For a while there were blogs posts seemingly everywhere about why millennials were leaving the church. They didn't like this. They didn't like that. The blogs would be shared on social media - to no particular effect, as it didn't seem that many congregations were actually using these posts to change the way they did things.
But now I'm glad to report that nobody is paying attention to those types of blog posts anymore. They are sick of them, and ignoring them. This is good for the church.
Hey wait - isn't this post just the rant of one person, with no
actual data, no quantifiable research that supports the assertion that
no one is reading those blogs anymore?
Exactly.
There was no actual data presented. How many millennials were leaving? They were generally just an opinion masquerading as analysis. There was not even a pretense of systematic efforts at data collection and analysis. There was no evidence that the millennials were going to churches that offer what the blogs claimed they want. (They want liturgy? Is there a shortage of liturgical worship opportunities? Are liturgical churches bursting at the seams making room for the influx of millennials?)
Decisions need to be based on data, not stylistic preferences. Too many people are desperate for data to suggest that they won't have to do what they don't want to do. That's why satirical "studies" purporting to show the life-giving effects of bacon are entertaining. We want to believe that bacon is healthy, and we want to believe that our churches will recover even if we do virtually nothing.
Look at the churches that are getting the results you wished you were getting and ask yourself some hard questions: are they working harder than you are? Are they more willing to change than you are? Are they making smarter decisions than you are? The answer is probably yes, yes, and yes.
The next question is: can you change that? The answer to that is also yes.
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