That explains a lot—church attendance restrictions, Pew survey

59% of Democrats who attended church this past summer either in person or on-line heard sermons about supporting Black Lives Matter.  29% of Republicans who attended church this past summer either in person or on-line heard sermons about supporting Black Lives Matter.  But did either group of Christians hear the truth about BLM, its mission statement, and its role in the destruction of liberty and property in Democrat run cities this past summer? Were they told that the three women who founded it are radical Marxist lesbians who don’t believe in private property or the nuclear family? 

Only 42% of Republicans who attended church this past summer either in person or on-line heard sermons in support of abortion, and only 28% of Democrats hear a similar sermon. And yet, about 1/3 of the abortions in the U.S. are for black women.  Who is the smallest and weakest and most needy among us?  Certainly not the adults rioting and looting on behalf of the mission of BLM—American blacks are the top 5% in wealth of the global population of blacks, most of whom live in Africa.

The headlines in this Pew article are very misleading.  About 42% of Americans never attend church, so when the story about accepting the rules imposed on churches includes “Americans” one needs to read the entire article.  No, the majority of church goers were NOT OK with the restrictions, some of which were far more restrictive than other gatherings. 

Actual numbers are not given in the Pew study, however, even in a 2015 Caddell poll, 46% of Democrats never attended church and 24% of Republicans never attended. And when separated by ideology, only 18% of liberals said they regularly attend church and 62% said they never go. For conservatives, 41% regularly attend and 34% never go.

https://www.pewforum.org/2020/08/07/americans-oppose-religious-exemptions-from-coronavirus-related-restrictions/

Chasing the millennial generation--a how to

 

Just Google "church attract millennials" and you'll find

• 5 ways, 
• 10 ways, 
• why they don't,
•  how to attract, 
• what they want, 
• why we need them, and 
• where are they. 

And you'll also read nonsense, and appeals to buy a how-to book. 

• First, you need a very loud band, 
• second, casual attire like torn jeans and t-shirts, then
• no (apparent) theology (although it's there), 
• dramatic presentations highly entertaining, 
• something called transparency (which usually isn't there), and 
• if your church is growing, you probably have post modern architecture, or a repurposed building that doesn't look like a church, and 
• very important to pull it all together is a minister/pastor with a terrific personality who has no discernible credentials or ties to any church of the past or recognizable to their boomer grandparents because "non-denominational" sounds better to them. 
• And even though there are thousands of service/ministry opportunities already asking for their help, start something new they can support.

That's a quick summary, and I just skimmed the highlights. The Gen-X generation has hit 55 and the boomers are in their 70s, so every church is looking for millennials.

Imagine Jesus' apostles starting off with this check list.