St. Seraphim and Motovilov
A friend sent out an email recently regarding this article from Orthodox Christian Laity, in which it is noted that the Orthodox church in the United States is shrinking according to a recent PEW forum survey. The question posed, then, is what do we make of this?
Logic alone tells that there are only two possible reasons why the numbers are shrinking. The first is people leaving the church, and the second is few new people coming in. I anticipate that both reasons are in play. Typically, I would expect each reason to require a different response, and frequently we see people approaching these as having two different causes. People not coming in is because we don’t evangelize enough. We don’t get the message out, we don’t invite people to our church, we don’t welcome people when they do come for a visit. People leaving is because we aren’t providing the programs that they want, or aren’t satisfying them in some way. Outside of the Orthodox Church we see pushes for more dynamic entertaining worship services. Even Within the Church there is a drive to model our behaviors on those of apparently successful megachurches. I say apparently because these churches only exist for a while, typically, then fall apart as their charismatic leader either retires or falls from grace due to some indiscretion. What they do is create programs that tickle the current perceived needs of the spiritually starving masses, then market their product, pretty much using the same approaches as one would use to market a Ford Fusion or the latest Carl’s Jr. hamburger.
But why are people really leaving? I would argue that they are leaving because the Orthodox Church, in America especially, but perhaps everywhere, has become irrelevant. Many members of the Church from my generation went to church on Sunday morning because it is what they were trained to do. I saw this during my life as an Episcopalian (born and raised). Of greater importance, they grew up in an American culture where people went to Church on Sunday. Little Tommy Romero went to the Catholic Church, Johnny Berg went to the local Presbyterian or Lutheran Church, and Ben Ludlow attended the Episcopal Church. Nick Maropolous? To the Greek Church. It was what was done. 21st century America, on the other hand, no longer has need of church on Sunday. If there is no cultural imperative to attend church on Sunday, why bother with the Orthodox Church, or any other? Church, itself, is irrelevant. I think this comic captures the notion best.
The purpose of the Orthodox Church is to create saints. I’ve heard this before, and was reminded of it again during a recent visit to another parish in the San Diego area on All Saints. The priest made this and some other key points during his homily. If parishes are actively engaged in this “saint building” practice, then we should expect that membership would not be on the decline quite as much. After all, the Church is providing something other than simply a cultural experience. Unfortunately, for a great number of Orthodox parishes, there is very little focus on the building of saints, and instead the primary focus is on cultural activities. As new generations of members come to adulthood, they will find themselves less connected to their ethnic origins, and these cultural activities will also become less relevant. At that point, where there is no cultural motivation, people simply leave. They go to other churches that “feel” better, or more than likely, they simply stop entirely. I’ve seen it outside the Orthodox Church (in particular in the Episcopal Church), and thus I’m not surprised to see it here.
What about bringing in new members? What is limiting us here? As pointed out earlier, many would have us model our evangelism after those of popular mega-churches. We should market our church as if it is simply a competing product. In an environment where we are not focused on the building of saints, but rather other less central programs, then we are simply a competing product. Unfortunately, we are a competing product of ancient music, long services, and ethnic isolation. There is little within that to be of much appeal to the average American. If I felt like I needed to do something “spiritual” on a Sunday, I’d rather go to the local St. Starbucks and have a frap while watching a rock band (yes, a local North County megachurch is known for having an on-site Starbucks). Of course, if I was really smart, I’d simply sleep in then go play for the rest of my last day off before the work week.
However, if we were to offer something of great spiritual significance, like a means to grow saints, to provide a pathway for people to become united with God, then we would have something. Well, the Orthodox Church has that means. We’ve had it from the beginning. The question is, how do we let people know? Many proponents of marketing campaigns would look to to glitzy ads, social media, and the like to get the point across. They would point to the New Testament and early Church looking for examples of people spreading the gospel to non-believers. Frequently, however, they overlook a key component. Who is it within the New Testament and Early Church that is doing the evangelism? Who is drawing believers to the Church? Typically it is a saint. We see that all the way up to the modern times. So, if we have a proper saint building program within the Church, we will have the means of drawing people in. Holiness is really quite attractive to many people. We cannot simply say we have something. We have to demonstrate it.
What this means is that the solution to both causes of the decline of the Orthodox Church is to focus on the building of saints. The Orthodox Church has that program. It is the sacraments, fasting (and related ascetic practices), and confession (which included spiritual guidance). It requires a proper catechetical underpinning so that people are properly educated. Nothing new needs to be invented, we simply need to do what the Church has always done, at least until recent times. In the sermon I mentioned earlier, the priest also reminded us that becoming a saint requires suffering, hence the focus in the Orthodox Church on asceticism. This stands in contrast to the feel good focus that underlies many of the megachurches in the US, as well as competing religious systems. That, by itself, is a bit challenging to market. However, like a good sports program, if you develop a number of top level athletes, then people will be drawn to the program, even if you tell them they will need to work hard and suffer to achieve their objectives. There is, of course, an interesting corollary to this. If, instead of a great athlete, the sports program puts out a consummate couch potato as the example of what they produce, will that be very appealing?
If we look around the Orthodox Church in the United States, we can find many examples of growing parishes, and the one thing they have in common is a focus on the growth of saints. Those parishes who have, as a primary focus, cultural activities, are simply another flavor of country club. One without golf, tennis, and with an inconvenient program time.