Death of Liberalism - Part 2

There is a growing realization that Americans are deeply religious, especially compared to Europeans. "Religious devotion sets the United States apart from some of its closest allies," according to a recent survey by the Washington Post. Dave Shiflett found this to be true as he worked on his new book Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity. In interview after interview, Shiflett discovered that believers rejected the God-lite of progressive Christianity in favor of the absolute God of tradition.

Throughout the course of reading Shiflett's book, one fact became crystal clear: While the Liberal Left imagines a world devoid of the One True God, Gay Rights and Abortion Rights activists think they have control of our family economics, Liberal thinkers in our seminaries think they can beat down the Truth of God's Word, and progressive churches think they can feed God's people with a watered-down gospel -- God is still in control!! The truth of Proverb 14:12 shines through in this global deception: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."

The most recent Religious Congregations and Membership study, published in 2000 (the study is conducted each decade) by the Glenmary Research Center, tells the statistical story. Progressive churches are marching into oblivion. The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (11,106 churches) has experienced a decline of 11.6 percent over the previous ten years; the United Methodist Church (35,721 churches) was down 6.7 percent; and the Episcopal Church (7,314 churches) lost 5.3 percent of its membership. Also, the United Churches of Christ (5,863 churches) declined 14.8 percent while the American Baptist Churches USA were down 5.7 percent.

Why is this happening? I think it's because most church-attenders are looking for a God who will fix a parking ticket. My term for this is spiritual anemia. It is the guiding principle in most progressive churches today. This King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (see Hallelujah Chorus) wants to fix the heart - not a parking ticket. I Samuel 16:7 provides the light: "Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart." Liberals are more concerned with the outward appearance, as a result there is no substance in the Liberal message. True seekers are discovering this and finding other fountains.