It is an indisputable fact that the main line Evangelical denominations in America are experiencing a steady decline numerically certainly and also spiritually. The Southern Baptist Convention for many years kept growing while other main line denominations were declining, but now even the SBC is on steady decline. As one who has served the Lord in the local church for sixty years, having been an “incurable” devotee to the local assemblies and the wonderful people of God in them, I ask “Why are they declining?”
I think it would be too simplistic and naïve to point to one factor which accounts for their decline. There are certainly some very obvious reasons that local churches are losing ground. The inroads of Theological liberalism into to much of evangelicalism, the powerful secularization of our culture, the humanism of lower and higher education, the jettison of Hell, the consumerism of church ministry, the demand for “good feeling” preaching in teaching the immoral behavior of some of the clergy, and the anti-Christian attitude of government have been huge deterrents to the growth of local churches.
However, I believe there is a MAJOR REASON that main line churches are declining; and the problem is not in methodology but a serious deficiency in theology. Even while theological liberalism has crept into too many of our denominations, there still remain many seminaries and churches which are basically orthodox. But their orthodoxy stops with the cross and never has the courage or desire to go on to Pentecost. We have many orthodox seminaries who even stress the inerrancy of the Scripture and their sufficiency in all matters of faith and practice but who explain away or fail to proclaim the truth of the indispensable role of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology and Christian experience. Not only have they stopped short of Pentecost, they have done so and justified their actions on a false interpretation of Scripture. For example: 1 Cor. 13:10 declares, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” The erroneous interpretation of this verse laid the foundation of what I would call “Cessationist Theology,” which claims that the miraculous gifts and work of the Holy Spirit ceased with the closing of the canon of Scripture, when in the context of 1 Cor. 13:10, “perfect,” is referring to heaven or the perfect state beyond death promised to God’s children, not to AD 393, when the Scriptures were finally pronounced completed.[1]
Moreover, the father of “Cessationist Theology” was the esteemed professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Seminary, Dr. Benjamin Breckenridge Warfield, who was able in persuading much of the evangelical world that the supernatural works of God we read about in the New Testament were necessary only in the beginning of the church, but are now “CEASED.” With a false interpretation of 1 Cor. 13:10, plus the support of an eminent scholar in Princeton Seminary, the bastion of biblical orthodoxy for 150 years, professors in many evangelical seminaries do not even mention the supernatural references in the Bible or explain them away. For example, passages like John 14: 12, “12Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” This verse has generally been disregarded or explained away. Example: The “greater works” Jesus promised are often said to mean only the Salvation of lost souls. Jesus set forth His “works” in His first sermon in Luke 4:18 and it includes much more than soul winning.
Furthermore, there appeared on the scene the Scofield Reference Bible (1917) which was widely used as the scriptural tool of many preachers, who ascribed as much validity to the study notes as they did to the bilical text. For instance, one of the notes to 1 Cor. 14:1 reads, “Tongues and the sign gifts are to cease.”[2]
Dr. Elmer Towns, co-founder of Liberty University, made this observation, “The typical systematic theology text book in use in evangelical Bible colleges and theological seminaries in North America include a passing reference to the reality of supernatural beings. The diligent theological student learns the devil is an angel who went bad, demons are a third of the angels who rebelled with him and the angels are the good guys that stayed good. A belief in spiritual beings remains a part of our orthodox view of theology, but there appears to be little interest on the part of theologians to apply this doctrine in any practical way.”[3]
The end result of our seminaries ignoring or explaining away the supernatural is simply this: The pastors and preachers they are sending forth make the same mistake – they have little or no place for the supernatural, beginning with their preaching and showing it in their pastoral ministry to individuals.
As pastor of churches ranging from 85 members to 8000 for 50 years, I have observed an enormous shift in the church-going population. I have noted as the old-line denomination decline in members it has been accompanied by a proportionate increase in membership in newer churches. This has been especially true among Americans born after 1960. Many children of parents who belonged to traditional churches are not joining their parents’ churches. Dr. C. Peter Wagner, whom I believe is wrong on some of his beliefs, makes this correct observation when he writes, “For example, if you observe the churches in almost any metropolitan area of the country, you will find a number of churches that are growing vigorously, some of which are mega-churches with several thousand members. By and large, these churches function very differently from the traditional churches in the city. Most of them do not belong to any of the old line denominations, and even those that do have, for the most part, long-since been coloring outside of their standard denominational lines. The denomination usually tolerates them, at least in part, because of their substantial contributions to the headquarters’ budget.”[4]
Is there any hope for the main-line denominations or what is now being called “the old line” denominations? Some would say that we are now in the last stage of the church age on the earth, the Laodocean phase set forth in Revelation 3:14-22, when Jesus will “spew the church out of His mouth.” (Rev. 3:16). The Laodicean churches are indeed a reality in the new millennium, but there is also the existence of the Philadelphian expression of the local churches in my judgment – churches that are entering the “Open Door” of unprecedented opportunity to share the gospel in power with a lost world (Rev. 3:7-10), and witnessing glorious results.
Will the “main line” or “old line” denominations enter that door? They can but only if they recognize and realize that it will not be “By might or power” of man but by “My Spirit saith the Lord.” (Zech. 4:6). If they fail to do so, they will decline and decline and decline until one day they will be non-existent or worse than that, a horrible example of the Lord’s church and even a hindrance in spreading the true gospel to a waiting and desperate world.
A Personal Testimony: Six decades ago I began training in Universities and Seminaries, regarded as prestigious institutes, namely Wake Forest University, Duke University, and NOBTS. I am truly thankful for the broad theological education that I received in them, and am well aware that I would not be able to do my mentoring ministry today without what they provided. However, I must go on to say that had I stopped in my theology where my professors left off I would have failed up and down the line, for in every local church I served I discovered that none of them knew, much less had experienced, the indispensable power of the Holy Spirit. I introduced each of them into this reality and witnessed significant revivals in all of them, though they were in deep spiritual trouble when I began as their pastor. I attended a liberal seminary, Duke University, to earn my M. Div. and witnessed an amazing thing. I was privileged to take a course in “American Religious Thought” under the renown authority on revivalism, Dr. Sheldon Smith. Dr. Smith lectured like a Pentecostal on the Great Awakening, the ministry of Jonathan Edwards, and others, but denied or ignored the supernatural in class. When I asked him why the inconsistency, he had no answer. I earned my doctorate in theology in NOBTS, a conservative seminary in the main, where the professors stressed the centrality of the cross but gave little or no attention to the Indispensable Role of the Holy Spirit.
A Final Word of Encouragement to all pastors in the “main line” denominations: The early Christians were waiting for Pentecost (Acts 1:14) – today Pentecost is waiting for us (Ephesians 5:18; Acts 1:8). Have you or will you experience Pentecost or keep waiting until it is everlastingly too late?
[1] I want to make it crystal clear that I am not promoting the speaking in tongues. I humbly feel I am filled with the Holy Spirit but I’ve never spoken in tongues. However, I would not say God could never give that gift today, nor would I demonize someone who speaks in tongues as some “Fundamentalists” have.
[2] CI Scofield, The New Scofield Reference Bible, Oxford Press, 1967, p. 1245.
[3] Elmer Towns and Neil T. Anderson, Rivers of Revival, 1997, p. 219.
[4] Dr. C. Peter Wagner, Seven Power Principles I Learned After Seminary, Ventura California: Regal, 2005, p. 5.