1,000 fewer hours

One line I read a few weeks ago about congregational life together has stuck with me in a big way. I’ve brought it up, in one way or another, several times already. In a Christian Century article, “More People, Looser Ties” David Eagle drops the sentence, “Think of it this way: a congregation with 100 married couples today has 1,000 fewer hours of potential volunteer labor to tap than it did in 1970.”

One thousand fewer hours. (Eagle doesn’t specify, but I assume that’s measured over a year?) The article examines the difference in staffing and culture of megachurches over time, but I couldn’t get past that statistic. One thousand fewer hours.

The reasons for the decrease in potential volunteer labor (though, I don’t actually like calling it volunteer) are many, but perhaps primary is the increase in couples in which both partners are working. I’d also guess that changing expectations for families plays a role as well: if kids are in three sports and play two instruments, there’s less time to be at church; if parents are expected to produce Pinterest-perfect birthdays, there’s less time for leisure; if couples are expected to respond to work e-mails at all times of the day and weekend, there’s less time for quality relationships outside of work.