From the "Gracevine" newsletter article for Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville, Ohio, September 2022.
Marketplace
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious…” - Acts 17:22 ESV
In our time and part of the world, we don’t have much experience with traditional marketplaces, where people show up in the town square to sell their goods or hawk their wares. About the closest thing we have to marketplaces are shopping malls, where people can find stores devoted to particular items, but even these are becoming a thing of the past in light of the convenience of online shopping. But the market lives on. Instead of disappearing, the marketplace has shifted platforms.
Whatever form it takes, the concept of a marketplace is helpful for thinking about religion in America. From the beginning, the “non-establishment clause” in the First Amendment of the US Constitution turned religion into a marketplace. In our country, there would be no established state church, as in the Church of England. Yet the Founding Fathers recognized the important role that religion plays in society, and so while the First Amendment prohibited Congress from establishing a particular religion, they also made sure to prohibit Congress from making laws “prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].”
This free market economy of religion in America is what has made our country religiously vital, which stands in contrast to many European countries with a history of state sponsored churches. Though we often hear of the increasing secularization of our country, the United States actually remains a very religious country, having contributed to the proliferation of religions, church denominations, and sects, many of which have been shipped abroad. Think, for example, of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, both of which have origins in our land.
The idea of a religious marketplace is not new. In the earliest days of the Christian faith, the Apostle Paul commented during his visit to the Greek city of Athens how religious the people of that city were, devoted to various gods. Noticing there was a monument to “An Unknown God,” he used that opportunity to introduce people to faith in Jesus Christ.
What would Paul say if he were among us today? He might comment on the secularization of our society, but he might also make comments like at his speech at the Athenian Areopagus, described in the New Testament book of Acts. All around us are signs of the religiosity of our country, with churches and sects of various types on street corners and along highways. All these groups are looking for their market share.
Where do we stand in the American religious marketplace? By “we” I mean churches of our type. Unfortunately, the numerical trend is not in our favor. What has often been called “mainline” Protestantism, which includes groups like Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and others, has been in decline for some time. As of 1960, there were roughly 8 million Lutherans of all kinds in the United States. Today, there are roughly 7 million, and the population of the country has doubled in that time. “Mainline” Protestants not keeping pace with population growth is due to many factors, one of which is simply lower birthrates.
In a competitive religious market, it’s easy for churches to get nervous and to wonder how to remain vital and relevant. I have felt that pressure in the past. This is an issue that has been on my mind over the years, and that is the reason I am addressing it in this article. A fairly recent phenomenon around our country is what I and others often call the “box church,” so named because these churches often inhabit spaces of vacated “box stores,” such as Walmart, Target, and the like. Such “box churches” are most often labeled as “non-denominational” and often employ contemporary Christian praise music in their worship. For churches of a more traditional type, “box churches” provide market competition. In years gone by, denominational loyalty was much stronger than today. People who had been members of “mainline” churches automatically gravitated to other “mainline” churches if they relocated. Now, they join a church, if they bother joining one at all, for local and relational reasons. No doubt there are many decent and committed people who attend these “box churches,” but their perspectives on theology and worship are usually quite different than ours.
What does our congregation of Grace Lutheran have to offer people in this religious marketplace? A lot, I think. We have many gifted and active members, and we engage in important service in our community. We have many friendly and welcoming people. But when it comes to worship, compared to the glitz that can be found in some “box churches,” it is easy for those of us of more traditional churches to feel inadequate, irrelevant, and behind the times.
It is important to remember that no church can be everything to everyone. Most likely, we will never be a church focused on “contemporary worship” trends. Such things do appeal to certain people in the religious marketplace. But there is a place in the market for more traditional styles of “doing church,” which are quieter, more meditative, more focused on ritual, more focused on teaching, and less focused on emotionalism. We would do well to continue to focus on doing well what it is that we do. There are indeed people to whom our “style” speaks. When I was a teenager, many adults assumed that because I was younger, I must have disliked my church’s traditional style. They were surprised when I told them that I actually liked it! I know that I was not alone in my preference. Inundated with modern pop music throughout the week, many people look for church to provide them with a different kind of experience, a change of pace.
I am convinced that our congregation indeed has much to offer, and not just in terms of the good and committed people involved in the life of this church. Through our creeds, confessional writings, liturgy, and hymns, we stand on an ancient tradition that has endured for centuries. We continue to encounter God’s gospel (good news of Jesus). We do not reject everything that is new, but we also do not forget from where it is we have come. Our view of worship, which speaks of God serving us in Jesus Christ through His Word and sacraments, roots our lives in God’s grace. That is an important voice in today’s marketplace, however small it might be. Let us not be embarrassed or feel inadequate about our tradition, but embrace it proudly as our words and lives bear witness to the grace of Jesus Christ, who welcomes us sinners to his table and calls us as disciples to live repentant lives in response to his gifts!
Pr. Tom Jacobson
Marketplace
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious…” - Acts 17:22 ESV
In our time and part of the world, we don’t have much experience with traditional marketplaces, where people show up in the town square to sell their goods or hawk their wares. About the closest thing we have to marketplaces are shopping malls, where people can find stores devoted to particular items, but even these are becoming a thing of the past in light of the convenience of online shopping. But the market lives on. Instead of disappearing, the marketplace has shifted platforms.
Whatever form it takes, the concept of a marketplace is helpful for thinking about religion in America. From the beginning, the “non-establishment clause” in the First Amendment of the US Constitution turned religion into a marketplace. In our country, there would be no established state church, as in the Church of England. Yet the Founding Fathers recognized the important role that religion plays in society, and so while the First Amendment prohibited Congress from establishing a particular religion, they also made sure to prohibit Congress from making laws “prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].”
This free market economy of religion in America is what has made our country religiously vital, which stands in contrast to many European countries with a history of state sponsored churches. Though we often hear of the increasing secularization of our country, the United States actually remains a very religious country, having contributed to the proliferation of religions, church denominations, and sects, many of which have been shipped abroad. Think, for example, of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, both of which have origins in our land.
The idea of a religious marketplace is not new. In the earliest days of the Christian faith, the Apostle Paul commented during his visit to the Greek city of Athens how religious the people of that city were, devoted to various gods. Noticing there was a monument to “An Unknown God,” he used that opportunity to introduce people to faith in Jesus Christ.
What would Paul say if he were among us today? He might comment on the secularization of our society, but he might also make comments like at his speech at the Athenian Areopagus, described in the New Testament book of Acts. All around us are signs of the religiosity of our country, with churches and sects of various types on street corners and along highways. All these groups are looking for their market share.
Where do we stand in the American religious marketplace? By “we” I mean churches of our type. Unfortunately, the numerical trend is not in our favor. What has often been called “mainline” Protestantism, which includes groups like Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and others, has been in decline for some time. As of 1960, there were roughly 8 million Lutherans of all kinds in the United States. Today, there are roughly 7 million, and the population of the country has doubled in that time. “Mainline” Protestants not keeping pace with population growth is due to many factors, one of which is simply lower birthrates.
In a competitive religious market, it’s easy for churches to get nervous and to wonder how to remain vital and relevant. I have felt that pressure in the past. This is an issue that has been on my mind over the years, and that is the reason I am addressing it in this article. A fairly recent phenomenon around our country is what I and others often call the “box church,” so named because these churches often inhabit spaces of vacated “box stores,” such as Walmart, Target, and the like. Such “box churches” are most often labeled as “non-denominational” and often employ contemporary Christian praise music in their worship. For churches of a more traditional type, “box churches” provide market competition. In years gone by, denominational loyalty was much stronger than today. People who had been members of “mainline” churches automatically gravitated to other “mainline” churches if they relocated. Now, they join a church, if they bother joining one at all, for local and relational reasons. No doubt there are many decent and committed people who attend these “box churches,” but their perspectives on theology and worship are usually quite different than ours.
What does our congregation of Grace Lutheran have to offer people in this religious marketplace? A lot, I think. We have many gifted and active members, and we engage in important service in our community. We have many friendly and welcoming people. But when it comes to worship, compared to the glitz that can be found in some “box churches,” it is easy for those of us of more traditional churches to feel inadequate, irrelevant, and behind the times.
It is important to remember that no church can be everything to everyone. Most likely, we will never be a church focused on “contemporary worship” trends. Such things do appeal to certain people in the religious marketplace. But there is a place in the market for more traditional styles of “doing church,” which are quieter, more meditative, more focused on ritual, more focused on teaching, and less focused on emotionalism. We would do well to continue to focus on doing well what it is that we do. There are indeed people to whom our “style” speaks. When I was a teenager, many adults assumed that because I was younger, I must have disliked my church’s traditional style. They were surprised when I told them that I actually liked it! I know that I was not alone in my preference. Inundated with modern pop music throughout the week, many people look for church to provide them with a different kind of experience, a change of pace.
I am convinced that our congregation indeed has much to offer, and not just in terms of the good and committed people involved in the life of this church. Through our creeds, confessional writings, liturgy, and hymns, we stand on an ancient tradition that has endured for centuries. We continue to encounter God’s gospel (good news of Jesus). We do not reject everything that is new, but we also do not forget from where it is we have come. Our view of worship, which speaks of God serving us in Jesus Christ through His Word and sacraments, roots our lives in God’s grace. That is an important voice in today’s marketplace, however small it might be. Let us not be embarrassed or feel inadequate about our tradition, but embrace it proudly as our words and lives bear witness to the grace of Jesus Christ, who welcomes us sinners to his table and calls us as disciples to live repentant lives in response to his gifts!
Pr. Tom Jacobson