Lee Strobel and Other Evangelicals Admit They're In Trouble, Big Trouble

In an email that went out to supporters (along with Ed Babinski who also subscribed) Strobel said:
We are facing a crisis in America. Skepticism is rising. Too many young people are leaving the faith. Few Christians are able to effectively share Jesus with others. At many churches, reaching spiritually lost people falls to the bottom of their priorities.

This is a crisis we need to confront — urgently!
Strobel joins Josh McDowell in being alarmed at the rise of skepticism in our day. So also are John S. Dickerson and others. Dickenson wrote: "In the next decades we will see a massive decrease in evangelical influence politically, economically, culturally, and financially" in The Great Evangelical Recession (p. 26). "260,000 evangelical young people walk away from Christianity each year. Of that number 35% will find their way back, and 65% do not find their way back. Why are they leaving? They don't believe anymore." [Dickerson, pp. 98-102]. "This is not a blip. This is a trend. And the trend is one of decline," said Ed Stetzer [as quoted in Dickerson, p. 32].

Then there is the rise of the "dones" who are done with church, not just the "nones" who have no church affiliation. At a recent Future of the Church conference, sociologist Josh Packard shared some of his groundbreaking research on the Dones:
He explained these de-churched were among the most dedicated and active people in their congregations. To an increasing degree, the church is losing its best.

For the church, this phenomenon sets up a growing danger. The very people on whom a church relies for lay leadership, service and financial support are going away. And the problem is compounded by the fact that younger people in the next generation, the Millennials, are not lining up to refill the emptying pews.

Why are the Dones done? Packard describes several factors in his upcoming book Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal Why the Dechurched Left and What They're Hoping to Find.Among the reasons: After sitting through countless sermons and Bible studies, they feel they’ve heard it all. One of Packard’s interviewees said, “I’m tired of being lectured to. I’m just done with having some guy tell me what to do.”

The Dones are fatigued with the Sunday routine of plop, pray and pay. They want to play. They want to participate. But they feel spurned at every turn.

Will the Dones return? Not likely, according to the research. They’re done. LINK.

This is all good news! We're winning. They are losing.

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