Beyond the Numbers
Reclaiming the Church Through Education and Doctrine
“The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith... as if she possessed only one soul and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, teaches them, and hands them down with perfect harmony.” — Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202 CE) [1]
There seems to be a crisis occurring in the Christian Faith. At least, that is what some surmise, given the place and position of the institutionalized church in society. During my ten years of service to the Church, I have been unsure if I agree with these sentiments. I admit that the Church does not feel prioritized as it once did in our society. Most of the people I engage within my social circle emphasize the value of youth sports and other extra-curricular activities, family vacations, and “family time” at home over regular church attendance. The Church, it would seem, does not feel like the center of societal life in our 21st-century world, and to be honest, this realization doesn’t feel great, at least to those of us who have given our lives to the institutional Church as ministers. As one scholar put it, “It’s a bummer to wake up in the morning and hear that you are dead. But that’s how it has felt for folks in America’s older Protestant churches for the last four decades.” [2]
As aforementioned, it is hard to ignore the reality in front of us. Statistics reveal a telling story, even if I don’t feel a cause for alarm. Over the last 60 years, belief in God has been consistently trending downward. By 2070, it is projected that fewer than 50% of Americans will identify as Christian. Eighty-one percent (about four in five) of Americans today say they believe in God. This is down six percentage points over the last five years, eleven points over the previous decade, and 17 points over the last six decades. [3]
Additionally, among those who do report a belief in God, there’s not much consensus about what we’re even talking about when we talk about God and how God works in our lives or the world. For example, about half of those who believe in God (42 percent of Americans) say God hears prayers and can intervene on a person’s behalf. Meanwhile, 28 percent of all Americans say God hears prayers but can not intervene. And 11 percent of all Americans say God doesn’t hear prayers or intervene at all! [4]
One research study conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, released in 2021, reveals that in America, at least, we have lost a unified communal understanding of what it means to identify oneself as a ‘Christian.’
The latest report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shows that the meaning of “Christian” in America today is far from monolithic, with a number of diverse and often conflicting theological views—even beliefs that are thoroughly unbiblical perspectives—among those who embrace the label. And these differences in beliefs often lead to widely divergent views on questions of morality and politics among American Christians, depending on how closely and consistently they are aligned with basic biblical teachings. [5]
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am the first to admit that a community of believers holding diverse theological views is not inherently problematic. Wholesome, civil, ecumenical dialogue within a body of believers regarding standards and doctrine is a healthy and necessary exercise. Even within the polity of my denomination, The United Methodist Church, we clearly state that:
“While the Church considers its doctrinal affirmations a central feature of its identity and restricts official changes to a constitutional process, the Church encourages serious reflection across the theological spectrum.” [6]
Accordingly, as United Methodist, we are called to be in constant conversation with our doctrinal heritage to “creatively appropriate the wisdom of the past” as we discuss and contemplate new ways of understanding our heritage in light of shifting cultural understandings of the world that we inhabit.[7] As Christians, our faith as a worldview is the product of centuries of conversation, and that conversation, guided by the Holy Spirit, should and needs to continue.
What is concerning is the lack of unity in basic historical understandings of the faith among Christians. For example, in the study above, out of 69% of adults who self-identify as Christian (approximately 176 million people), 58% believe that if a person is good enough or does enough good stuff, one can earn their way into heaven. Moreover, 57% believe in karma, and 52% claim that determining moral truth is up to each individual! [8] If I may be so bold, one could conclude that we seem to have a belief problem within American Christianity. (I know… shocking!)
I have seen one of two knee-jerk reactions to these trends in the communities I have served. The first is to change our environments to ‘attract’ younger members. Worship styles get altered, programming changes shift towards community activities, and prescriptive formation models are shunned. The second reaction involves reshaping our standards of doctrine and belief in ways that we think better suit a modern culture. The issue with the first approach is that we may succeed in pulling more people into the church by making it more fun or attractive, but very little thought is given to what we do with people once they enter the building. What are we grounding people in? The issue with the second approach is that often, a shift in the theological fabric is so extreme and far removed from the tradition of the Church that we end up with a faith disconnected from its roots, individualistic in nature, and so fluid that it fails to form a solid foundation for interpreting reality and fostering healthy dialogue.
So, what does all of this mean? A litany of scholars have offered many opinions, hoping to provide a plausible answer to that question and determine what the future holds for the Church. Based on my experience as a follower of Christ and a leader in the Church for more than ten years, I have witnessed that for most individuals living in 21st-century America, the heightened degree of polarity permeating everyday life is palpable. Extremes and binary language assiduously seek to invade almost every aspect of life and drive cultural assumptions into narrow fields of vision and thought. The result of this culture of extremes manifests in an ever-growing number of people who feel lost and ironically alone. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and, one could argue, even encouraged extremism by literally forcing people into isolation. Without community, it is easy to convince yourself that the only voice or opinion that matters is your own. Finally, pairing the adverse effects of extremism with the ongoing perplexities stemming from the relativistic skepticism born from postmodernism creates a society desperately clinging to anything that promises stability.
For centuries, the Church has offered a centering, stabilizing voice in our world. That is not to say that since its inception, the Church has not, at times in history, been the source of harm or subject to iniquity inherent in humanity. Still, the love of God, expressed by the Holy Spirit through the Body of Christ in all its varied expressions worldwide, has been and always will be a guiding light illuminating humankind's journey to restore the image of God in every aspect of creation. The reality, however, is that the hope Christianity offers the world has, in recent decades, been overshadowed by clouds of misinformation and riddled with internal strife and a disheartening amount of division. As a result, the discontinuity and incoherence between truth claims voiced by some followers of Christ and the behavior they display have caused many to question the legitimacy of Christianity while others are leaving the conversation altogether. Moreover, the data mentioned earlier illustrates that even among self-identifying Christians, unity born from common, historically grounded faith statements is non-existent, resulting in a loss of what we even mean by “Christian.”
These notable trends raise some questions worth considering: Why has the Christian faith seemingly lost relevance in the minds of so many people? Is the Church a victim of the culture, or is she the victim of her deficiencies in forming and cultivating a healthy and robust faith in the lives of her members? Additionally, is the substance of belief within the followers of Christ so shallow and scattered that it no longer provides purpose and meaning, cultivating a degree of resiliency that allows the believer and the faith to survive? Finally, if something has been lost, how can we restore the meaning and integrity of our faith communities to the point that they become a guiding force in the world once more?
Regardless of one’s stance on these questions, one common characteristic seems to surface: the reality that the Church, or more specifically, the American Church, is living in a transitional moment. The Church in America asks the same question that the society it serves ponders: What does the future hold? I would submit that the recent schism within the denomination I love and serve, Methodism, could be viewed as a microcosm of the broader American Christian Church. As we enter our new reality, Methodists on both sides of the schism and those of us caught in the middle wonder the same thing: What does the future hold? What will the Church look like in this new reality? Scholar Dr. William J. Abraham put it this way: “However we frame our questions, there is no doubt that many United Methodist leaders are currently engaged in a very serious soul-searching concerning the future of the church.” [9]
A significant part of this “soul-searching,” especially for Methodists, centers around a conversation regarding the place of doctrinal standards in the life of the Church.
According to Dr. Abraham, when debates around division occur, “matters of Christian doctrine are inescapable.” [10] Dr. Abraham strongly suggests that figuring out what we do with doctrine and tradition is central to any solution the Church takes as it strives to move forward.
“The only way to deal with divisions and factions is to think systematically and critically about the very identity of tradition. In the end this is the way in which the church down through the ages has always had to deal with internal division and disagreement.” [11]
It is one thing to debate the validity of conceptual theological explications for how the traditions and teachings of the Church are to be understood and applied to daily living. It is something else altogether to cast aside tradition as a relic and allow contemporary cultural currents to redefine historical understandings of the Faith in a way that comprises the very foundation of what we communally believe as followers of Christ.
Like every other religious system on this planet, the Christian faith is a system of belief based on confessional statements (Creeds, Doctrines, and other standards). Consent to a set of fundamental beliefs creates identity and unity among believers. Therefore, as a faith community, what we teach and how we teach it are matters of prime importance. Doctrine is not a dirty word! Doctrines, rooted in historical teachings, are guideposts that breed unity amidst diverse expressions of Christianity. “The assertion of a common Christian faith has been one of the key goals of the ecumenical movement, the movement that has sought to make visible the essential unity of Christian churches.” [12]
Beyond the need for unity within the Church itself, the reality of a new, diverse religious landscape in America profoundly affects how we understand Christianity amidst a growing number of religions that are, for the first time in history, across the street, not halfway around the world. In her book A New Religious America, Scholar Diana Eck points out that for most of our history, Americans have displayed a confident, “unselfconscious assumption that religion basically means Christianity, with traditional space made for the Jews.” Yet, while politicians co-opt religious language and debates about Christianity flood the public square, something else has happened that is significantly impacting our society: “The United States has become the most religiously diverse nation on earth.” [13]
While religious pluralism is undoubtedly not a new phenomenon in America, technological advancements have allowed immigrants to “live both here and there in all the ways that modern communications and telecommunications have made possible.” [14] With the aid of vast communication networks, our foreign neighbors can access media content from their homeland and remain in constant contact with friends and relatives. In short, their religious and cultural identity no longer assimilates; it remains distinct. “As our own identities become increasingly multilocal, the formation of complex national identities becomes increasingly complex.” [15] Diana Eck approaches this complexity from the standpoint of national identity: what does it mean to identify as “American” in a religiously pluralistic environment when Christianity is synonymous with being American? I want to ask a different question: How can Christians cultivate a degree of confessional unity that allows them to be in meaningful dialogue with their neighbors who embody different faith traditions? If we seek understanding from others who do not share our worldview, we must first work out how we define, in a rational way, what we believe. This is why grounding believers in sound, historical standards is so important. “A doctrinal standard attempts to formulate for a believing community a reliable, durable, and normative expression of Christian teaching.” [16]
In our world today, I believe that many of the issues we face within the church stem from a lack of education within the church itself. As a result, charismatic leaders draw thousands into a belief that does little to promote a historically based understanding of the faith and does even less to encourage mature believers. The unity of the Church depends, part and parcel, on an identity grounded in fundamental doctrinal beliefs. What does it mean to say, “I am a believer?” How does that belief lay the foundation for morality and ethical stances? Perhaps, I know this might seem controversial, instead of taking to social media and screaming, as church leaders we should work at providing methods and content that form thoughtful, curious, and generous believers who can articulate their faith and use it as a foundation for an ethical stance based on the compassion and love exemplified by Christ and explicated in Biblical and historical tradition.
In 1781, John Wesley articulated a primary goal of education in “A Plain Account of Kingswood School”:
“… our first point was, to answer the design of Christian education, by forming their minds, through the help of God, to wisdom and holiness, by instilling the principles of true religion, speculative and practical, and training them up in the ancient way, that they be rational, Scriptural Christians.” [17]
With these profound words as a guide, maybe it is time to focus on how education works from a psychological and sociological perspective to shape and cultivate individual and communal identity. Let’s shift our attention a little and examine a reasonable and balanced theological and Biblical argument supporting the vital role and necessity for education as a means of formation in the life of a believer. Finally, what can a historical examination of early church methods of instruction and formation teach us about the essential requirements for becoming a follower of Christ? How did one enter the Church as a new believer? What were the criteria for someone to become a catechumen? How did the early church educate and form the faith of new believers and converts in ways that led to unity within the Church?
I want to submit for your consideration that we need to refocus on how the Church passes on the teaching of the faith through movement, ritual, preaching, and language. Specifically, within the United Methodist tradition, how might the Church utilize educational ministries to form and cultivate a resilient confessional identity that develops unity and stability within the individual and the corporate body of the church.
There are numerous worthwhile offerings on Christian education for curious minds of every level to explore. Yet, despite the ever-expanding library of material on the topic of Christian education, an increasing number of Christians seem to find little comfort or meaning in the faith that can help explain or at least navigate the tumultuous realities of our current age. I do not presume to have an answer that will solve all the issues the Church faces in our modern world. I leave the work of reconciliation and restoration to the power of the Holy Spirit.
In light of these reflections, perhaps the task before us is not to reinvent the Church but to remember and reclaim the formative practices that have historically shaped the Christian life. The challenges currently confronting the Church—ranging from doctrinal fragmentation to declining religious affiliation—underscore the urgent need to recover a robust theology of formation grounded in the historic practices and teachings of the Christian tradition. Rather than responding to cultural pressures with reactive shifts in style or doctrine, the Church must critically engage its own heritage to articulate a coherent and compelling vision of the faith. The recovery and intentional implementation of formative practices—through catechesis, liturgy, preaching, and theological instruction—are essential not only for the internal coherence of the Church but also for its continued relevance and credibility in the public sphere
The road ahead will undoubtedly demand humility, courage, and a renewed commitment to theological depth and doctrinal clarity—not as a means of exclusion, but as a foundation for authentic unity and generous witness in a pluralistic world. As we seek to be faithful stewards of the faith entrusted to us, let us recover the sacred vocation of Christian education—not as a peripheral ministry, but as the heartbeat of ecclesial life—so that the Church may again become a place where minds are formed, hearts are stirred, and lives are transformed by the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.
[1] Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 1.10.2, in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1 of The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 330.
[2] Ted Campbell, The Sky is Falling and the Church is Dying: And Other False Alarms (Nashville, Tennesee: Abingdon Press, 2015), 1.
[3] https://religionnews.com/2022/09/13/fewer-than-half-of-americans-may-be-christian-by-2070-according-to-new-projections
[4] https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx
[5] https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CRC_AWVI2021_Release06_Digital_01_20210831.pdf, 1.
[6] United Methodist Church. 2016. The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2016 (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House), ¶ 105. SECTION 4
[7] Ibid.
[8] https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CRC_AWVI2021_Release06_Digital_01_20210831.pdf, 2.
[9] William J. Abraham, Waking from Doctrinal Amnesia: The Healing of Doctrine in The United Methodist Church (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 11.
[10] Ibid. 13.
[11] Ibid. 15.
[12] Ted Campbell, The Gospel in Christian Traditions (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 2.
[13] Diana L. Eck, A New Religious America (New York, New York: Harper One, 2001), 4.
[14] Ibid. 5.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Thomas C. Oden, Doctrinal Standards in the Wesleyan Tradition (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 2008),15.
[17] Wesley, John, Thomas Jackson, and Albert Cook Outler. The Works of John Wesley (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1958), vol. 13:293.