distributing materials in classrooms and will allow only 25 fliers to be placed in the school office.

The Alliance Defense Fund sued the district on behalf of a “Moms Group” that wanted to invite elementary students to a Christmas Story Hour at a local church. In refusing the fliers, school officials cited the “laws of separation between church and state.” The school system previously allowed handouts for a Halloween party, a soccer program and the Boy Scouts.

ADF Senior Counsel, David Cortman, said, “The board has done the right thing in rectifying that particular legal problem, but it’s thoroughly disappointing to see them needlessly gut the flier program so that no group’s invitations are communicated effectively.” [CitizenLink.com]

John Stott Dies

On Wednesday, world-renowned evangelist and Biblical scholar John Stott died. Stott, who died at 90 in London, was an Anglican clergyman and retired from public ministry in 2007. Rev. Billy Graham describes Stott as “The most respected clergyman in the world today.” He wrote over 50 books translated in 65 languages. One of Stott’s major contributions to world evangelization was at the l974 International Congress on World Evangelization held at Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was chief architect of the Lausanne Covenant. The covenant provided a theological and historical underpinning for denominations, ministries and individuals committed to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Stott led an evangelical resurgence in England and influenced Christians worldwide through his extensive writing and preaching, and in 2005, TIME magazine placed him among the world's '100 most influential people'. For more about his life, go to John Stott Ministries. [ChristianPost.com]

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