Judgment on the American Church is Already Underway

 Some folks aren't going to like what I have to say here (not that this is new). I've been watching a lot of videos on why so many churches and Christian organizations are collapsing, and why so many of the younger generations are leaving the churches and not coming back. Most of these are done using AI to scour all parts of the internet for all information and statistics on a subject and then asking the AI to deliver an unbiased, no fluff interpretation of the data. 

     The results are pretty clear. What it boils down to is that, as I said several years ago, the younger generations are calling B.S. They've got immediate access to statistics, science articles, and personal testimonies at their fingertips. They can read the Bible, and most have read it very well, for themselves and compare it to the behavior they see from pastors and the older congregants, and they want no part of the massive contradiction they're seeing. 

     One of the biggest factors is the merging of right wing politics with institutional religion, and MAGA, and it's contradiction of Jesus' actual teachings. That's not speculation. That's what they're saying. They see the leader of the MAGA movement, Donald Trump, and his behavior and can't understand how their pastors and Sunday School teachers idolize this man, even calling him an "American Messiah." But the numbers don't lie. 

     Churches are closing their doors for lack of people and funding. Church attendance has been cut by a third if not a half across the US, and those who remain are my generation (GenX) or older. The generations who were supposed to carry it onwards have, almost with one voice, said "no." The movement and the man to whom many Christians and churches looked to be the savior of American Christianity is becoming one of the main causes of its gutting. As church members die off, if things continue, there will be no one to replace them.

     And the kick of it is, many if not most of those who leave and don't return to any church still believe in God. They still believe in and want to follow Jesus Christ. They still read their Bibles, and many know them thoroughly from what I've seen. They've taken responsibility for their own spiritual development and formation. Even those who adopt the "spiritual but not religious" moniker are often among these. Many of those who would now fall under the "New Age" label have nothing but praise for Jesus Christ and His teachings, and call themselves followers of Jesus. They haven't rejected Jesus. They've rejected the hypocrisy of the institutions who claim to represent Him.

     I've written about and even done a video sermon on a judgment coming to the American Church. I think it was about three years ago now, give or take. What I didn't know then was that it was already underway and is gaining speed and we're actually watching it in real time if we're paying it any attention.

     As Paul wrote, "You reap what you sow." And the American Church is reaping the harvest it's been sowing for decades.