We’ve detected evidence of this feeling toward churches as well. We heard it when we polled non-church-goers. They’re less interested in the Super Churches of yesterday. They say they’d more likely be drawn to a smaller faith community. That would go along with Faith Popcorn’s observation of a “desire to connect on a deeper level.”

This yearning helped shape our design for Lifetree Cafe. It’s a nationally licensed venue that seats no more than 50. People hear stories and converse with friends around small tables. They explore intriguing life issues–from a spiritual perspective. They’re connecting on a “deeper level” that could never happen in an auditorium filled with 500 or 5000 people.

In 2010, think small.

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You can guess and surmise. But I wanted to hear it straight. So I went out on a Sunday morning and asked people on the sidewalk why they weren’t in church. Here’s a summary of what they said:

• “Weekends are a time for family. Sunday is the only morning we get to be together.”
• “Church was passive, where they preached TO you, rather than listen.”
• “It’s a one-way discussion. There’s no room for people to talk back.”
• “They just want to be the best church around. Everybody wants to be bigger and better than the other churches. I don’t think that’s what the church should be about.”

So what do you think? How should we respond? We could conclude these people have faulty perceptions–and we could try some new image campaigns. Or, we could listen and reconsider how we’re attempting to encourage the greatest relationship in the world.

It’s a new year . . . and a new opportunity to be remarkable.

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But are they?

Researcher George Barna found that just 13% of those who “normally avoid church” would consider attending a church event at Christmastime. He said, “In past decades there was an assumption that the holidays were a time when outsiders might explore church life.  These days, however, churches and other religious institutions are not seen as safe or value-adding places by most outsiders.  They see little reason to attend seasonal events, especially since those events often highlight their outsider status.”

When these church avoiders do attend, do they come back? Most churches’ attendance figures indicate these seasonal events are not leading to real growth.

Here’s the disconnect. A relationship with a church (and a relationship with God) isn’t a one-time transaction. It’s a process. Outreach efforts based on one-time events have little chance of producing long-lasting results.

My friend Lee Sparks just wrote an article on this phenomenon and what to do about it.  Email me at tschultz@lifetreecafe.com and I’ll send you a copy.

These church attendees are Present In Body Only. They may be counted as members of a church’s flock, but their hearts, minds and souls are not engaged by what’s happening at church. They are among the legion of church attendees who, according to George Barna, never experience God at church. They attend out of a sense of duty, or to accompany a family member, or simply out of habit. For PIBOs, the church worship experience—even at grandly produced services—is a spiritual yawn. The worship recipe (half upfront monologue and half sing-along) in use at churches small and large  does not stir the PIBOs.

Many church leaders may not recognize these people as PIBOs–or care that their hearts and minds are not in the room.  Because PIBOs satisfy the score that leaders track–head count–they serve their purpose just as they are.

In these days of declining church attendance, the PIBOs give us one more reason to question how we’re taking the Good News to today’s changing culture. No one is looking for religion. But they’re very curious about a real relationship with God.

William Paul Young, author of “The Shack” talked about the emptiness of religion in this week’s Lifetree Cafe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6bBxUGfmIE

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Today we look at the 5th characteristic–today’s loyal church goers tend to be Auditory learners. They take in and remember primarily through their ears. The contemporary church service suits them because it’s predominately an auditory experience. Simply put, Christian church services are approximately half lecture, and half sing-along. And increasingly, sing-along has become less singing along and more listening along.

So, does this predominately auditory approach give us hope for reversing the trend of shrinking church participation? Well, research shows that 30 percent or less of the population is made up of auditory learners. Most of the population processes information and thoughts primarily in other ways. They tend to tune out when asked to endure a presentation that implies they should sit still and listen.

I suspect that many if not most clergy are themselves auditory learners. Because auditory presentations work for them they assume auditory presentations work for everyone. That’s a dangerous assumption.

The five characteristics I’ve described–Audience-oriented, Anonymous, Authority-centered, Academic, and Auditory–help to describe today’s loyal church goers. For the past hundred years the church has shaped its worship times to appeal to this minority. This architecture is familiar and comfortable to the minority. So, it makes some sense to continue to offer ministry in the familiar ways. But if the church desires to grow beyond its limited impact and reach out to the majority it will need to also offer forms of ministry that look different.

I love the church. And I want to see today’s church become more effective in delivering the Good News. This passion has led me to work on designing some new approaches that fit those people who churches have not been reaching.

A result of this work has been Lifetree Cafe. It’s a new form of ministry that has been designed from the get-go to work with the majority–regular people who grapple with everyday issues and are naturally curious to see how God may be relevant to these issues. We’ve designed it to be a turnkey system that local churches and others can license in their areas. Learn more at www.lifetreecafe.com.

What do you think?

I’ve been describing characteristics that are found in those who attend weekly worship services. These descriptors all begin with the letter A. Today we look at the next one–Academic.

Those in the pews today see the church’s role as primarily academic. They come once a week to obtain information or knowledge about the Bible or God. They expect to hear an authority teach theological principles and historical data. “Teaching pastors,” as they’re sometimes called, often employ techniques borrowed from 20thCentury school rooms. Among these are PowerPoint presentations and “sermon notes” or “fill-ins”—fill-in-the-blank exercises printed in the worship bulletin, encouraging the listeners to write down certain words from the sermon.

It’s likely that most preachers personally appreciate and prefer academic approaches. Studies show they self-identify their leading strength is “teaching.”

But what about the majority of society? We live in an information-soaked world. When it comes to spiritual things, most people don’t sense they’re lacking hard data. They’re lacking the soft stuff of the soul. Their desired relationship with God seems more at home at Starbucks than a college lecture hall. Like any relationship, they sense growth in a relationship with God comes more from give-and-take than passive consumption of someone’s lecture.

Many within the current church treat faith itself as an academic subject. It is something that is pursued through teaching and the accumulation of theological knowledge.

But most people don’t view faith as academic. Faith is actually a relationship–not a subject. So, church envoronments that seem more like academic lecture halls don’t make sense to them.

How can a church promote faith in a way that works more like a relationship?

So far, I’ve mentioned that church goers tend to be Audience-oriented and they embrace Anonymity. Now for the next descriptor that starts with an A. Church goers tend to be Authority-centered.

They rely heavily on authority figures for information and inspiration. So, in the contemporary church, they count on the paid professionals to communicate the insights, move them, pray on their behalf, and do the real ministry. Some view the professionals as go-betweens—a necessary filter or conduit between themselves and God. They may be less comfortable seeing value in contributions from peers or from personal discovery.

But this group is shrinking–as is church attendance.

Most people today have moved into the new era of information distribution, which is accentuated by the internet. Increasingly people no longer have to wait for authorities to deliver needed information. They’re comfortable accessing it themselves. What’s more, they are relying more on peers than authorities for such things as product reviews, perspectives on current events, and general advice.

When it comes to matters of faith, people are more open to hear about God stuff from peers than exclusively from those who are paid to deliver doctrine. Hearing a story from a grandma who felt God’s hand in her health struggles is more authentic and compelling than a story a preacher found in a book of sermon illustrations.

If the church wishes to become more relevant to the growing non-churched majority, it may be need to consider some changes in methodology.

Next A on our list: Academic. Stay tuned.

That shrinking minority that regularly attends church bears a number of characteristics. In my last post I mentioned a set of descriptors that all begin with the letter A. The first was Audience-Oriented. These people are comfortable watching professional Christians perform on stage while they sit passively in the pew.

The next A descriptor is Anonymous. The silent church-going minority often seek anonymity. They like being part of a faceless crowd. They don’t necessarily want to be noticed—or known. They appreciate churches that keep the spotlight on the performers on stage, that allow the audience to sit quietly in the dark, so to speak.

Church consultants teach their clients to ensure that church visitors and members can slip in and out without being noticed, singled out, or compelled to speak to anyone. Anonymity is the holy grail.

But is the pursuit of anonymity the key to reversing the decline of the American church? Though most people seek occasional anonymity, when it comes to matters of the heart, they actually crave relationship. They want to be known. They want to contribute to the conversation. Telling their story is as important as listening to someone else’s.

But the current Sunday morning model, perfected by large churches, attracts those who want to be left alone–the silent minority. That leaves the relational majority turning to other forms of interaction with people: Facebook, town hall meetings, Starbucks conversations, blogs. They want to partcipate, tell their stories, and go someplace where someone knows their name.

Next time I’ll talk about the next A–Authority-Centered.

            I don’t doubt their sincerity. But the church has always been populated with imperfect people making flawed decisions. That’s not what’s new. And that’s not likely to change.

            Besides, the church as we know it has worked quite well for a certain swath of the population. These people comprise part of the 17 to 30 percent of the population who regularly attend church services.

            So, what characteristics identify these particular people? Several words that start with the letter A may help describe those who currently attend typical church services. In this blog, we’ll look at the first A: Audience-Oriented.

            Audience-Oriented. They appreciate a good presentation from the stage. They prefer to passively listen while the paid professionals on the stage do the work. Similar to theater-goers, they may judge the “performance” based on how well they were entertained or engaged.

      These “A” factors help to explain the slice of the population that regularly attends weekly church services. Church, as they know it, is working for them. They are content with the status quo.

      But what about the growing majority that doesn’t regularly attend church services? Why don’t these same “A” factors work for them? It seems that what attracts the church-going set may actually repel or at least disinterest the majority. Let’s look at each factor again from their perspective.

      Audience-Oriented. Though most people enjoy a good show, they don’t view their spirituality as a spectator activity. Even though they may long for God, they say they don’t see the need to sit in an auditorium and watch professional religious people perform rehearsed presentations.

      Next time, we’ll look at the next A—Anonymous.