Wednesday's Catch: The Effects of Decreased Church Attendance and More

How a Decrease in Attendance Frequency is Affecting Your Church

A phenomenon is impacting churches across the United States. Maybe your church is an anomaly. But most churches—regardless of size and denominational affiliation—are experiencing a decrease in attendance frequency. Attendance frequency measures how often a person comes to church. For example, an “active” member was once considered someone who came twice, or even three times a week. Today an active member is considered someone who comes twice a month. Read More

Jesus Came to Proclaim Good News to the Poor. But Now They’re Leaving Church.

It’s well-established that the gap between the middle class and those who earn the highest incomes in the United States has grown wider over time, spurring partisan responses over how or whether to address income inequality. But there’s a facet of this issue that should be particularly worrisome to Christians: Many of the poorest Americans are abandoning church en masse. By stepping away from church communities, the people who are most financially strapped also end up losing out on social networks and social capital—which can make their economic situation and outlook even worse. Read More

Young Adults Feel Isolated and Anxious

As Americans gather with family and friends this week, many young adults in the United States and around the world report feeling lonely and isolated. Only a third of young adults around the world say they often feel cared for by those around me (33%) and often feel someone believes in me (32%), according to a survey from Barna and World Vision of 18- to 35-year-olds from 25 countries. Read More

What’s Next for the Multisite Church?

In a short time, one church in multiple locations has become a new normal. A pioneer of the model predicts where it’s headed. Read More

While the number of multisite churches have grown exponentially in recent years, it is an exaggeration to characterize them as a "new normal." The number of non-multisite churches still exceeds that of multisite churches. As has been noted in several articles posted on Anglicans Ablaze, there is also a trend away from multisite churches.

Is Positive Psychology All It’s Cracked Up to Be?

To many of its followers, the movement is a godsend, answering a need to belong to something larger than themselves and holding out the chance of better, fuller lives through truly effective techniques backed by science. To its critics, that science is undercut by positive psychology’s moralizing, its mysticism, and its money-spinning commercialization. But how valid are these concerns, and do they matter if positive psychology makes people happy? Read More

With Joel Olsteen, Kanye Drops a Clue about His Faith and His Kinship with Trump

This past Sunday, Kanye West appeared in front of perhaps his biggest church audience yet: Lakewood Church of Houston, pastored by Joel Osteen. West wore a blazer and crew neck sweater — a more conservative outfit than his typical fashion-forward attire. Answering a series of questions that felt more suited for a midday Christian talk show, West revealed a tidbit that goes a long way toward explaining why Kanye is Kanye. Read More

Kanye West's recent conversion has prompted a slew of articles on the Internet. This article offers some insight into his religious background. New Thought not only has connections to Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science but also E. W. Kenyon, Kenneth Hagin, and the Word of Faith movement.