TruthBook Religious News Blog

3/21/2009
Jessica Johnson

Results of the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, released last week, have caused many to ponder the future of Christianity in our nation. The survey found that mainline churches have experienced a sharp decline in membership, while the number of people identifying themselves as nondenominational Christians has been on the rise since 2001.

The highlight that may have been most interesting to many was that the survey concluded the challenge to Christianity in America is not coming from other religions but "from a rejection of all forms of organized religion."

Many Christians like myself have wrestled with "organized religion" in our faith in the same manner the Apostle Paul struggled with the thorn in his flesh. As a child growing up in Ebenezer Baptist Church West in Athens, I always wondered why there were different denominations that claimed to believe in the same God.

Although many Americans today are, according to the ARIS findings, rejecting organized religion, I don't interpret this trend as completely negative for Christianity. I think many people who still profess to be Christians are discarding man-made ordinances - not necessarily the order of the church - to find a more intimate and meaningful relationship with God.

The Bible clearly explains the order of the church in terms of the ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that are to edify the body of Christ, but it also speaks of truly knowing God through a personal walk of faith.

Many of the Christian respondents questioned in the ARIS survey who are non-denominational are most likely looking to fill a spiritual void. Historic mainline churches are known for messages to keep believers on the straight and narrow, which we definitely need, but many people are also yearning for teachings that illustrate how they can get to know God for themselves.

We speak of having faith constantly in the church, but in order to grow in faith one must trust in God. The word "trust" occurs 152 times in the Old Testament, as documented in the Scofield Study Bible, and "trust" is the Old Testament term for faith.

When thinking of how David wrote songs emphasizing trust, such as Psalm 13:5, which reads, "but I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation," it's clear God desires much more from us than just adherence to his statutes.

The ARIS data concerning the state of Christianity in the United States have alarmed many, but I think the numbers reveal something much deeper.

Now, more than ever, many Americans are looking to their faith to sustain them through the trying times they are facing. They are seeking to strengthen the temple within themselves amid uncertainty and apprehension about the future.

It is my prayer that those on this spiritual path, who have discarded the manmade precepts of religion, will find the fulfillment in God for which they have been diligently searching.

Labels: ARIS, Christianity, church, faith, Jessica Johnson, trust