Member-only story
The Decline of the American Church
Everyone agrees something is fundamentally wrong with the church, and 1 in 3 have recently left. What’s the solution?
“Virtually everyone agrees that something is radically wrong with the church. Inside, there is more polarization and conflict than ever, with all factions agreeing (for different reasons) that the church is in deep trouble. Outside the church, journalists, sociologists, and all other observers either bemoan or celebrate the church’s decline numerically, institutionally, and in influence.”
— Tim Keller, The Decline of Mainline
Church camps were all the rage growing up. I’m not sure how many I’ve been to in my life, but in the mid-1990s I doubled up. Not wanting to be left out of summer fun, I joined a friend and some acquaintances attending a Methodist church camp.
Church camps are all the same and appear to have stolen the model most baby boomers knew as children. There are challenges, canoeing, sing-alongs, campfires, swimming, hiking, and what you’d expect from a camp. The difference is that Christians sprinkled Jesus dust on the retreat and tried to make it spiritual, then sold the experience like a bait and switch. Hey kids! Do you want to spend two weeks in the woods next to your crush in a bikini while playing on a giant blob? Psyche! Avert your eyes and get saved, pervert!
My problems began one evening during one of the mandatory church services. In the middle of the speaker’s message, he asked how many of us liked Metallica’s new album. As the metal kid, I was excited that someone understood me, so I raised my hand until he exclaimed in a booming voice, “IT’S SATANIC!” I pulled my hand down quickly, but those around me had already seen. By the end of the message, kids everywhere were crying and promising to burn their secular albums. Church leaders had set up a huge bonfire where my peers could toss albums into the fiery blaze to save their souls. But before that happened, the band played for a good hour until everyone got saved again.
Later in life, I wondered how they reported more salvations than there were kids at the camp to the church staff, or if no one really cared. I guessed it was the latter, as numbers — instead of people — often seemed to be the…
