{"id":2979,"date":"2024-08-04T11:55:50","date_gmt":"2024-08-04T15:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=2979"},"modified":"2024-08-03T11:56:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T15:56:33","slug":"saying-goodbye-to-a-dying-church-ex-pastor-religious-analyst-burge-speaks-of-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/08\/04\/saying-goodbye-to-a-dying-church-ex-pastor-religious-analyst-burge-speaks-of-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Saying Goodbye to a Dying Church: Ex-pastor\/Religious Analyst Burge speaks of Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On average, approximately 4,500 U.S. churches close every year, and only 1,000 new ones open. An AI rendering of a church with a for sale sign in front, rendered in Dall*E for Beliefnet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Personal Loss<\/h3>\n

On average, approximately 4,500 U.S. churches close every year, and only 1,000 new ones open. And every year, 2.7 million church members become inactive, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The statistics are impersonal until you think about the pastors and church members who feel the loss — pastors like Ryan Burge, whose dying church permanently closed on July 21.<\/p>\n

Burge was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, IL, for nearly 18 years. When you consider his education and experience, you might think he was well-equipped to save a dying church. You might be right.<\/p>\n

He is one of the nation\u2019s leading religious analysts and an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Consequently, he spends his weekdays documenting the dramatic decline in Americans\u2019 religious affiliation, The Jamaica Gleaner <\/em>recently reported.<\/p>\n

Burge has also written several articles and four books about U.S. religion and politics, including The Nones<\/u>, which looks at the roughly 30 percent of American adults who don’t identify with any religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI researched the decline of organized religion while having a front-row view<\/a> of the change in my own life,\u201d he noted in a post for Deseret News<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

But even Burge couldn\u2019t save the dying church he had pastored since 2006.<\/p>\n

A Dying Church<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happened at my own church is especially poignant since in my day job I research trends in American religion,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 when I first became a pastor, right out of college, there were ominous signs, but I did not foresee how quickly the end would come, hastened by the pandemic.”<\/p>\n

First Baptist Church was a mainline church affiliated with the American Baptist denomination. Theologically, it was moderate.<\/p>\n

Burge became its pastor while pursuing a master\u2019s degree in political science. \u201cI needed a job that would give me the flexibility to focus on my studies,” he explained.<\/p>\n

“It seemed like a good fit at the time, both theologically and logistically, although it was inconceivable to me then that I would still hold the same position into my early 40s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sanctuary \u201ccould easily accommodate 300 people,\u201d he added. \u201cThat first year or two, I could count about 50 people scattered around the pews. The sanctuary felt sparse, but not empty \u2013 a relief, since I wasn\u2019t the most credentialed pastor in the history of the church\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I lacked in education and experience, I was sure I could make up with enthusiasm,\u201d he said in a story posted by Deseret News<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an apocryphal quote from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, that I thought about often in those first couple of years: \u2018Light yourself on fire with passion, and people will come from miles to watch you burn.\u2019 I tried to light that match every Sunday morning. People didn\u2019t show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, Burge was hopeful.<\/p>\n

The Beginning of the End<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The decline of First Baptist began in the 1970s and 1980s. \u201cIf you talked to five members of my church about this period of time, you would get five different reasons for the decline,\u201d the young pastor wrote.<\/p>\n

“An ill-advised sermon drove off few a key families. Lots of kids who grew up in the church went off to college and didn\u2019t return to rural Illinois because of the lack of employment opportunities.\u201d First Baptist also had to compete with churches that energized their services with guitars and drums.<\/p>\n

Whatever the causes, the church\u2019s membership was less than 100 by the 1990s. Burge\u2019s optimism faded as he realized he couldn\u2019t turn it around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at that point most members knew in their hearts that the end was coming for the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, they didn\u2019t discuss it. \u201cIt was better to keep our heads down and focus on the next worship service\u2026.\u201d Burge said.<\/p>\n

A Flourishing Career<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As Burge dealt with the realities of a dying church, his college career and related work flourished. \u201cI began to plunge headlong into data about American religion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

By this time, he had a doctorate in political science and was an associate professor at a nearby university. On Sundays, he preached to a tiny congregation.<\/p>\n

He also began posting graphics on Twitter (now X) that depicted America\u2019s changing religious landscape. People generally ignored them until he posted a line graph showing changes from 1972 to 2018.<\/p>\n

Non-religious Americans had become as numerous as evangelicals.<\/p>\n

The post went viral, and major media outlets across the country picked up the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I was seeing in the data was unmistakable and mapped perfectly onto what I was seeing every Sunday \u2013 mainline Protestant Christianity was in a near free fall, and the numbers of nonreligious were rising every single year,\u201d he said in Deseret News.<\/em><\/p>\n

Assessing Blame<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The media became fascinated by Burge. Here was an expert on the decline of American churches whose own church was dying. He gave interviews and accepted requests to speak to hundreds of people at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was asked what motivated me to continue to do this kind of work, all I could say was, \u2018I\u2019m just trying to help other people see the big picture\u2026.\u2019 What I was really trying to do was convince myself that the rapid decline of my church wasn\u2019t my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

Negative thoughts nagged him.<\/p>\n