Looking in the mirror

A funny thing about doing a self-evaluation--you might not like the picture you see.  Churches are places that are naturally self-effacing.  We don't like to look at ourselves because we think we're being self-absorbed and that can't be a good thing.
But every once in a while churches are challenged to see themselves as we are, not as others see us, but as we see us.  This isn't navel gazing; it's honest mirror looking.  Will we like what we see? And if we don't like what we see, what will others like about us?
The Pew Research folks have just released a new survey saying that people in the United States don't self-identify as "Christian" as much as they used to: moving from 78% to 71% in just the last 8 years.  The questions are why?  Could they point to a vision that the Christian life that is not particularly attractive to new generations?
Because of the long faithfulness of God to God's people (everyone!), I'm not existentially disturbed by these trends.  However I am motivated by rise of the unaffiliated as a wake up call to us within the church to see what its purpose might be.