Main Issue for Church Leaders
Rowland Crocuher responded that by talking to clergy each week, the main issue is unresolved 'family of origin' things, those difficulties they had when growing up with their parents. They bring this with them into their adult life, marriage and work. When conflict occurs in churches, somehow it is associated with people who remind them of these unresolved dysfunctional relationships.
Main Theological issue
Rowland Croucher responded that although it differs from church to church and denomination to denomination; the West to the Third World, the one issue without exception is homosexuality. It always crops up. This is easily the number one issue. There is a paradigm shift occurring. He likens it to previous church disputes associated with slavery, women in ministry and the charismatic renewal. In 20 years time we may well wonder what the fuss was about. There are many different issues associated with homosexuality and the church is in the middle of this turmoil.
Main Church issue
Rowland Crocher explained that the main issue for the church in the West and for mainline churches was 'losing customers'. People are now not going to church. In 2003 the 'George Barna Research' revealed that more committed Christians were not attending church than those who were on most Sundays. This was the first time in history this statistic has become a reality.
As to the Pentecostal church scene in Australia, several Pentecostal denominations were growing but it is not uniform. Their worship replicates generation X and Y music and young adults are attracted to that. Pentecostals expect a high degree of personal and spiritual commitment and young adults are attracted to that. But there is a lot of moving around in the Pentecostal scene (between Pentecostal churches and in and out of their churches). But they are growing and its mainly for those two reasons, the worship and the commitment required.
Main Church Growth issue
Rowland Croucher says that it is declining. Those churches that are declining quickest, are those who are doing, roughly, what they have always done, and more so, those churches who are roughly doing what their grand-parents did in their day.
In the West, one of the key reasons, (Tony Compolo has written a chapter on this and he himself written a major article), is that people watch on average 20 hours of television a week. Compared to what they see on television, Church is frankly, boring. Pastors have to compete with telegenic personalities and unless a Pastor can preach with charisma and is worth listening to, with a style like they see on television, that is both interesting and answers questions people are asking, Pastor's will battle.
Main issue for the Future
The future, says Rowland Croucher, 'if we do not change', does not look good in the West. The church will fall further and further behind. All the research is showing that there are fewer and fewer people each decade attending churches.
Pastors need to be equipping people for ministry and we pastors are not very good at that. People get disappointed if their gifts (skills) and potential in ministry is not actualised in the local church. Pastors need to empower others for ministry, and not accrue all power to themselves.
This Rowland Croucher interview on the Australian Missionary News IPTV can be viewed at tv.bushorchestra.com/Professionals/videopages/rowland_croucher.html or www.safeworlds.net