I ask you a timeless question: “What use is salt without its saltiness?”

Take a look at research by Dr. Kevin Flatt on the deterioration of the United Church of Canada and the removal of their evangelical identity or research by Dr. David Haskell on church growth in Canada.

Overall, the reality is that there are three main reasons newcomers choose new churches: 1) friendly congregations, 2) quality preaching, and 3) conservative theology. (Canadian Review of Sociology: Volume 53, Issue 4).

If, like Graham, you dislike conservative interpretations of the text, these are convenient facts to ignore.

On the question of the buildings themselves, it’s not enough just to say: “well we’re selling it to a developer and negotiating some small community use, so we are doing God’s work”. This is not looking at the underlying issues for why your church has lost its salt…and it’s parishioners. To add to that, buildings built specifically to glorify God have value in an of themselves. These sacred spaces honour God by their very design. It’s not enough just to be content with the secularization of Christian spaces simply because Graham likes the idea.

Let’s focus on the importance and potency of the Gospel itself and the uniqueness of the Gospel, for the true benefit of the world.