The Church: The family we hate to love: Understanding why God chose the family as a metaphor for his Church (Divine Metaphors of the Church) (Volume 1)

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Jesus said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Yet, statistics show that Americans do not give much value to the church anymore! Perhaps American Christians don’t love to hate the church but research suggests that they sure do hate to love it! The United States Census Bureau Records give some startling statistics, backed up by denominational reports from major denominations: • Every year more than 4000 churches close their doors compared to just over 1000 new church starts! • Every year, 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity. Research suggests that they are leaving churches as hurting and wounded victims of some kind of abuse, disillusionment, or neglect. • From 1990 to 2000, the combined membership of all Protestant denominations in the USA declined by almost 5 million members (9.5%), while the US population increased by 24 million (11%). • Between 1992 and 2002, 77% to 87% (160 million in 1992) of Americans identified themselves as Christians. Yet only • 22% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1992 • 20.5% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1995 • 19% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1999 • 18.0% of Americans "frequently" attended in church in 2002 The Church: The family we hate to love is a quick read that examines why God chose the metaphor of a family to describe important aspects of its nature. Without a doubt, many sad and bad things happen in churches! However, Christians today should learn to consider the church through the eyes of its founder. Could Christ have made a mistake when he established his church and called it the family of God? Read about this family that too many Christians hate to love. Perhaps you have missed something. Perhaps we all have!