Is Christianity in Trouble?

In Newsweek’s cover story last week, Andrew Sullivan assessed the situation Christianity finds itself in these days. The cover lines exclaimed: “Forget the Church: Follow Jesus.” The Catholic Church, along with mainline Protestant churches, are facing challenges from society and from within. What is the future of the Church? What is the future of Christianity? As a follow-up to Sullivan’s article, Diana Butler Bass addressed some of the changes that have unfolded in religion in recent decades in this Huffington Post article.

Have a conversation with young adults about these two articles:

• Do you agree with Sullivan’s assessment of Christianity? Why or why not?
• Do you identify with the cover lines: “Forget the Church: Follow Jesus”? What do they mean to you?
• Is the Church in trouble? What should we do about it?
• What role does the Church play in your personal faith journey?
• How might the church be more relevant to you in your life situation? What changes would you like to see in the Church and religion so that they might uniquely addresses people’s longing for deeper faith and meaning in their lives?