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Study guide “


By Robert C. Blezard


10 trends: Keep watch T


here is nothing permanent except change.” The Greek thinker Hera- clitus wrote those words about 2,500 years ago, and yet they are just as true today. For church leaders, the big question is not whether things will change, but how the church can stay abreast of changes so the gospel of Christ may be heard afresh and take root in each succeeding generation. What big changes have taken


place in your congregation within members’ lifetimes? Where do those changes fit into the trends listed in the article? Here are discussion ques- tions for seven of the 10 trends (for the complete study guide, go to www. thelutheran.org and click on “study guides”). To help your discussion, get hold of your congregation’s trend report from the ELCA website (www. elca.org).


1. Declining church participation Is the national decline in church participation reflected in your con- gregation? By how much? How have attendance trends changed your church’s week-to-week operation? Its focus? Its mission and outreach? Its overall mood? If your church has not changed as a result of attendance trends, should it? What should your church be doing to meet the chal- lenges of a changing world?


Blezard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Arendtsville, Pa. He has a master of divinity degree from Boston University and did subsequent study at the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.


2. Growth in no church affiliation “Brand loyalty” is passé with the new generation. Do you see this in your community? How? How does this make it hard to “sell”


Lutheranism to a wider world? How can your church do a better job? On the other hand, if more people have no affiliation, might it be easier to attract people to a Lutheran church? How could your congregation make Lutheran worship and theology more accessible to an unaffiliated church visitor who worships some Sunday?


3. More spiritual, less religious Younger adults, especially, are turned off by “religious” matters, yet they desire “spiritual” meaning and direc- tion. How would you describe the difference between religious and spiritual? Ideally, how should the two concepts interrelate? Are the two dis- tinct from each other in your congre- gation? Should your congregation put more emphasis on spirituality than it has? How might you go about it?


4. A new stage: Emerging adulthood


For many reasons, including slug- gish economic opportunity, young adults are reaching at a later age the traditional markers of adulthood: their own apartment, college completion, career jobs, marriage, children, etc. How have you and your congregation witnessed this? What are your congre- gation’s current outreach, mission and educational offerings to twentysome- things? Are they sufficient? In light of this trend, what more could or should your congregation do?


5. Changing family structures Is your church still geared toward the model of families in the 1970s or some earlier generation? What do the trends of later marriage and fewer children mean to the future of


the church in general and, specifi- cally, to your congregation? Do you welcome nontraditional families: cohabiting couples, older singles and the divorced, unmarried mothers, gay or lesbian people and their partners, single parents? Can a church “fam- ily” help fill a person’s need for close relationships with others? How can a church change to meet the needs of these new families?


6. Increasing diversity The ELCA is 95 percent white, but we know that nonwhite populations are growing more quickly and are diversifying our nation. Does your congregation’s “complexion” reflect that of your community? If not, why? Does your congregation have a mis- sion strategy or outreach to nonwhite neighbors? If so, is it comprehensive and sufficient? If not, could you come up with one? Does your congrega- tion interact with churches that serve primarily people of color? What social events or joint ministry would foster better mutual understanding? How might such ventures diversify and strengthen your congregation?


7. Influence of Hispanic/Latino faith


Has your community seen more Latino neighbors in the last 10 years? Why? How has it changed your com- munity? Many Lutheran congrega- tions that have welcomed their Latino neighbors report increased vitality in worship and church life. What les- sons can Lutherans learn from Latino neighbors? How can Latino worship style and customs enrich traditional Lutheran culture? How can we become a richer community together?


This study guide is offered as one example of the more than 300 that are currently available on The Lutheran’s website. Download guides—free to print and Web subscribers—at www.thelutheran.org (click “study guides”).


26 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


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