Excuses, Excuses
According to a news report in The Christian Challenge (Oct. 1999), the Anglican Church of Canada has lost about 25 percent of its members in the past 30 years. Apparently, many Canadian Anglicans are disgusted with the theological and moral liberalism in their church, and many of the disgusted are switching to Evangelical churches.
But Ottawa’s Anglican bishop, John Baycroft, says liberalism isn’t really the cause of the large loss of membership. So, what’s the cause? “I think,” says Baycroft, “it’s that there are too many other things to do on Sunday mornings, and you’re just too tired to get up and go to church” (italics added).
If one really must shift the blame like this, one needs to be much more astute. Look, if you’re “too tired to get up and go to church,” you’ll also be too tired to get up and do any of those “other things” people can do on Sunday mornings.
Or maybe the bishop is the one who’s too tired — too tired to think seriously about membership losses. Anyhow, what is it about those Canadian Anglicans? Why are they more tired on Sunday mornings nowadays than they were 30 years ago? Is it because they had dishwashers, microwaves, washers and dryers, and snowplows back then, but don’t anymore?
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