At the 2016 LCMS convention, a recurring topic was the decline of the church. President Harrison had written about it in his report. Some had criticized one part of what he said, the part about declined birth rates among church people. Our birth rates are below the replacement rate. Other explanations also circulate, and each one … Read more
In its mission, the church always has run up against some recurring stock errors in the world’s thinking. These errors have a strong hold on the minds and hearts of people, and they are obstacles to people hearing or believing the Gospel. From the fund of stock errors, a subset ascends and is vogue at … Read more
At the recent LCMS convention, a recurring topic was the decline of the church. President Harrison had written about it in his report. Some had criticized one part of what he said, the part about declined birth rates among church people. Our birth rates are below the replacement rate. Other explanations also circulate, and each … Read more
President Matthew Harrison of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod speaks about 40 years of declining membership in the synod. In his President’s Report, 2016 Convention Workbook, pp. 2-3, he presents information from several demographic studies. As he says, the demographic information dispels myths with facts. An important piece of the demographic information is that … Read more
The connection between mission and the Small Catechism has a number of aspects. Some of them are: state of catechesis marriage family congregation community generations Some realities we need to face are that: The state of catechesis is poor. We are suffering a death rate among our own offspring who, after being confirmed, depart the … Read more