A Little Bit About the Book

The Great Dechurching by Jim Davis and Michael Graham (with Ryan P. Burge) is a jam packed 239 pages (if you don’t count the acknowledgements)! I purchased the book after listening to an interview with the authors, and quite frankly the interview did not give justice to the whole of the book. The authors come from an evangelical perspective and 4 out of 5  profiles of the Dechurched; Cultural Christians, Mainstream Evangelicals, Exvangelicals, and  BIPOC are all focused around the Evangelical experience and reasons for dechurching. The 5th profile is an amalgamation of both Mainline Protestants and Catholics. While their research drove the distinct profiles, I found that the reasons for dechurching were more universal and not necessarily distinct to Evangelicals. Within each of the profiles I found friends and relatives, or relatives of friends who had same or similar experiences, many of whom are not Evangelicals but part of Mainline Protestant or Catholic traditions.

The authors seek to answer 3 key questions with their research 1- How Big is the Problem? 2- Who is Leaving and Why?  And 3- What is Happening in Evangelicalism?  What they found was that approximately 40 million people “have effectively stopped going to church, and most of this dechurching has happened in the past twenty-five years.” It’s important to note here that while Covid had an impact, it just made the crack that was already there wider. These numbers become even more critical when we consider that dechurched Christians will ultimately raise unchurched Christians. The second answer to the second question is that they found “…no theological tradition, age group, ethnicity, political affiliation, education level, geographic location, or income bracket escaped the dechurching…”. For those of us who seek to strengthen and uplift the Church this is tough news, more needs to be done to invite in both the dechurched and unchurched. And while the 3rd question is specific to what’s happening in Evangelical churches led to the 4 profiles mentioned above it’s worth noting again that the data really speaks to the broader Christian experience in America and shouldn’t be dismissed if you don’t lead an Evangelical church.

The final section of the book takes all questions, data and case studies Davis and Graham have compiled and puts it together into “Lessons for the Church”.  These lessons focus on strengthening discipleship, embracing exile (no longer being the “Moral Majority” and existing on the margins), and finally what pastors can do in their own ministries.  These words of wisdom and advice go across Christian traditions and speak to how all churches can better embrace our call to discipleship.

3 Reasons Why I Liked It

My first reason for liking this book is that they bring humanity to the numbers. Within each profile they have a story or case study of someone who represents the data. And while the profiles were based on what the numbers showed, we still need to remember that being the Church isn’t about numbers, it’s about people. As they developed their case studies, I appreciate that they didn’t hold back on areas where the Church has failed God’s people, where the Church has created disconnect and confusion. We need to look at ourselves critically and dismantle our myths if we are going to win back trust with the dechurched or gain trust with the unchurched. Jesus’ words “Physician, heal thyself” should be our mantra.

My second reason for liking this book is that they don’t just point out the problem, they provide solutions as well. On the one hand this book is written for pastors and church leaders, but on the other there is much that friends and family of dechurched can gain from this book as well. They lovingly write to parents who have dechurched children, or friends/siblings of dechurched and focus over and again on building or rebuilding relationships. They don’t propose big programs (other than discipleship) they recognize that Chrisitianity is relational so it must start with personal relationships.

Finally, the third thing that I liked about this book is that it’s jam packed like I said before. I wasn’t expecting such a comprehensive look at the problem of dechurching in the United States so I was pleasantly surprised at how deep they went into both the problems and solutions. I think I’ve marked up this book more than any other I’ve had!  So much underlining, notes and exclamation points throughout the chapters.

Should You Read It?

Yes, I think you should. As I wrote above, this book has much that pastors and church leaders can take away as they guide current church members and as they welcome back the dechurched.  Although the genesis of the book is to understand why Evangelicals are leaving the church, this book is equally important for pastors of all traditions (yes, even Mainline Protestant and Catholic pastors) because many of the reasons why people are leaving are common to all. The Great Dechurching puts numbers to what we all might know anecdotally, brings us stories of hurt and frustration, but ultimately leaves us hopeful that we can do better and turn the problem around.