If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing...(1 Cor. 13:2b)

Christianity in Americas has gone through three distinctive ages. We are on the crest of the third age.

I refer to the first age as the Age of Replication.

During this period, whatever the form the church was in Europe was "parachuted" into the Americas. The order of worship was imported as well as the church archieture, and vestments. This is how Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholics, and Presbyterians got to the shores of the New World. European thought came to the new world as did the trappings of how they worshipped. In a sense it was simply a "cookie cutter" of what took place in Europe. 

Everything was going along fine until around 1964. Attendance began to slip and these denominations began a long painful downturn. This gave rise to the second age.

The Age of Proclamation. This gave rise to tele-evangelists and the mega church. Everything was focused of communicating the Word in a way that the people could understand it. It gave rise to a new type of church design, less symbolic and more practical, both inside and outside. The idea of being "seeker sensitive" became popular. Chancel dramas and contemporary music would appeal to the one looking and they could be wooed as they developed a relationship with members that were part of the church of proclamation. The mega churches, in my opinion have reached their climax already. They are beginning to decline in popularity. This is giving rise to the third age.

I call this the Age of Demonstration. People are no longer interested in quality. They are more interested in authenticity. People don't  want to "play" at church they long to be sold out and totally immersed in something that matters and can make a measurable difference. For a variety of reasons, people no longer care about what is being said, they care about what is being accomplished. Faith without works is dead. One could say the church is in transition from Paul to James in its understanding of applying its resources. 

The churches or ministries that will be blessed in the future are ones that are involved in their community. Christians need to raise the quality of life in the greater community and demonstrate God's love. In doing so, we earn the right to speak into our neighbor's life. Then we can share the saving message of Jesus, the Christ.