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Luther never intended to move that center of gravity. He wanted to purify the church, not defy its authority. Nevertheless, his protests led to schism. Lutheranism was followed by Calvinism, and Anabaptists were not far behind. Methodists and Baptists appeared. Once people started judging for themselves, it was hard to put an end to it. The next thing you know we had 20,000 denominations worldwide—and counting.

Consider three important steps in the transition.

1. In America's God, historian Mark Noll shows that colonial ministers by and large supported the American Revolution, and with it the republican political creed—opposition to inherited authority and confidence in commonsense philosophy over tradition. ("We hold these truths to be self-evident.")

This political philosophy has shaped American theology, Noll says. Creeds and tradition became suspect, and commonsense reasoning—a man and his Bible without deference to experts—could settle any question.

As denominations sprouted up, they each argued that they had the best understanding of the gospel, implicitly appealing to the individual Christian to join them. Soon, the poles of power had reversed. Once the individual hoped for acceptance by the church. Now the church hoped for acceptance by the individual.

Funny thing is, many of those denominations today complain that people aren't loyal to the church. Fuller Seminary president Richard Mouw mentioned a Christian Reformed Church publication criticizing "consumer religion." Yet the CRC, he pointed out, began with a group of Reformed ministers who attracted people from other parishes with their strict Calvinist orthodoxy. Mouw says, "It's pretty odd for people in the CRC to say, 'We don't want people shopping around.'"

2. The post-WWII generation saw an explosion of parachurch groups like InterVarsity, Youth for Christ, and Campus Crusade. Many young believers experienced their deepest fellowship, nurture, and mission in organizations that said openly that they were not churches. Tod Bolsinger, author of It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian, recalls his days as a youth evangelist.

"I can remember saying to kids, 'There's no church to join, there's nothing to commit to, this is only about a relationship with Jesus.' Paul wouldn't preach that message. And the early church didn't."

3. Seeker-sensitive churches took up parachurch methodology and applied it to church itself. A good church was judged, in part, by whether it appealed to the tastes of those who did not belong to it.

I admire the evangelistic spirit behind this. It has attracted many people into a church building who would probably not otherwise attend. But I think it has exaggerated a sense that the church must adapt to the general public, not the other way around. And thus many unchurched people feel justified in believing that they are fine, that it is the churches that have failed.

If 23 million Americans who claim Jesus as their Savior have no discernible church connection, they are joined by many more who attend church (between 40 percent and 50 percent of Americans do in a given week, according to Barna) but sit loose in their commitment. A good sermon, a moving worship experience, a helpful recovery group—these they look at to find "a good church."

When they become dissatisfied, they move on. Their salvation, they believe, is between them and God. The church is only one possible resource.

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January 2005, Vol. 49, No. 1