(Blog) A Theological Shift & The Loss of Membership - Ep. 988 - October 1, 2026

Church Membership Decline: A Theological Shift

Churches changed their teaching to attract people, yet the membership losses continued. Alan Smith and Jeff Rowland argue that this raises a deeper concern than empty pews: churches may have weakened the biblical convictions that gave them their identity.

In Episode 988 of The Smith and Rowland Show, they examine theological change, declining membership, and the difference between attracting people to church and preaching salvation. Their discussion begins with a warning about how Christians respond to the falling away.

Declining Church Attendance Isn't a Reason to Celebrate

Smith and Rowland connect the decline of church participation with biblical warnings about a great falling away. However, they reject the idea that Christians should celebrate the decline simply because they believe it fits prophecy.

Their response is grief and concern. They want to understand why people are leaving and whether churches have contributed to that departure through changes in their teaching.

Smith cites attendance figures of about 65% of Americans in the 1950s, about 62% in the 1960s, and about 8% in 2026. The hosts also recall a 52% figure from an earlier discussion of attendance in the 1960s and 1970s.

These are figures discussed on the show. Smith notes that the 2026 figure includes people watching services online, so it doesn't refer only to people physically sitting in church pews.

For the hosts, the central concern is the direction of the trend. Churches changed to retain younger generations and attract outsiders, but the losses continued. They believe that outcome calls for a serious examination of the changes themselves.

Four Areas Where the Hosts See Theology Changing

The article Smith and Rowland discuss draws on Christian Faith Archives and identifies a sustained shift in mainline theology beginning in the 1960s. It names four areas of change:

• Biblical authority came under question.
• Teaching about human sexuality changed.
• The uniqueness of Christ, including the belief that he is the only way to salvation, became disputed.
• Churches reconsidered the nature of salvation itself.

The hosts emphasize that this isn't a complete list. They believe other doctrines have also faded, including separation and sanctification.

Different denominations changed at different speeds. Some moved gradually, while others experienced public disputes, congregational divisions, and departures by traditionalist members. Smith and Rowland point to divisions in Methodist and Lutheran churches as examples of that wider conflict.

They also connect these changes with Paul's warning to Timothy that some would depart from the faith by following seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. In their interpretation, theological departure carries spiritual danger.

That language can sound harsh to modern churchgoers, they acknowledge. However, they argue that making people feel good or encouraging good behavior doesn't establish whether a teaching agrees with Scripture.

Why Cultural Accommodation Was Expected to Work

The reasoning behind the changes was straightforward: American culture was changing, and churches feared losing younger people if they didn't change with it.

More inclusive teaching and fewer doctrinal barriers were expected to attract people outside the church. Those changes were also supposed to persuade former members to return.

Smith and Rowland argue that this strategy weakened the convictions that had given churches their identity. In trying to make Christianity more acceptable, churches sometimes set aside the reasons they existed in the first place.

They describe a shift toward treating church like a business or entertainment venue. The concern became how to persuade people to attend, using the same reasoning that might draw customers to a company or an audience to a movie theater.

For Rowland, that approach has a clear limit: persuading someone to enter a church doesn't bring that person into salvation. Attendance alone also doesn't guarantee that someone will remain.

Because the membership losses continued, both hosts regard the effort to preserve the church through cultural accommodation as a failed strategy.

The Danger of Assuming What God Wants

Smith illustrates their concern with a story from a Peter Lord message about "God and cherry pie."

In the story, a man hears that God likes cherry pie. He spends his life collecting cherry pie recipes, then arrives in heaven proud of everything he has gathered. There, he learns that the information guiding his life's work was wrong.

Smith applies the story to his own assumptions. He wonders how many "recipes" he has stored away because he thought they were what God wanted.

The point connects directly with the theological discussion. A church can spend years pursuing an approach it believes will please God without examining whether that belief is sound.

For Smith and Rowland, sincerity doesn't settle that question. The church must examine its assumptions against what Scripture actually teaches.

PCUSA Membership Losses in the Figures Discussed

The hosts examine the Presbyterian Church (USA), or PCUSA, as a major example of mainline contraction. The Christian Faith Archives account they discuss compares membership and congregation figures across several decades.

The episode presents the following figures:

Using those figures, the hosts describe a loss of roughly 3 million members, or about 73% of peak membership, over six decades. The congregation figures also show a decline of about 1,200 local assemblies between 2012 and 2024.

Smith and Rowland return to the purpose behind the changes: keeping the denomination alive by making it more culturally acceptable. They argue that the losses challenge the expectation that accommodation would produce renewed participation.

Their discussion includes some uncertainty about Presbyterian names and branches. The membership comparison itself concerns the PCUSA, which they identify as an example of a denomination that adopted the changes they oppose.

Inclusion Changes and the Warning About Mainline Survival

The episode also discusses an October 2024 change by the PCUSA's Office of the General Assembly. Its membership statistics added a non-binary and gender-queer option as part of an effort to be more inclusive.

Alongside that change, the Christian Faith Archives account reports that more than 51,000 members had left since 2021. Smith and Rowland question whether changes intended to revitalize the denomination brought in the new members its leaders expected.

Their argument concerns the denomination's broader priorities and membership trajectory. The discussion doesn't establish that this single statistical change caused the losses.

They also read a warning attributed to political scientist and religion researcher Ryan Burge: the mainline church is "quickly headed for extinction." The account presents that statement as a projection about institutional decline, rather than a claim that the denominations have already disappeared.

The hosts extend the concern to churches that still have buildings and services but have lost the convictions that once defined them.

They briefly mention declining membership and an aging population in the Episcopal Church. They propose examining that subject in another episode, without presenting a detailed Episcopal membership comparison here.

How Seeker-Sensitive Churches Changed the Approach

Smith and Rowland then consider the seeker-sensitive church movement. They discuss Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Community Church, founded in the Chicago area in the 1970s, along with Rick Warren and Saddleback Church.

Smith recounts the approach of asking people who didn't attend church why they stayed away. The answers included complaints about old music and a stuffy atmosphere. Churches then introduced contemporary music, coffee bars, and other features intended to make attendance more appealing.

He doesn't identify those features as sins. He also acknowledges that the approach drew people into church.

The hosts' concern is what shaped the church's direction. A survey of unchurched people can reveal what they prefer, but Smith and Rowland believe it can't determine what Jesus wants his church to be.

Rowland argues that Scripture supplies that direction. Therefore, a church's purpose and teaching must remain grounded in the Bible, even when it changes how it welcomes people.

They also distinguish attendance from conversion. Smith cautions that he can't determine who was saved or lost in those congregations. Their criticism centers on the approach and its later development, rather than a judgment about every person who attended.

Their Qualifications About Hybels and Warren

They acknowledge gospel preaching

Smith and Rowland say they've heard both Hybels and Warren preach the gospel. They don't dismiss all the work those leaders did, and Smith repeatedly holds back from judging their ministries as a whole.

The conversation also clarifies Warren's stated position on sexuality. Smith says Warren teaches that homosexual behavior conflicts with Scripture, opposes same-sex marriage, and defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. He adds that Warren calls Christians to treat all people with love and respect.

The hosts agree with those positions. Smith similarly describes Hybels as holding a traditional evangelical view that reserves sexual expression for marriage between a man and a woman.

Their concern is the later progression

Their criticism focuses on how the seeker-sensitive approach developed beyond its early forms. They believe churches eventually used the same broad language of accommodation to accept teachings that conflicted with Scripture.

Smith doesn't assume the movement's early leaders would agree with every later development. However, both hosts believe churches removed too many traditions and allowed the approach to progress beyond what its founders could control.

They also acknowledge their own participation in efforts to bring more people into church.

Repentance Has to Remain Part of the Gospel

At the center of the hosts' argument is the need for people to recognize their lost condition before they can receive salvation.

Rowland describes a reluctance to confront that condition. Churches wanted visitors to feel good, enjoy the service, and return the following week. As a result, he argues, some became unwilling to tell people that they needed to be saved.

The hosts connect this with their earlier discussion of moralistic therapeutic deism. They describe a message centered on being good, being nice, and feeling better, with little attention to repentance or the saving work of Christ.

Rowland criticizes Joel Osteen's encouraging message that a person's best is ahead of them. In his assessment, preaching of that kind can become therapy while leaving out the cross, Christ's blood, sacrifice, and atonement. He calls it another gospel when those central claims disappear.

Their concern also reaches into the meaning of freedom in Christ. They reject the idea that Christian freedom gives someone permission to sin without consequence.

Smith presses further: a person who continually seeks permission to disagree with God raises a question about whether that person has been born again. Rowland says he believes many church attendees have never experienced salvation and instead attend for psychological help. These are the hosts' assessments, not judgments about every congregation or individual.

Separation and Sanctification in Everyday Life

Smith and Rowland believe the loss of teaching about separation and sanctification has made Christian conduct harder to distinguish from conduct outside the church.

Rowland mentions appearance, speech, behavior, dress, and responses to others. Smith puts greater emphasis on the mouth than on clothing.

For example, he describes someone hearing a dirty joke and immediately offering another one. To him, that response reveals more than an outward religious appearance. The issue is whether a person's everyday speech reflects a life set apart for Christ.

They connect this concern with the biblical warning about having a form of godliness while denying its power. Religious habits can remain even when the life-changing power they profess isn't evident.

The hosts also make an important qualification: they know there are congregations that don't fit their criticism. Their concern is what they regard as a broad problem across much of American Christianity.

Lukewarm Faith and the Need for a Tune-Up

Smith describes lukewarm Christianity through an engine analogy. A healthy V8 runs smoothly on all eight cylinders. An engine running on only two or three struggles to do what it was built to do.

In his comparison, Christians can struggle in the same way. Getting to church becomes difficult, participating becomes a burden, and being physically present doesn't mean they're fully engaged.

He calls that condition a need for a spiritual tune-up. His emphasis is on a living relationship with God and attention to God's kingdom.

At the same time, Smith leaves the final judgment about whether a lukewarm person is born again to God. He distinguishes that judgment from the visible problem: lukewarm Christianity doesn't function well.

Rowland agrees that the church needs to face its present condition. In their view, apostasy is already occurring, rather than remaining only a future possibility.

Returning to the Church's First Works

The hosts' proposed response is repentance, a return to the church's "first works," and restoration of its first love. They regard that as the biblical response to falling away.

They also recognize the difficulty of returning when many people have never seen the church as they remember it. Rowland uses the language of Haggai to consider its former glory and present condition.

He recalls the crusades of Billy Graham, the preaching of Billy Sunday, and the anointing associated with D. L. Moody. These are reference points for the gospel preaching and spiritual seriousness he wants the church to recover.

Smith offers a deliberately traditional picture of course correction: singing "Blessed Assurance," wearing a suit and tie, and preaching against premarital sex. He uses those examples to express a desire to recover convictions that churches abandoned while trying to become more acceptable.

Rowland also remembers leaving church with a clear sense that he had truly been to church. Both men say they long for that experience again.

Their call rests on the belief that the church should examine its direction and return to what God has asked it to do.

School Prayer and Their View of National Decline

Smith and Rowland connect the church's theological changes with wider changes in American life during the 1960s.

They recall the controversy over school prayer, including atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Smith also remembers Billy Graham warning that removing prayer from schools would begin a national decline.

The hosts place that controversy alongside the religious changes they're discussing. They see the period as a marker in America's movement away from Christian influence.

Their memories of school life in the 1950s include chewing gum and long hair as examples of behavior considered rebellious. They also recall boys carrying pocket knives to school and teachers asking to borrow them.

These recollections support their view that the nation was in better condition when church participation was more common. They aren't presenting those memories as a full historical comparison.

Rowland also criticizes what he sees as a casual attitude toward God's presence. He objects to treating Jesus as a buddy who's obligated to bless whatever people choose to do.

For both hosts, the belief that God expects only niceness and good behavior belongs to the same problem they've identified in the church's teaching.

Young People Need the Same Word of God

Rowland questions the assumption that younger people need a separate kind of church experience.

He notes that the biblical ministry roles he references include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but don't name youth leaders. He also points to young biblical leaders: David, whom he describes as anointed while still a teenager, and an eight-year-old boy who became king.

His argument is that God can call young people to serious responsibility. Therefore, he believes they need the same core teaching older believers need.

"The young people need the same thing the old people need. They need the word of God."

Rowland favors bringing children and young people into the congregation to hear the preached Word. He believes they can learn to sit, listen, and receive help from the Lord.

His concern about separate youth settings is also generational. If young people receive only a style tailored to them, he argues, they may continue to expect that style as adults without learning to participate in the wider congregation.

He also questions how older believers can hand down their faith when younger believers worship elsewhere. Smith agrees that separating generations can weaken that transfer.

This is the hosts' position on youth ministry and congregational life. Their emphasis remains the shared need for biblical teaching.

Traditions as Anchors for the Church

Smith and Rowland defend the value of church traditions while acknowledging that some traditions are bad. Their test is whether a tradition agrees with the Word of God.

They believe churches discarded some good traditions during efforts to become more accessible. In retrospect, they see those practices as anchors that helped keep congregations steady and connected across generations.

Smith illustrates the point with large stones near Mount Ararat that he believes may have been weight anchors associated with Noah's ark. He recalls about 21 stones, each with a hole through it, and describes their possible use in stabilizing a vessel.

He presents that connection as his belief. The church analogy concerns the stabilizing weight of the anchors.

In the hosts' comparison, traditions grounded in Scripture can help keep a church steady during a storm. Cutting them loose can allow the church to drift.

Both men acknowledge that they once supported changes intended to bring more people in. Looking back, they believe they removed some practices that should have remained.

Why Smith and Rowland Keep Preaching Every Day

A calling and a responsibility

Smith says someone recently asked why he and Rowland record a podcast every day. His first answer is that they believe God has called them to preach the gospel.

He also refers to Paul's declaration in Acts 20 that he had told believers the truth and was free of responsibility for their blood. Smith and Rowland share that sense of accountability: they don't want to withhold truth and then bear responsibility for failing to speak.

Their daily work continues alongside other responsibilities. Rowland works on a truck, and Smith farms. Even so, they say the call to preach keeps pressing them to speak.

Finishing better than they started

Rowland recalls Vance Havner's desire to finish better than he started. That goal matters to him because he can look back on failures that affected his direction.

The podcast also gives him freedom to speak without seeking permission from a deacon or approval from a church committee. He says he needs the truth and the opportunity to speak it.

Although he can't change past choices, he believes those experiences help him recognize danger and warn others.

"I'm qualified by my failures to hold up the warning sign."

Smith agrees. Their purpose is to point listeners toward biblical teaching and the convictions they believe the church needs to recover.

Biblical Faithfulness Beyond the Attendance Numbers

Smith and Rowland's strongest concern is what churches have given up while trying to retain members. In their assessment, cultural accommodation has failed to stop the losses and has weakened the teaching people need to hear.

Their response centers on repentance and renewed biblical conviction. They want the church to recover clear gospel preaching and pass that faith to the next generation.

For them, filling a building matters only alongside the deeper responsibility to tell people the truth about salvation.

"Text generated by [rightblogger] based on (Smith and Rowland Video), A Theological Shift & The Loss of Membership - Ep. 988 - October 1, 2026"