The Assemblies of God 2007 and 10 years later – Part I

Dr. Charles Crabtree served as the Assistant General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God for fourteen years. Following his tenure at the Assemblies of God headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, he became the president of Zion Bible College in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and served until 2013. Dr. Crabtree published an article in the Enrichment Journal, Winter Quarter, 2007, titled “The Crisis of Discipleship in the American Church.”[1] This article was condensed and published as a supplement titled “Discipleship in the Assemblies of God: The Crisis, The Cause, and The Cure.”[2] This was an abridgement of a message delivered the previous August at a weekly chapel service for the headquarters employees of the General Council of the Assemblies of God.

In 2007, Dr. Crabtree wrote of the crisis he saw in the Assemblies of God with regard to the three-fold purpose laid down by the fellowship’s founders.

Evangelism – 2007

Crabtree said that the state of evangelism in the Assemblies was “unremarkable.” In support of his conclusion he stated that for the period 1995-2005, the Assemblies had 5.3 million stated decisions for Christ but the growth from those conversions was just under 222,000 over ten years (4.2% conversion growth rate). Crabtree responded to those who would minimize the importance of Sunday morning attendance because it is not proof of salvation. He said, “I tell you that if a baby is not in the care of the home, that baby is either dead, lost, or in deep trouble.”[3]

Discipleship – 2007

Crabtree also saw a crisis in discipleship in the Assemblies which he called “ineffective.” He stated that within the fellowship in 2005, only one in four who decided for Christ followed up with water baptism and only one in five received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “If we continue this trend, I project that in ten years (2017) we will have a small minority of Pentecostals in the Assemblies of God.”[4] [emphasis added]

Worship – 2007

“I believe the state of worship in the Assemblies of God has become incidental rather than pervasive.” Crabtree explained that worship is a life style. It is not a Sunday morning “incident” but “a constant, humble obedience to the Lord in all areas of life” that must occur in the life of a disciple seven days a week.[5]

Like a skilled surgeon, Dr. Crabtree cut to the heart of the crisis within the Assemblies of God in accomplishing its three-fold purpose. Next, he identified the causes.

Preaching another gospel

The reason for ineffective evangelism and discipleship in the American Protestant church including the Assemblies of God “…is the preaching of another gospel—good news for the ego. The Cross is not the central focus in a great deal of preaching.”[6]

It seems the American church says to those who pass through the doors, “You’re a good person, and the church can give you added value to the temporal life.” And it will. But this is not the primary reason the church exists. The church exists to get people ready for eternity, not for tomorrow. It is not a temporal gospel; it is an eternal gospel, and at the heart of that gospel is the Cross and true repentance.

What we have is a culture that says, “If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, that is all we are going to ask. We are not asking for a behavioral change; we want a doctrinal change. We want you to believe the way we believe, but how you act is up to you. And when you come to this church, we promise we will not confront you with sin. We will not make you feel the least bit convicted.”

I see this more and more. It is the philosophy of universalism: Confess Jesus, God will take care of the rest. Everybody is eventually going to heaven anyway. So, do not get excited. All you need to do is to be a nice person, not a new person.[7]

Failure to count the cost of discipleship

Christ said, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” [Luke 14:27. NIV] Crabtree described what carrying one’s cross was and was not. He wrote, “Your cross is living in a hostile world and standing up to the filth, rottenness, and sin in homes, families, and workplaces, and say, ‘No sir, I am a Christian; I am a follower of Christ.’” He states that if the church soft-soaps the gospel and attempts to get by with lackadaisical discipleship, young people are not going to be drawn to something that is not challenging and worthwhile. Crabtree argues that if the church’s message presents the high cost of serving Christ, millions will respond because they are looking for something far more important that their own temporal lives.[8]

Crabtree attributes the anemic condition of the church to its work is being done by professionals and “not spirit-filled portable temples” between Sundays. “It is time for the church to gird itself on Sunday night to rise up Monday morning, and say, ‘We are going to be a strong, healthy church, and we are going to change this world through our faithfulness to God and our obedience to the Lord.’” Crabtree believes the answer to the church’s dilemma is revival which means “bringing the church back to healthy productivity” and not just being blessed.[9] [emphasis added]

Failure to continue in the word

Even though people may be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, they never become productive Christians by which is meant they never reproduce themselves in the kingdom. According to Crabtree, this is result of a failure to continue in the word, the third cause of the crisis in discipleship within the church.

Crabtree outlined what the church must do to cure the crisis of discipleship. He states that the cure must rest on being prepared for discipleship. This is not meant to be a one-size-fits-all for individual churches will prepare for and conduct discipleship in many different ways and will be effective when the church “takes babes in Christ and disciple them into productive spiritual adults.”[10] Crabtree states that small groups should be one element of the cure.

We will set up model churches around the country that are doing small groups within the guidelines of a Pentecostal church. We will promote our own small-group models…Sunday School will continue to be the fundamental discipleship ministry in the Assemblies of God. I am a fervent believer that Sunday School, when used properly, is the most effective discipleship tool in the American culture. Small groups and Sunday School will feed off each other.[11] [emphasis added]

Crabtree concludes by stating that the heart of the cure for the crisis in discipleship must always be love…“every convert loved by somebody, not just everybody.”[12]
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To properly assess the direction of the Assemblies of God in the United States since Charles Crabtree’s article in 2007, statistics for the period 1996-2005 has been compared with the period 2006-2015.[13}

Growth from Conversions declined from an annual average of 495,509 to 454,208 or a 41,301 decline compared to the previous ten years, a decline of 8.34%.

Sunday Morning Attendance increased from an annual average of 1,664,079 to 1,860,691 or a 196,613 increase compared to the previous ten years, an increase of 11.82%.

Water Baptisms increased from an annual average of 122,84l to125,325, an increase of 2,484 compared to the previous ten years. This represents an increase of 2.02%.

Holy Spirit Baptisms declined from an annual average of 93,097 to 84,747, a decline of 8,921 compared to the previous ten years, a decline of 8.9%.

A brief examination reveals that the Assemblies of God has not resolved their crisis of discipleship. Growth from conversions and Holy Spirit Baptisms have declined between 8% and 9% for the 2006-2015 period compared with the 1996-2005 period. And the Water Baptisms category is just barely in the black. Ten years have passed since Dr. Crabtree’s prediction that Pentecostals will be a small minority in the Assemblies of God in ten years. That decline has continued, and in 2017 it appears that in many Assemblies of God churches the Pentecostals have become the small minority.

Even though there are concerns about the direction of the Assemblies of God in recent years as identified by Charles Crabtree, its record is far superior to the great majority of evangelical denominations in the United States. A report published in March 2015 compared long-term growth of various denominations from the mid-1960s to 2012 and 2013. Of the eight primary mainline denominations, all had declining memberships, and the loss of membership in seven of the eight denominations ranged from 27% to 67%. Six of the seven primary non-mainline denominations had increases in membership ranging from the Southern Baptist Convention at 46% growth to the Church of God in Christ with 1,194%. The Assemblies of God grew from 572,000 adherents in 1965 to 3,031,000 in 2013, an increase of 430%. The report stated that although the growth of the more conservative non-mainline churches was slowing, the liberal mainline denominations were on a path to inevitable demise because of their progressive departure from biblical Christianity.[14] This observation should be a wake-up call for the non-mainline denominations with slowing growth.

In Part II, Dr. Crabtree’s causes for the crisis in discipleship in the Assemblies of God will be examined in light of the disturbing trends in all evangelical churches in the United States.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Dr. Charles Crabtree, “The Crisis of Discipleship in the American Church,” Enrichment Journal, Winter 2007. http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200801/200801_022_Discipleship.cfm (accessed February 22, 2017).
[2] Dr. Charles Crabtree, “Discipleship in the Assemblies of God: The Crisis, The Cause, and The Cure,” Supplement to the Enrichment Journal, Winter 2007.
[3] Ibid., pp. 1-2.
[4] Ibid., p. 2.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., p. 3.
[9] Ibid., p. 4.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13]The data presented was derived from statistical reports published by the Assemblies of God on its website. See: “Statistics of the Assemblies of God (USA) 2015 Reports,” General Council of the Assemblies of God.
Table: AG USA Conversions 1978-2015
Table: AG USA Major Worship Service Attendance 1978-2015
Table: AG USA Baptisms 1979-2015
http://ag.org/top/About/statistics/index.cfm (accessed February 22, 2017).
[14] Joe Carter, “Fact Checker: Are all Christian Denominations in Decline?” The Gospel Coalition, March 17, 2015. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-are-all-christian-denominations-in-decline (accessed February 22, 2017).