RE: RE: Hard Times For Protestant Churches?

I can give at least a partial answer.

The Methodists and Southern Baptists are among the most liberal denominations in the mainstream Protestant Church. That's not to say every church or member church of those denominations is liberal, but the larger organizations have embraced any number of liberal and, in some cases, apostate ideas. Both organizations have flirted with tolerance of homosexuality and a liberalization of the system of Deacons and Elders. The reason they are losing members is the same reason the Catholic Church lost members in the 1960's through the 1980's.

I don't have the statistics handy, but I recently read that the more fundamentalist churches have seen an increase in their attendance and membership. The Catholics are enjoying increased membership in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia since the papacy of John Paul II.

So the answer, to me, is clear. When churches flirt with apostasy, the people will leave. When they remain faithful to the Word of God, the people will return. It has been this way for close to 2,000 years. It really shouldn't be much of a mystery.