An insight I gleaned from Ernest Hemingway rings true for the mainline church today.
mainline churches
If the church is the bride of Christ, then Jesus is married to both Rachel and Leah—to the church he wants, and to the church he has to take.
An Anxious Age, by Joseph Bottum
Joseph Bottum contends that the decline of mainline churches has created a moral vacuum that conservative Catholics and evangelicals have been unable to fill.
Though I sympathize with those who feel weary when talking about what is to come, I forge ahead because the "future" is not far off, planning is vital, and I care about a new generation.
"It seems to me the mainline churches are set up institutionally not to generate celebrity-status people, whereas evangelical churches, which are likely to be independent and have an entrepreneurial minister, almost breed celebrity status."