NEWS Christianity's Battered Image
Here is an update I just got from the Barna Group, the research group that conducts in-depth analysis on all things affiliated with Christianity. In the passage below, Barna discusses one of their key findings - what they call "mega themes" - of 2007 (note: bold added for emphasis):
"The research discovered that people are reframing not just faith in general, but Christianity in particular. While slightly fewer adults - and many fewer teens - are identifying themselves as Christians these days, the image of the Christian faith has taken a beating. This battered image is the result of a combination of factors: harsh media criticism, "unchristian" behavior by church people, bad personal experiences with churches, ineffective Christian leadership amid social crises, and the like. The result is that those who choose to remain Christian - however they define it - are also reformulating the popular notion of what "Christian" and the Christian life mean. Some of those changes are producing favorable outcomes, while others are less appealing.
For instance, a generational analysis of the Barna data showed that spiritual practices among those who claim to be Christians are shifting dramatically. New practices are in vogue: embracing racial diversity and tolerance within congregations; pursuing spiritual diversity in conversations and relationships; valuing interpersonal connections above spiritual education; blending all forms of the arts and novel forms of instruction into religious events; and accepting divergent forms of spiritual community (e.g., house churches, intentional communities, marketplace ministries). Traditional ventures such as integrating discipline and regimen in personal faith development are becoming less popular. Repeating the same weekly routines in religious events is increasingly deemed anachronistic, stifling and irrelevant. Rigidity of belief - which includes the notion that there are absolute moral and spiritual truths - perceived by a large (and growing) share of young people to be evidence of closed-mindedness."
It is very clear to me from Barna's research findings that Jesus is on the move. I often say that the way God works is seldom pretty but the end result is always magnificent (consider, for example the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ). Jesus has His Church to build, and it will get built. You can bet your life on that.
May your heart be filled with His Spiritual fruit.
Agape,
Steve
"The research discovered that people are reframing not just faith in general, but Christianity in particular. While slightly fewer adults - and many fewer teens - are identifying themselves as Christians these days, the image of the Christian faith has taken a beating. This battered image is the result of a combination of factors: harsh media criticism, "unchristian" behavior by church people, bad personal experiences with churches, ineffective Christian leadership amid social crises, and the like. The result is that those who choose to remain Christian - however they define it - are also reformulating the popular notion of what "Christian" and the Christian life mean. Some of those changes are producing favorable outcomes, while others are less appealing.
For instance, a generational analysis of the Barna data showed that spiritual practices among those who claim to be Christians are shifting dramatically. New practices are in vogue: embracing racial diversity and tolerance within congregations; pursuing spiritual diversity in conversations and relationships; valuing interpersonal connections above spiritual education; blending all forms of the arts and novel forms of instruction into religious events; and accepting divergent forms of spiritual community (e.g., house churches, intentional communities, marketplace ministries). Traditional ventures such as integrating discipline and regimen in personal faith development are becoming less popular. Repeating the same weekly routines in religious events is increasingly deemed anachronistic, stifling and irrelevant. Rigidity of belief - which includes the notion that there are absolute moral and spiritual truths - perceived by a large (and growing) share of young people to be evidence of closed-mindedness."
It is very clear to me from Barna's research findings that Jesus is on the move. I often say that the way God works is seldom pretty but the end result is always magnificent (consider, for example the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ). Jesus has His Church to build, and it will get built. You can bet your life on that.
May your heart be filled with His Spiritual fruit.
Agape,
Steve
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