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We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in US history.It is greater than the First and Second Great Awakening and every revival in our country combined...but in the opposite direction. Yet precious little rigorous study has been done on the broad phenomenon of dechurching in America. Jim Davis and Michael Graham have commissioned the largest and most comprehensive study of dechurching in America by renowned sociologists Dr. Ryan Burge and Dr. Paul Djupe.The Great Dechurching takes the insights gleaned from this study to drill down on how exactly people are dechurching with respect to beliefs, behavior, and belonging.This book gives the church in America its first ever deep dive into the dechurched phenomenon. You'll learn about the dechurched through a detailed sketch of demographics, size, core concerns, church off-ramps, historical roots, and the gravity of what is at stake. Then you'll explore what can be done to slow the bleed, engage the pertinent issues winsomely and wisely, and hopefully re-church some of the dechurched.

This study book, the third in the Forgotten Luther series, invites congregations, with the help of five prominent church leaders and Luther scholars, to consider the new shape of global mission in today's world.Against the growing disparity in wealth and the rising tide of economic refugees throughout the world, this book reflects on Luther's largely forgotten social and economic reforms (to overcome poverty, lack of health care, illiteracy, and old-age insecurity) that flowed from the central doctrine of justification by grace through faith. The book is also a call for informed engagement with partner churches in a critical area of ministry that is frequently neglected. This study book draws global implications from Luther's reforms and from the theology that shaped them. It is informed by ways in which churches in the Global South have moved beyond world-denying forms of pietism to address the systemic causes of hunger, poverty, and injustice. It is addressed to the whole church at a critical time in history as vast threats to the natural world converge with acute economic hardship for hundreds of millions of people. Accompanied by videos of lectures and interviews, this study is designed to provide guidance for congregations who want to be actively engaged in the global mission of the church, including ways in which they can both accompany others and be accompanied by others on a common journey.

In this critical time in history, this volume argues that what is urgently needed is a cogent, clear, biblically based and theologically grounded rationale for the manner in which the church speaks and acts in the political arena. Lured at times into other-worldly quietism because of the pressure of historical events or distorted through a rigid understanding of the two kingdoms, the church of the Reformation has at times been silent in addressing the political factors that create and contribute to hunger, injustice, and war. This book looks carefully at the public witness of Martin Luther and its meaning for preaching, teaching, and carrying out public ministry today.Luther's conviction was that government is responsible to God for containing evil and maintaining peace and good order, and for ensuring that no person is hungry or in want.The book asks critical questions: When should the church support the state's agenda? When should it resist? What are the options for critical but constructive cooperation?This helpful volume includes essays from leading Lutheran theologians, a summary description of what this means for local ministry, and a study guide to encourage conversation and action.