No one can fail to see that the power of the Church among large numbers in many communities is today diminishing, or has already ceased.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It's very difficult to determine whether this is the fault of the world that has abandoned the Church, or the Church that does not know how to relate to the world.
The Christian church in the U.S. is still strong numerically, but it has lost its decisive influence both in American public life and in American culture as a whole, especially in the major elite institutions of society.
We are no longer a nation of one church; we are a nation of many churches.
The church, inserted and active in human society and in history, does not exist in order to exercise political power or to govern the society.
It is an absolutely unique success of the church community to have introduced such an epoch-making change, in just a few years, without having a serious division.
Churches we build only by our own efforts and not in the strength of the Spirit will quickly collapse when we don't push and prod people along.
I look at tens of thousands of church leaders who still do need a bit of an awakening.
When anyone has the power to destroy the whole human race in a matter of hours, it becomes a moral issue. The church must speak out.
I think our failure in the production of good town churches of distinctive character must have struck you often, as it has me, when contrasted with our comparative success in country churches.
The imminent demise of the church has been predicted since the middle of the 18th century. This is the regular secular mantra if churchgoing declines. I could take you to plenty of churches that are full to bursting and new churches being built.