christianity decline from a christian perspective

[CapnAwesome]

why would this be considered a good or bad thing, and simply not the ebb and flow of the church in general?

The church (or rather various churches) hasn't had an ebb and flow. In the past they enforced 100% membership by various ways, Atheism was a capital crime in the 1600s and before in Europe and could have serious consequences after. It wasn't until the 1800s that you started to see a massive drain on church attendance that has accelerated exponentially. So it's be all ebb and no flow and yes, churches are obviously worried. In the US there are more people then ever (and thus should be more church attendees) and yet churches are having to sell of their property in order to stay afloat. The next 30 years will see a massive amount shut down from a lack of funds.