Book Review: Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom Rainer

It is no secret that church attendance is dwindling. Compared to the church of yesterday we are seeing less people attend than I can remember. Growth churches do experience usually come from those who have moved from another church, not from new converts. This problem is across denominations. And churches are dying as a result. Thom Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway, researched churches that died and wrote a helpful book discussing his results titled, “Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive.”

Without delving into each of the twelve areas he addresses, I want to write about a few that spoke most to me. The first being that the erosion happens slowly. As with all areas of life, most decay happens slowly, and typically goes unnoticed. Common areas of dying churches where slow decline occurred in the prayer lives of its members, a lack of focus, no hopes and dreams of the members, and a loss of connection to the community the church is part of.

The next cause of death in the churches Rainer analyzed that I will mention is that these churches had their past as their hero. They kept pointing to and standing on how things used to be and fighting for the church to get back to that way of life. What areas of the past were they clinging on to? The areas that focused on their own needs and not the needs of others. They became self-focused instead of outward-focused.

Thirdly, the budget moved inwardly. The main area was with pastoral ministry. The church “pays the pastor to visit” people and they will keep paying him to do so as long as they don’t have to. The result is that the laity forget that the Great Commission is for them also, not just the pastor. One person can’t do it all, yet these churches expect the pastor to because they pay him to do it.

Another aspect of the finances of dying churches is that they accumulated large savings accounts for a “rainy day” while neglecting to meet the needs of their members. People were hurting and in need while the church’s bank account grew. It isn’t difficult to see why this would cause a church to slowly die away.

A natural flow from finances is that these churches lost focus on what it means to be a Great Commission church. All moneys and programs were inwardly focused. They chose comfort over reaching the lost. And when new people visited they were only welcomed if they were like members of the church and wanted to do church their way. Rainer says it this way, “Members of dying churches really didn’t want growth unless the growth met their preferences and allowed them to remain comfortable.” Comfort is one of the main idols in the American church today.

The fifth reason why these churches died that stood out to me is that these churches were preference-driven. They wanted music their way. Programs their way. Carpet color their way. Building design their way. Ministers ministering their way. Rainer put it this way, “My, my, my.” Like in life when someone won’t budge you typically don’t want anything to do with what they are selling.

Rainer also noticed that the closer to death these churches got the, “intensity of their arguments and demands for their preferences grew.” In other words, they dug in their heels.

Another symptom of dying churches is that they rarely prayed together. Not just prayer but meaningful prayer. Most churches use prayer to bookend the service when all that she does should be covered in prayer. Prayer isn’t a last resort it is a first priority.

These churches also had no clear purpose. People got into ruts. Doing things just to do them. They couldn’t explain why they had their programs other than that is the way it has always been done so we keep on doing it that way.

The last area I want to mention is that these dying churches became obsessed over facilities. Should churches be beautiful? Of course. But to be obsessed over them when discipleship is non-existent, when people are hurting and are left to suffer, isn’t what the church should be about. And she will die if she doesn’t change course.

There were other causes of church death that Rainer mentions that I didn’t discuss here but are just as problematic.

If you are in church leadership I would consider this book a must. If you are “just” a member I would read this book and do your part to keep the heartbeat of the church pumping. We all play a part in keeping the church vital and alive. We all also can play a part in causing her death. Which do you choose?