Mainline Protestants in Decline

Mainline Protestants make up shrinking number of U.S. adults

Pew Research has just released research on the decline of Mainline Churches. According to the research the decline is steep. There are 5 million fewer adults going to mainline churches since 2007.

Why?

Mainline churches are getting older. Is it age appeal? the median age for mainline churches is 52, and according to the research Millennials are the leading factor in the group called "nones" (no affiliation). Immigrants are also adding numbers to the ranks of unaffiliated. According to Pew Research, "Our 2014 Religious Landscape Study, a follow-up to the center’s first Religious Landscape Study in 2007, found that one-in-five immigrants said they did not belong to any religion – an increase of 4 percentage points since 2007, when 16% said they did not associate with any faith tradition." 
                                            

Root Causes

These factors don't really get at the 'why.' Once the why is known answers can be found as to how to get people back in the pews in mainline churches. 

Steve McSwain is Speaker, Author, Counselor to Congregations, Ambassador to the Council on the Parliament for the World's Religions, and Spiritual Teacher. He wrote a three part article for the Huffington Post in 2013 on why nobody wants to go to church anymore. In Part One McSwain came up with seven reasons. Some are external forces and some are internal forces. Internal forces include the Leadership Crisis, exclusion based on race, culture or sexual orientation, and hypocrisy. External forces include competition, religious pluralism, changing demographics and technology. Some of the external forces can be used to the advantage of the Mainline Churches like adapting new technologies to reach younger demographics, and embracing diversity. Internal problems can be corrected by making sure our doors are really open to all.

In Part Two McSwain says change is happening...no matter what...the Mainline Church must embrace change and diversity within our churches. He says we need to stop applying labels to people. "Stop Labeling "Nones" and the "Religiously Unaffiliated" as Unfaithful, or Sub-par Christians or, worse, Not Christians at All."  Finally, We should make friends with people who we disagree with.

In Part Three McSwain lists the final six ways the mainline can get people back in the pews. They include not using the bible and worship to promote prejudice and political agenda. End the war on science, biology and psychology. Be who you are. McSwain believes a contemporary service in a traditional setting will not work.  It is time to revise Christian theology,  The gatekeepers of theological and doctrinal thought must lead the way, believing the current crisis is a call to reexamine the Christian story.

Finally McSwain says, "Know that the Church's decline could never mean the death of Christ." If you believe the last point...it will never be too late.

Focus on The Core

Something we did in public radio was to understand the values of the audience that valued our content above all others. We focused our resources on our core audience. We grew. Today public radio has 30 million listeners. We were true to our intended audience. Because we  understood those values and stopped trying to be all things to all people we grew. McSwain got it right when he encouraged the Mainliners...liberal Christians...to be true to themselves. 

The Parable of Baltimore

Jim Wallis recently wrote the Parable of Baltimore. The problems there are long-standing. They go back to the 50's when manufacturing started to leave the city. The good paying jobs that supported so many working class people are gone. The solution is inclusion, not exclusion. Working together...being fair...is good for the economy.

Baltimore's Flash Point

The story behind the violence in Baltimore was so much more than the riots. Pictures of the burning CVS and cars were all over the news. Community leaders were calling for cooler heads. Cable news anchors were wringing their hands over the violence. Wolf Blitzer was wondering why the protesters couldn't be more like Martin Luther King, Jr...failing to discern the difference between the protesters and the rioters. How could this happen?

The reasons are the same as those that caused the riots of the mid to late 60's. Too many people living in our cities are being marginalized, pushed to the edges. Their voices are not being heard resulting in increasing frustrations. Poverty rates in Baltimore are far above average for the United States. Joblessness in the neighborhoods affected by the riot is around 19%.

Long Standing Problem

The Kerner Commission report of 1968 looked at the riots of 1967 and concluded this country was headed toward two Americas....One Black and One White...separate and unequal. From the report were three most intense, deeply held grievances that an investigation found were causes of disorders in the black neighborhoods of several American cities.

• Number one - police practices. 
• Number two - unemployment and underemployment. 
• Number three - inadequate housing.  

Reaching a Consensus

The question is how much have things changed in almost 50 years? Not a lot. The perceptions of the residents and the concerns among the citizens in our poorest cities remains the same as they were in 1967. E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times talked about the protests in Baltimore on NPR's All Things Considered. They agreed that the programs put in place after Kerner Commission report may not have gone far enough. To an extent they disagreed on how to approach the problem, but they agreed that there must be a renewed effort to solve the problems created by long-term poverty. It was a consensus between a conservative and a liberal. 

Jim Wallis Offers a Baltimore Parable

The Parable reads in part:

"The undeniable fact that these neighborhoods that are "left out" of jobs, education, and family in our society are overwhelmingly black and brown neighborhoods is a testament to America's lingering "original sin" of racism...

 So if we just focus on the "riots," or even just on policing behavior, we will not be addressing the root causes of these problems.  This is the parable of Baltimore, one that we need to learn from if our responses are ever to be as deep as the problems are. And admitting that the things we accept and don't accept do indeed have to do with race is a first honest step."

If we're about making a change...it starts with the person you see when you look in the mirror. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' MLK,Jr.  As an individual we can make small difference. As a community...the change can be exponential. This does not mean that the government is off the hook. Quite the opposite when you consider we are the government. Dr. King was willing to hold the government's feet to the fire.  He expressed quite clearly that government can help end discrimination and poverty.

"We will place the problems of the poor at the seat of government of the wealthiest nation in the history of mankind. If that power refuses to acknowledge its debt to the poor, it would have failed to live up to its promise to insure "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its citizens." (From A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.)

Building Community

Late last week I was asked to read scripture at South United Methodist Church. The request came about the time I was formulating this blog. The service that day was about building a Christian Community. The lesson was from Romans 12: 1-8. The lesson focuses on the gifts all of us have from God. It is important to understand those gifts are not the same for all people. We are a diverse group, but through our diversity we are stronger.  The point is if we work together bringing our individual gifts with us...the community benefits.

 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

The Cost of Discrimination

The message is that we can become stronger as a community...working together toward the common good. The community means all of us. That includes those living in poverty, and those being discriminated against because of our biases. We are underutilizing our resources by excluding through discrimination. In 2013 the Kellogg Foundation published a report that stated that if health service and educational services were made more equal and the average income of minorities were raised to the level of whites, the total earnings of US workers would increase by $1 trillion dollars. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would rise by $1.9 trillion by 2030.

We can change the outcomes if we become inclusive and work together.

More on the Kellogg Foundation report can be found by linking to "The Case for Racial Equity."

This Land Is Your Land

Change the National Anthem?

I saw a posting about keeping the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem the other day. I wondered what the motivation was for the posting. Debate about the National Anthem seems like such an irrelevant issue to me. There is opposition to the militaristic nature of the lyrics. There has always been opposition to the Star Spangled Banner. Your can read about it in the Washington Post.

It was written during the war of 1812. It didn't become the official anthem until 1931. Although it became a favorite of the military during the civil war. At that time Hail Columbia and Yankee Doodle were also unofficial national anthems. America the Beautiful and America are often mentioned as replacements today.

To me it seems a distraction. A side issue. This will all work itself out...or not.

What About Woody?

My thoughts landed on "This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie." I remembered the song from grade school. We sang the first and second verses....sometime the third. I also remember this as being part of the songbook for the Folk craze of the late 50's and early 60's. This Land is Your Land launched thousands of budding folk singers with inexpensive nylon string guitars. I had one. It cost about $25 with the case.

This Land Is Your Land

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land This land is my land

From California to the New York island; 

From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters 

This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway, 

I saw above me that endless skyway: 

I saw below me that golden valley: 

This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 

And all around me a voice was sounding: 

This land was made for you and me.

Going Deeper - Not Going to Happen

First, Guthrie was a communist. There's a lot of baggage associated with communists in this country. It's a label meant to imply that he or she is not part of us. Once that kind of label is applied, it is easy to discriminate against the person and dismiss any ideas as invalid. No matter how valid the issues, if they are presented by a "the other", they are demonized and dismissed. Based on that alone, his song would never fly here. Digging deeper, there's a references to Great Depression and the ecological disaster that went along with it, the Dust Bowl. Thousands of farmers lost everything. This started a migration. Many choose California and the land of opportunity. They were met at the border and not allowed in. There's a verse about that discriminatory practice.

"As I went walking I saw a sign there, And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't say nothing, That side was made for you and me."

There's also reference to the millions who were seeking work, but could not find any. We were promised two chickens in every pot and a car in every garage, It was the American Dream. The dream was dashed by greed.  

"In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By the relief office I seen my people; As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me?"

In the final verse, Guthrie promises to keep speaking out about the injustice of a system that has allowed so many to fall through the cracks.

"Nobody living can ever stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me."

Obviously, it's a protest song. It was controversial then. It is still controversial today. We didn't know that in grade school.  Yet, the ironies 75 years later are striking. There's a severe drought in Southern California and large portions of the West, and there are millions of working Americans cannot make ends meet because they are working poor paying jobs. Of course, The Great Recession was brought on by greed,

Today, I find myself admiring the message of inclusiveness in the face of exclusion.

Stop Hunger Now

Doing Something About Hunger

South United Methodist Church and Stop Hunger Now teamed up for a meal packaging event this weekend. .

The need is great. There are still many people going hungry. 805 million people continue to struggle with hunger every day. 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty — on less than $1.25 per day. Each year, 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes.

Think nothing can be done about it?

There's a lot more latitude than you think. The global retail ice cream industry revenue is estimated to reach $74 billion by 2018. Favorable demographic factors, rising consumer disposable income, and consumer's awareness toward frozen dessert mainly drive the demand. The disposable income is there.

Still not getting the connection? 

We do not need to do this alone. Today we volunteered time to Stop Hunger Now. In about 90 minutes we put together 10,000 meals to be shipped to hungry people in places like Hatii and the Dominican Republic. The cost was a few thousand dollars.

When Christ said, "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." He meant it is up to us to do something about it. A little less ice cream and a little more generosity can make a huge difference. Stop Hunger now serves people in 65 countries and to date has assembled almost 193 million meals.

Defining Racism

Racism’s sinister word games: 
What a white-supremacist talking point tells us about modern politics

Social Justice and Racism

A couple of weeks ago we were talking about social justice and what it means. During the discussion the hackles of a conservative in the group went up. He pointed out that justice means many things to many people and what we were talking about should not be applied, because it might not be his definition. I don't want to imply that the conservative is a racist. I don't know that, but his argument is strikingly similar to the argument used by Pat Goodwin in an interview with a reporter from the Guardian.

"Pat Godwin, president of Selma, Alabama’s United Daughters of the Confederacy, on the question of whether viewers are right to assume Godwin’s expressed views are racist. Godwin replies, “Well, you have to define ‘racist’ to me. What is a racist?”

Rhetoric as Deflection

Her comment was meant to deflect. It was rhetorical. It was meant to take the onus off herself and her group and justify her stance. The conservative in our discussion group was doing the same. He was trying to redirect and scuttle the discussion by implying there can be no social justice because it means something different to everybody. Is his alternative chaos?


The focus of the discussion was well defined. The parameters were clear. We were talking about Jesus and social justice. Specifically, we talked about what Jesus had to say about social justice in Matthew 25, verses 31-46. Social justice in this context is clear. Christians are to come down on the side of the poor and oppressed. They are to be welcoming of strangers. They are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They are to minister to the needs of the sick and the prisoners. It seems clear that you cannot...as a Christian...minister only to your needs. There is a greater good, and we're supposed to be a part of it.

Specifically Defined

Aaron Hanlon's Article in Salon.com points out the only way to counter rhetorical arguments like Goodwin's is with a historical perspective. 

 It’s important we understand such rhetorical tactics not simply as forms of racism, but as part of an important history that parallels, and lives symbiotically off of, the history of racism: the history of denying the existence of racism. Whether it’s borrowing the multiculturalist language of discrimination in accusations of “reverse-racism,” or expropriating the term “racist” as a symbol of white pride, the perpetrators subject themselves to a double-bind: They respect the idea of race-based discrimination when they themselves feel embattled or diminished as whites, but deny the same when the victims of discrimination are minorities.“Define racism” is not an easy prompt with an easy answer, but we do have answers much better developed than Godwin’s opinion-based approach to the question. If we historicize racism, rather than treating it as abstraction or opinion, we find that racism in the U.S. is not just discrimination in general, but a history of a dominant class of European whites subjecting minorities by means of things like the theft of land, the destruction of native populations, slavery, internment, Jim Crow, voting restrictions, restrictions on access to education and home ownership, and hurtful or defamatory portrayals in entertainment and media.

It doesn't matter if you can't change Pat Godwin's mind. That's on her. It does matter that more people discover what racism is all about so a change can come about. There is more to this life than our own self interest. We can't change the past, but we can become aware and steadfast for a better future based on social justice.

Vocational Training and Autism (Update)

First Ever Program

The Hartford Courant is reporting on a test program being proposed that would offer job training for young adults on the Autism Spectrum.

There's a bill in the Connecticut Legislature that would fund job training for 100 young adults on the Autism Spectrum. The program would be run by The Department of Developmental Service and The Bureau of Rehabilitative Services over a two year period.

Some Challenges

There are several issues the program will need to address. The program will need to hire job coaches who understand the challenges of Autism. Part of the training needs to be in soft skills. Interpersonal interactions could be a weakness for the autistic worker.  And...the program needs to be much larger.

The bill funds a two year pilot program and will offer measurable results.

100 young adults barely scratches the surface. It is estimated there are over 54,000 persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Connecticut. Most adults lack services needed to be employed, and most adults with Autism are unemployed. Jobs are crucial as parents age and are no longer able to care for their adult children.

High Unemployment Rate

A huge majority of adults on the Autism Spectrum are unemployed. Among those with developmental issues, the rate of unemployment. According to an article in Forbes, about 18% have a job and 14% are in college. Yet, over half of those on the spectrum have IQ's that are average or above. If we were to do something about this, many more individuals would be contributing to our society instead of collecting ever decreasing benefits. By focusing on the needs of individuals, Their self-esteem and self-worth would increase, and all of us would benefit.

Racism in My Community

Chieftains and Warriors

I live in the bluest of blue states. Perhaps this is up north hypocrisy.

There's a big debate going on in my community about the mascots used for the athletic teams of the town's two high schools. One calls itself the Chieftains and the other the Warriors. The concern is the racist overtones of the two mascots and message they convey about our community's attitudes. The argument against changing the names goes along the lines of keeping tradition. "They're just names. Changing the mascots and the names will cost $100,000! There's no harm meant. One resident said that this is load of PC crap. If the majority is okay with these names, it's okay."

The names and the mascots aren't the only issue. The name of one of the student newspapers is the Powwow. The student cheering sections are called The Tribe and The Reservation. The Mascot for the Chieftains depicts a Plains Indian in full headdress. It's an image that Native Americans find offensive.

Stereotypes - Racism

Here's a definition of racism from Merriam-Webster:

1:  a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2:  racial prejudice or discrimination

Racism goes beyond the definition. It is evident in the language children are using on a daily basis. And, it isn't only white children. Racist language is used daily on our playgrounds. It is a form of bullying. Lola Okolosie, an English Teacher and writer in Great Britain, wrote about racism on the playground.

How white, black and brown students learn the language of racist bullying

She points out that "Children are bombarded with racist messages in the media and public debate. It's no wonder this has reached the playground." The words we use have an effect, especially when used to categorize and demean. We are teaching our children intolerance.

The Business Insider published an article last year, "11 Racist And Offensive Phrases That People Still Use All The Time." Among those words was "uppity." the example used was in reference to disparaging remarks made against Michele Obama.  

A couple years ago, Rush Limbaugh pontificated that a NASCAR audience booed Michelle Obama because she exhibited "uppity-ism." Glenn Beck even defended him, citing the First Lady's love of arugula. During segregation, Southerners used "uppity" to describe blacks who didn't know their socioeconomic place. Originally, the term started within the black community, but the racists adopted it pretty quickly.

But what about mascots? There's an enlightening essay on the CNN Website by Simon Moya- Smith titled, Native Americans: We're not your mascots. In the essay Moya-Smith says words like brave and warrior are not racial slurs, but that misses the point. "When the status of a Native American is demoted to that of a caricature, we are objectified and diminished as a people. We become entertainment, not fellow citizens. How are you supposed to take me seriously if all you see is the stereotypical image of the Hollywood or sports mascot Indian?"

What is most disturbing is the comment from a parent who excused racism because of traditions and because the majority seems to be in favor of keeping the mascots. What is he saying? Is it okay to propagate racism because we've doing it for a long time? Because it is a tradition? To him, and others like him, the opinions of the minority who are offended by the terms used don't matter. If you take his argument back to the time of Jim Crow, the lynchings of that period were justified because it was the prevailing viewpoint of the majority. A recent study found that 4,000 people were lynched in the South between 1877 and 1950. The reasons for the lynchings included political activism and testifying in court. The victims were "uppity." Lynchings continued in this country into the 1960's and not just in the south.

History of Lynchings in the South Documents Nearly 4,000 Names

Learning From Our Mistakes

What we teach our children is important. It shapes our future. When I was in high school we studied the civil rights movement. We read and discussed books like "To Kill a Mockingbird,","Native Son," and "A Raisin in the Sun." The hope was that we would expand our understanding of others and become well-rounded citizens. I'm wondering if that happens anymore. What we have here is a learning opportunity. What better place than in school. We cannot undo what we've done, but we can move forward and try to get it right from this point on.