Chris Yaw Interviews Diana Butler Bass: What Will Tomorrow's Church Look Like?

Taken with permission from ChurchNext.tv

A wide open, Wiki-community, more dependent on the wisdom of many will dominate the church of tomorrow says author and speaker Diana Butler Bass.

This is just one trend Diana, a historian by background, has been tracking. She says the next generation is much more apt NOT to believe in God - so it's important for churches to come clean in the areas of honesty and a willingness to admit we don't know it all.

Enjoy the words of this gifted and insightful thinker.

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Synopsis

Diana, whose new book Christianity After Religion goes much deeper into the trends at play in the Christian faith today, explores the big picture. Here are my notes from the interview:

Fewer Americans Believe in God than You Think

While the popular number may be 90%, when age categories are considered, it's much lower. In fact, Diana says among those 40 and younger the number is less than half.

Churches Must Be More Open to Questions

Diana says too many of today's churches are not leaving enough space for the doubters. Tomorrow's faith communities will have to more fully commit to engaging doubt and uncertainty.

It's About Transformation

Too much of the Church still favors comfort over change - and the transformational effects of the Gospel go untapped. Diana says this will have to change in order for the church to fully flourish.

About Diana Butler Bass

Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of eight books including Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, forthcoming from HarperOne in February 2012. She is currently a Chabraja Fellow with the SeaburyNEXT project at Seabury Western Theological Seminary,Diana regularly consults with religious organizations, leads conferences for religious leaders, and teaches and preaches in a variety of venues. She blogs at The Huffington Post and Patheos and regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA TODAY, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. She and her family live in Alexandria, Virginia.