Time magazine has an interesting article discussing how many rural communities are closing the doors of their churches. While several reasons for this are offered two explanations in the story are tragic, if true.
The first comes from Shannon Jung, "a rural church expert" in Kansas City, Missouri. She says of young pastors who are foregoing the rural parish: "A town without a Starbucks scares them."
The second explanation is seen through the dismal "warning" given to a student from a seminary professor: "Don't go [to a rural church]. You're too creative for that."
If would-be pastors are determining the call of God by the presence of a Starbucks and an art museum, the American church is in real trouble.
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About Mike Pohlman
Mike serves as the senior pastor at Immanuel Bible Church in Bellingham, Washington. Mike is a former church planter in the Pacific Northwest, and served for three years as the executive producer of The Albert Mohler Program, a nationally syndicated radio show dedicated to Christianity and culture. Mike is a PhD Candidate in American church history at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writing his dissertation on radio and the American church during the period 1920 to 1950. Mike is husband to Julia and father to four wonderful children: Samuel (11), Anna (9), John (8) and Michael (3). When not pastoring, Mike loves sports, music, and hanging out with his family.
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