Let me ask you a question, did you know that “30 to 50 million Americans used to go to church but no longer do, making this the largest and fastest religious shift in US history?”

Were you aware of this?

Have you and the leaders in your church been talking about it?

If it is true what can we do about it?

The questions that I have been asking are discussed in a book that is being released in August called, “The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, And What Will It Take To Bring Them Back?” by Jim Davis and Michael Graham. I have pre-ordered it and I am looking forward to reading it and talking it over with the leaders at our church.

We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in US history. It is greater than the First and Second Great Awakening and every revival in our country combined but in the opposite direction. Yet precious little rigorous study has been done on the broad phenomenon of dechurching in America. Jim Davis and Michael Graham have commissioned the largest and most comprehensive study of dechurching in America by renowned sociologists Dr. Ryan Burge and Dr. Paul Djupe. The Great Dechurching takes the insights gleaned from this study to drill down on how exactly people are dechurching with respect to beliefs, behavior, and belonging.

The Great Dechurching gives the church in America its first ever deep dive into the dechurched phenomenon. Readers will learn about the dechurched through a detailed sketch of demographics, size, core concerns, church off-ramps, historical roots, and the gravity of what is at stake. Then they will explore what can be done to slow the bleed, engage the pertinent issues winsomely and wisely, and hopefully re-church some of the dechurched.

Once the book arrives in August I plan on sharing some of their research and ideas about how we can respond here in my blog. Of course I would love your interaction!

Here is a podcast the authors did recently. During this podcast I heard the term “a TED talk and Coldplay.” Interesting…