Dones: Done With Organized Religion

 

There has been a rise in those called “Dones,” those who are finished with organized religion. All over the world, sanctuaries are emptying and less and less people are attending church services. Honestly, I understand why. In the New Testament Church, congregations were smaller, and met in homes (Acts 2:46), they also knew each other intimately as close friends. Now when you attend these mega churches, one may never see the same person at one of two or three services! How can you form bonds and learn if someone is safe to bear your soul to if you never get to know them? Well some churches create Cell Groups, Bible Studies, and G3 Groups that function like house churches where people gather in smaller groups. I attended one of those house groups, and honestly by the third week I had no desire to attend the Sunday service with the masses of unknown faces. 

We are suppose to a be community of Christ, and instead people feel like a number, a filled seat, and ignored saint who listens to one teacher babble on about what you could watch a video of a greater scholar articulate better online. This is leading to irrelevance of the church on Sunday, why go to a service where you don’t get to know anyone, you could hear a better speaker online, and now you can even worship digitally?  

The Church is not paying close enough attention to this trend of Dones. That people are tired of the carnival, spectacle, big screen gimmicks, and egocentric teacher. While yes people need someone to preach the gospel (Romans 10:14-15), we have unprecedented access to the best theologians and teachers online. The Amazon like access of Theology and Doctrinal Teaching is making Sunday services pointless, and in time churches may close like department stores and other chains Amazon and other online stores have replaced. In fact, in England many churches have gone under and are now converted into bars and Yoga studios. This is a hint of the future, just as hymns gave way to Contemporary Christian music, now the pulpits in sanctuaries shift to online pulpits of videos, vlogs, blogs, and etc. Why pay a mortgage for something that can be done for free or a fraction of the cost on the internet? 

The Dones are on to something, they are tired of what is dying. If we are to grow, we must evolve, and let go of methods that are irrelevant. What we need is a return to the roots of New Testament Church (Acts 2:46) with the tools of our century. Amen.