Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention dropped again over the last year, according to a new report. The largest Protestant denomination in the country now counts less than 16 million members.This marks the fifth straight year the SBC has lost members. Primary worship attendance has also dropped by 0.65 percent to around 6.16 million.
My question is, is this a genuine loss, or are some SBC congregations cleaning the "never shows" out of the rolls?
I know some in the SBC have expressed concern about over inflated membership numbers -- folks are counted as members who walked the aisle, got dunked in the name of the triune God, and (heedless of the dire imagery of baptism) never darken the door of the local church again. The "shallow soil" folks.
You have a valid question, but I’ve been an “official” Southern Baptist (member of SBC churches) for over 40 years, and there is a tried and true practice of NEVER purging the rolls...
Seems as soon as you do, Sunday School attendance begins to drop. Nobody can figure it out, but that’s what they say. Maybe it’s not even true, but nonetheless, any time somebody wants to “clean up” the membership list, it meets a lot of resistance.
Many times, people would rather go to a “feel good” church where sin is not preached, and God’s love is the only part of his character ever mentioned. Yes, He is a loving God, but also, He is a JUST God, and hates sin.
The SBC is a lot more conservative, and many (not all) SBC Pastors still talk about sin and the blood of Christ, and a lot of folks don’t want to hear that people will go to hell if they refuse Jesus. So, they head for a feel good church.
We call them Chreasters. They only show up for two weekends a year yet they are on the membership roll. I blame it on the new form of Baal worship which I call “Ball Worship.” Either their pro team has a game at noon or they are taking their children to tournaments to play club or “select” baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, cheer, drill team, etc. You cannot serve two masters.