• JULY 24-27,LHM Outreach Conference, Detroit  

I'm a huge fan of inverse relationships. I love when they seem to completely defy expectations. I ran across one that fits this category recently.  

Are you ready for it?  

"There is an inverse relationship between the closure rate and the growth of a denomination. The lower the closure rate, the more likely the denomination is declining. The higher the closure rate, the more likely the denomination is growing."[i] 

What?

Denominations that close churches are more likely to be growing. Denominations that don't close churches are more likely to be declining.  

Huh?

Now, at this point, I could throw at you all kinds of data around this topic. Of particular interest might be where the LCMS fits in this spectrum. I'll let you guess about that one. Of more interest to me is the concept itself.

Back to the inverse relationship: "The instinct to never let a church die actually discourages energy from being directed toward the development of new churches." [ii]   

I think this really speaks to the situation that we find ourselves in today, in the American church in general and in the LCMS in particular. It's a sad thing when a church dies. I would argue that it's much sadder when new churches aren't planted.