I will list four of the seven transitions in this newsletter and the other three in the next newsletter. From A.D. 315 to the 1970 s, society and church were intertwined. Since the 1970 s Christianity has been pushed out of the mainstream of society and no longer carries the influence it once did. We may not like this, but it is the ways things are now. We must adapt.
People participate in congregations for different reasons.
In a church society, people of faith automatically participated in a congregation. Going to church was a given. People of faith participated in church regardless of what was happening in the church. Peace or conflict, interesting or boring, they came. In a churched society, not participating in church was a sign of not having faith.