Looks like a rehashing of all the other reasons. My own experience is deacons have turned the running of most churches over to seminary trained preachers, and directors, who look at preaching as a career rather than a ministry.
Deacons accept this because they are lazy, and apathetic to what needs to be done, and can avoid any conflict among the congregation. It has become more of a church status position.
Preachers have started focusing on numbers and ways to attract these numbers, while ignoring the Gospel Truth.
Modern Seminary trained preachers have been taught to avoid the offensive side of the Gospels, homosexuality, perversion, infidelity, ect, and focus on LOVE.
In other words, ignore the perils of every day life, and the biblical teachings of how to avoid them.
Another imo, is seminary trained youth directors. Why do churches think that 22 or 23 year old kids can teach teenagers how to be good Christian men, and women, when they themselves are still kids.
CHURCH LEADERS SEEM TO THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO LOWER LEARNING EXPECTATIONS SO TEENAGERS CAN "COMPREHEND SCRIPTURAL TEACHING" WHILE GETTING THEIR 9 YEAR OLD TO FIX THEIR PHONE, OR THEIR 15 YEAR OLD TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THEIR COMPUTER.
People are looking for direction. Christianity is direction, the Gospel is offensive to the sinner, and convicting to the backslider. The Gospels point out your spiritual short-comings, backslidings, weaknesses, and point you in the directions you should be heading. BUT YOU HAVE TO HEAR THEM AND THAT IS WHERE THESE CHURCHES ARE FAILING.
I know it sounds like I'm against seminaries, but I'm not. I'm against abandoning scriptural teaching in the church, and scriptural DIRECTIVES of whose to teach it.
TODAYS CHURCHES IMO, HAVE COMPROMISED THE GOSPELS, BRINGING IN APOSTASY,
AND APOSTATES, THINKING IT WILL MAKE CHURCH MORE INTERESTING, AND ATTRACTIVE TO BRING IN "THE NUMBERS".
SCRIPTURE SAYS: STRAIT IS THE GATE, AND NARROW IS THE WAY, WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT!
Modern churches have replaced the Gospels with programs, books, methods, man made ideology, and have brought apostasy from other sources, new age copyrighted Bible versions, and religions into the church, looking for something that is blatantly visible, and right under their noses.
MODERN CHURCHES ARE TRYING TO WIDEN THE GATE, AND REMOVE THE RESTRICTIONS, AND PEOPLE LOOKING FOR DIRECTION, SENSE THE DECEPTION, WHETHER THEY UNDERSTAND IT OR NOT, AND GET NOTHING BUT MORE MISDIRECTION. SO THEY LOOK ELSEWHERE. JMO
