Two Small Books on Lay People and the Church
Rod Jensen, Zeus Publications

As an actively involved Christian layman, I have read or skimmed through many books by church ministers and theologians, both women and men.

I have to go back to 1964 for one by a layperson. Ralph Morton, the lay leader of the Iona Community, then published (with Mark Gibbs) God’s Frozen People, a book that for a decade or so helped to melt many laypersons in the Protestant churches into positive action in the church and in society.

When the mainstream Australian churches are experiencing steady decline and ageing of their participating laity, Rod Jensen, in the first of his Two Small Books on Lay People and the Church, has tried to give voice to the many laity who have left these churches or feel uncomfortable and frustrated sitting in their pews.

He addresses some of the burning questions which, so often, seem to be sidestepped by the professionals in their books on faith, the spiritual life and new biblical and theological scholarship.

Why is it, in a society growing in alienation, loneliness, distress and individualism, that the very institution — the Church — which has claimed to comfort the distressed soul, has lost influence, following and relevance?

He begins by amplifying this burning question and showing how it manifests itself in mainstream churches — Anglican, Uniting, Catholic, Presbyterian and so on — in contrast to the apparent buoyancy in fundamentalist, Pentecostal churches.

His analysis of this decline reminds me of that classic episode of Yes Minister, when a hospital was running “efficiently” without any patients.

Perhaps these churches, as organisations and clergy, and with their resources of property, and so on, will also persist when there is no longer a laity?

The author wryly points out that when church going is such a minority activity, we know statistically more about it than ever before. Citizens fill in census forms about their religious affiliation and participation, and other research studies, from within and without the churches, focus on both church goers and non-church goers.

He lays out what these studies can tell us about them and their reasons.

Such quantitative data are always limited by questions that can be answered quickly and simply. At best they give skeletons without flesh.

In the later chapters of the book Jensen brings the skeletons to life, not only by putting on flesh, but also by helping us to share in the positive and negative feelings of both still-attendees and non-attendees, especially those of the latter who once attended.

This fleshing out of the issues is made eager reading by the author’s skilful use of categories of persons and case pictures of representative individuals.

What do still-attendees feel positive about in church life and worship, and what concerns them?

Among the ex-attendees there are Reactor/Rebels, Disenchanted/Disappointed, and Post-Moderns.

The growing number of never-attendees consist of Atheists/Agnostics, Spiritual (but not Religious), and the Disinterested.

Drawing on his economic background, the author considers how “the package” that a church offers has now replaced the senses of “should go” and denominational loyalty that previously existed for many Australians.

The mainstream churches, the author argues, still too often offer a package that is characterised by three delusions: the Belief Delusion, the Language Delusion, and the Authority Delusion.

This package and how it fails to meet human needs is exemplified by the never-attendees, Tony and Lucy, who by chance try out being part of a church.

This is a very important book for clergy and church authorities to take seriously and to use to give their laity a voice in what should be given priority in church life and worship.

Only by such serious and open discussion with their laity will our churches again find relevance in 21st century society.

The second small book is a brief historical look at the character and role of the laity over the 2000 years of Christendom.

Peter Fensham is a member of West End Uniting Church. Brisbane