Louis Kavar's Contemporary Churches: Spiritual Transformation of Congregations is, in my opinion, among the texts that need to be read by people who wish to gain insight into the reasons for the decline of mainline Christian denominations in our country these days. Using a congregation in Tucson as his initial example, Kavar points out that the institutional church that used to be the hub of community life in America no longer is at the center. 

The geometry of American communities, their needs, and the expressions of their life have changed; the model of church that served earlier generations no longer works. Simply put, if we continue to do what we've always done, we won't be doing it much longer.

Focusing on current cultural issues and contemporary models of church, Kavar delves into the dynamics of transformation, and his experiences of what works and what doesn't. For example, he discusses his experiences with ethnic churches, which provided a safe, familiar gathering space that initially preserved immigrants' original cultures and provided a survival mechanism for newcomers. As immigrants assimilated or moved away, the need for what these churches provided diminished, along with the size of the congregations, down to the point of unsustainability.

Such communities are now populated by a new cast of inhabitants from different cultures than those of the original immigrants. Since the raison d'ȇtre of the original congregation no longer exists the connection to the changed community needs to be radically altered if the congregations are to survive. 

Congregations that have grown in ethnic enclaves may not be amenable to such alteration. As the saying goes, no one minds change, but we do mind being changed. A number of failures are adduced to make his point. Along these lines, Kavar points out that the grieving process always accompanies change, and that it must be respected while change is occurring.

Another phenomenon is the “our church” effect, in which the identity of the church isn't even the institution any more, but the families that built and control it. No fan of dogma, power, or control, Kavar suggests that rigid, internally-facing congregations that focus on superficial ritual and dogma are doomed. According to statistics he quotes, 1/3 of non-Christians in America already have a vision of Christianity that characterizes it as “intolerant and judgmental” (p. 22) The model of church Kavar proposes is relational, personal and driven by the needs and aspiration of congregations. It relishes engagement with the community and opportunities to explore spirituality.

“As Christians,” Kavar writes, “ it is the teachings of Jesus and he way of life he modeled for us that should be the center of our lives and not an institution” (p. 31). Of paramount importance to Americans today, is authenticity of experience. Likewise, it's crucial for churches to provide the opportunity to live in consonance with deeply held experiences and values congregants sense are commonly held. Institutional churches seem to Kavar to be long on ritual, dogma and other superficiality, and short on providing spiritual experience.

Transformation, as it turns out, is not necessarily permanent. So much depends on leaders and their choices about how to lead. His experience in South Beach, Miami, is a case in point. Developed ab nihilo, the church he uses as an example grew dramatically, only to decay as new leadership operating under the old paradigm of institutional church took over.

I agree with much of what Dr, Kevar says, but would emphasize love. As Fr. Richard Rohr pointed out, the word religion is built from two Latin words “re,” meaning “about,” and “ligare,” which means “to bind.” Religion is thus, at some very important level, about what connects us. What binds us to ourselves, each other and our Source, is love. This is more than just a “teaching” of Jesus – it's who he is, and who we are meant to be as well. The church that's known to be about love and challenges its congregants to love as well will never have a problem.

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