The Church Growth Movement: Doing Business with Christ
The largest Protestant denomination in the United States is the Southern Baptist Convention. It became the largest by consistently baptizing an average of 379,711 people annually.
From 1950 to 2011 Southern Baptists baptized an average of 379,711 people annually. Only twice during that time did the numbers dip more than 10 percent below that average. But in 2012 the decline was 13 percent off the average—the worst drop in sixty-two years. (Conway WEB)
In addition, SBC has “declined in 8 of the past 10 years … [and] lost 200,000 members last year [in 1914], biggest decline since 1881.” (Smietana WEB) The SBC is not the only denomination experiencing such negative trends. The traditional …show more content…
The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (evangelion) is translated into English as “gospel” or “good news”. Specifically, in the Greek New Testament, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is discussed. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you. (Mark 1:1-2)
As the Bible witnesses, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news. (Mark 1:14 – NIV) Lack of current modern technology ensured that the basics method of oral communication remained the staple of expanding the believing base of Christianity. However, over the last two millennia, the “proclaimer has become the proclaimed one”(Fitzmyer 253) and the messenger has become the message. This is especially so in the last two centuries and it has only accelerated as time has gone by. “It is very apparent that the evangelion of Jesus has been largely replaced by the evangelion about Jesus.” (Coalter, Cruz 7) In the process “it allows the most imprecise gospel messages to become common currency” (Metzger 86) and by extension possibly uncertain. By way of proxy, church leaders are increasingly substituting salesmanship for preaching, demographic surveys for ministry and marketing for fellowship. One must therefore ask the
The largest Protestant denomination in the United States is the Southern Baptist Convention. It became the largest by consistently baptizing an average of 379,711 people annually.
From 1950 to 2011 Southern Baptists baptized an average of 379,711 people annually. Only twice during that time did the numbers dip more than 10 percent below that average. But in 2012 the decline was 13 percent off the average—the worst drop in sixty-two years. (Conway WEB)
In addition, SBC has “declined in 8 of the past 10 years … [and] lost 200,000 members last year [in 1914], biggest decline since 1881.” (Smietana WEB) The SBC is not the only denomination experiencing such negative trends. The traditional …show more content…
The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (evangelion) is translated into English as “gospel” or “good news”. Specifically, in the Greek New Testament, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is discussed. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you. (Mark 1:1-2)
As the Bible witnesses, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news. (Mark 1:14 – NIV) Lack of current modern technology ensured that the basics method of oral communication remained the staple of expanding the believing base of Christianity. However, over the last two millennia, the “proclaimer has become the proclaimed one”(Fitzmyer 253) and the messenger has become the message. This is especially so in the last two centuries and it has only accelerated as time has gone by. “It is very apparent that the evangelion of Jesus has been largely replaced by the evangelion about Jesus.” (Coalter, Cruz 7) In the process “it allows the most imprecise gospel messages to become common currency” (Metzger 86) and by extension possibly uncertain. By way of proxy, church leaders are increasingly substituting salesmanship for preaching, demographic surveys for ministry and marketing for fellowship. One must therefore ask the