Who Is Winnning: Mainline Protestants or Evangelical Protestants?

There has been some discussion lately among religious academia as to who is winning, Evangelicals or Liberals, Mainline churches or Evangelical conservative churches. Which voice has more sway in our society Christianity Today, founded by the evangelical Billy Graham or Christian Century, the liberal voice of mainline Protestantism?

According the most media the Evangelicals are gathering the most members, get the most press, and have the most political clout today. Others maintain that the mainline churches have had a greater impact on the overall values of our country. Others conclude that the membership decline of the mainline churches will be mirrored by evangelical church soon and very soon and is already apparent. If you look at the data people who left the mainline churches did not go to the evangelical churches they just quit going to church period.

In Europe folk easily speak about a post-Christian age, which is likely true in this country as well that just has more attenders of churches, but know very little about their faith and theology.

With all that said, I would maintain, it is just the wrong question. I do not recall Jesus ever talking about winning or losing sides in matters of faith. Jesus did take on the religious establishment and called for huge changes in attitude and action but he did not phrase it as winning or losing. What Jesus talked about from how I see it, was, are people being faithful and obedient or not.

In the church we often mirror society in saying successful churches are growing churches, winning, vs. unsuccessful churches, those declining in membership. That evaluation is like a secular materialistic analysis, the criteria of Darwinism. Again, I believe Jesus used and uses a different criteria than and now as he teaches his followers. Are you faithful and obedient in loving God and caring for each other? Is your faith used on a regular basis in you daily living versus mouthing of platitudes in like-minded groups?

During my ministry I wanted the churches that I serve to grow. Growth can be a symbol of active faithfulness and obedience rather than just hanging onto personal traditions. Non-growing churches often fall into the trap of trying just to survive rather than having faithful and obedient ministries. There are connections there, but they are symptomatic of larger issues, not the major issue itself.

Churches that I served that did not grow as I hoped they would generally didn’t grow because they were not being faithful and obedient. They claimed their church as their own and did not trust or invite new comers into their midst. In fact, the often chased them away with a version of the famous, “You’re sitting in my pew.”

One of the great beliefs in the scriptures is that God will always provide a faithful remnant. As God kept a few from dying in the flood, God continues to keep faith alive in certain groups of people so the faith lives on.

Today, we may find that faithful remnant more clearly seen by those who see themselves as spiritual beings maintaining spiritual contacts outside the bounds of traditional faith groups or congregations.

God’s ways are not our ways, and his/her wonders are to behold. In my opinion the faithful obedient remnant will always be comprised of those who lead culture rather than just follow it. Things are holy not because we say they are holy, but because they just are holy. The word holy means set apart, set apart by God to steadfast obedience and God steadfastly and unconditional loves us.