Last week in Lousiville, at the General Assembly Mission Council meeting, we heard a fascinating presentation from Eileen Lindner that gave a statistical overview of the trends in the church, particularly as it relates to middle judicatories (or middle governing bodies). Lindner is Deputy General Secretary for Research and Planning of the National Council of Churches USA and editor of the NCC's annual Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. My friend and fellow General Assembly Mission Council member, executive presbyter of San Diego Presbytery, has done an excellent summary of her remarks:
There are six main factors in the decline of denominations in the last 50 years: ...
Middle Governing Bodies (MGBs) (presbyteries and synods) face STRESS factors from ABOVE: ...
Middle Governing Bodies (MGBs) (presbyteries and synods) also face STRESS factors from BELOW: ...
The question of 'what does it mean to be a denomination?' is changing rapidly
5 Emerging Aspects of Church Institutional Life ...
Check out Clark's synopsis at Insights Into the American Church.
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