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They litter the landscape in both rural and urban areas of America. Standing silently, their stained-glass windows and meticulous woodwork are monuments to an aging generation. Now they sit in various stages of decay or metamorphosis.
Some are homes, others are schools, another might be a daycare facility or theatre, but many just sit vacant, monolithic testaments to a dying species. The hallowed caverns that once provided shelter and identity to a Christian community, now exhibit the final stages of an often terminal ecclesiastical affliction sometimes called "Congregational Old Age."
The malady "Old Age" was coined by Peter Wagner to describe an illness that affects a church when residents of the community are leaving and there is little influx into that community.[i] Wagner viewed this as the result of changing community conditions beyond the control of church leadership and advocated a compassionate pastoral ministry leading to a natural death. This solution might be required in a rural town or village where residents are leaving the farm to live in the city.
However, Wagner was careful to note that old age was not the same as a congregation with an advanced age level.[ii] This latter malady is sometimes called "congregational old age" but a closeness to Wagner's wording may at times lead to mislabeling. Therefore, the present authors have chosen to introduce the term "geriatrophy," a combination of the word geriatric, meaning the branch of medicine that deals with the diseases of old age, and atrophy, denoting a wasting a way or failure to grow. Geriatrophy, therefore, will distinguish this deadly congregational illness more clearly from ordinary "old age."
While old age may be beyond the control of church members and leaders, geriatrophy can be successfully treated if the community has retained a portion of its younger generations. This is the case in many urban areas and inner-suburbs where Boomers and Generation X are moving in search of affordable housing. Recent trends of young people back into rural districts means that even in these communities the potential exists to reverse the effects of geriatrophy.
Another church illness, "ethnikitis," is customarily regarded as the primary killer of churches in America.[iii] It is usually narrowly defined as a change in the ethnic culture of a community.[iv] However, the word "ethnikitis" is derived from the Greek word ethne which means a "people group." Donald McGavran, in his magnum opus on church growth, Understanding Church Growth, defined ethne as "the classes, tribes, lineages, and peoples of the earth."[v] And Peter Wagner points out that the Strategy Working Group of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism defines ethne as "a significantly large sociological grouping of individuals who perceive themselves to have a common affinity for one another."[vi]
As such it can be seen that "ethnikitis" can take on a much broader meaning. A people group could apply equally to Generation X, Boomers or their parents' generation in addition to those groups distinguished by racial, tribal or class differences. Therefore, "ethnikitis" might be better identified as a generic term for a host of diseases, as "cancer" is a generic term for a collection of disorders. "Cultural ethnikitis" and "tribal ethnikitis" would thus be two "strains" of the general category "ethnikitis," and "geriatrophy" would be another.
While "cultural ethnikitis" may indeed be a significant killer of churches, several factors lead the authors to believe that "geriatrophy" may have replaced it in this dubious honor. Cultural ethnikitis may be less injurious to congregational health today because:
• Church members are more likely to travel greater distances to a church; hence a congregation may not be severely handicapped if it remains in its historical location.
• Neighborhood distinctiveness has disappeared in many communities, allowing people to feel comfortable worshiping outside of their residential community.
• Many congregations suffering from cultural ethnikitis have discovered the value of sharing their space with a congregation of different ethnic culture.
Today geriatrophy may be the chief killer of churches in America because of the inability of many congregations to successfully reach across the generation gaps to youthful generations. It is this problem that propels the demand for church consultants as well as books on the issue.
This article was adapted from "A House Divided: Bridging The Generation Gaps in Your Church," by Bob Whitesel and Kent R. Hunter, Abingdon Press, 2000.
[i]C. Peter Wagner, Your Church Can Be Healthy (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon, 1979), pp. 41-50.
[ii]C. Peter Wagner, ibid., pp. 42-43. Wagner eventually borrowed from Old West idiom the term "Ghost Town Disease" to differentiate Old Age from the malady the authors call Congregational Old Age.
[iii]C. Peter Wagner, "Principles and Procedures of Church Growth: American Church Growth," quotation from a lectureship given at Fuller
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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More » |
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