In 1927 Robert Wilder resigned and returned to the mission field. He was the first and last of the founding leaders. The Student Volunteer Movement continued to distance itself from the missionary ideals that had launched it.
At the 1928 SVM convention in Detroit, Sherwood Eddy publicly repudiated the founding vision of the movement: “The Evangelization [...]
Category Archives: 5. Decay
A lost cause
19 December, 2009 – 9:49 AM
Wishing you a “progressive” Xmas
18 December, 2009 – 9:45 AM
A “progressive” Anglican church in Auckland, New Zealand has erected a billboard depicting Mary looking dejected after unsatisfying sex with Joseph.
The huge ad shows the unhappy couple in bed accompanied by the slogan: “Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow.” In the fresco-style work, Joseph looks down red-faced while an anguished Mary looks [...]
When “nice” is a health hazard
4 December, 2009 – 1:58 AM
I recently encountered a group of denominational leaders who held views on biblical authority and sexual ethics that were diametrically opposed to the vast majority of their members and churches.
How is such a situation sustainable? Easily.
Most of the members are unaware of the views shared by their denomination’s leadership. The conspiracy of silence is maintained [...]
Why Episcopalian decline matters
2 December, 2009 – 2:24 AM
New York Times: How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?
Bishop Schori: About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.
Times: [...]
A new faith for the 19th century
16 September, 2008 – 9:18 AM
Francis Macnab. Photo: John Woudstra
Posing for photographs in front of a 19th century church organ, Francis Mcnab proclaimed a new faith for the 21st century.
Apparently a new faith was necessary because the old faith (orthodox Christianity) no longer works.
Out goes Abraham—a concoction. Out goes Moses—a mass murderer. Out goes the 10 Commandments—one of the most [...]
Why we must resist religious bureaucracy
26 May, 2008 – 8:45 AM
Some wisdom from David Mills on why we must resist religious bureaucracy.
1. Religious bureaucracy tends to define the mission of the church as the continuing life and success of the institution as it is, which means, that its processes continue to process.
Bureaucratic processes prefer “process people”, people who by personality and usually conviction fit into [...]
Why church bureaucracies have to go
23 May, 2008 – 6:26 AM
What’s going on when a religious movement becomes a religious bureaucracy? David Mills paints a terrifying picture of the damage they inflict.
Any revival in these (mainline) churches will require not the reform but the abandonment of the many layers of bureaucracy they have built up over the last few decades, giving the local bodies the [...]
10 antidotes for that sinking feeling
8 March, 2008 – 8:08 AM
This animation of the Titanic sinking got me thinking about denominations that are in decline and in denial.
To help you pass the time as you go under, here’s 10 suggestions as you listen to the tune of “Nearer my God to Thee.”
Blame it on external factors beyond your control. Use words like secularization, urbanization, globilization [...]
The death of a movement: 7 lessons
15 August, 2006 – 4:58 PM
Seven lessons from the story of the rise and fall of the Student Christian Movement (SCM):
1. Drift to secularism
A recurring pattern in the lifecycle of movements is the drift to secularism. Finke and Stark write, “By ’secularized’ we mean to move from otherworldliness, to present a more distant and indistinct conception of the supernatural, to [...]
Missionaries to Marxists
14 August, 2006 – 11:46 PM
Today I’m releasing the latest in a series of case studies in the lifecycle of a movement: SCM – Missionaries to Marxists
We’ll be looking at the final stage of the lifecycle: death. The case study I’ve chosen is especially instructive for those on left wing of the Emerging Church, described by Ed Stetzer as revisionists. [...]
