For those interested in the current state of Christianity in the United States, The Barna Group (www.barna.org) is an invaluable resource. Barna has focused on transformation since about 1991 by providing Christian leaders with “vision, information, strategy, evaluation and resources.” Most of us know Barna from their prolific polling figures.  I’ve been following them for several years and cannot help but notice the declining trend-line surfacing in their data. So while Barna is using their research in an effort to revolutionize the Church, I want to take on a far less ambitious task and briefly lay out some of the more striking statistics and what I think we can do as individual Christians to help turn the tide.

The decline of biblical worldview in the U.S.

Outsiders vs. Insiders…
In each succeeding generation, the percentage of those who identify themselves as “outsiders” (those outside the church) is growing. According to Barna – 40% of those between the ages of 16 and 29 consider themselves outside the church as compared to only 23% for those 61 and older. We also know the difference in percentage is not substantially due to outsiders becoming insiders later in life. That happens only rarely – less than 4% after age 40.

Chart recreated from data provided by Barna.org (9/2007) – David Kinnaman 

Atheism on the rise…
One of the fastest growing segments of younger outsiders is atheism:

“Among those in their 40s or older, just 8 percent are self-identified atheists or agnostics. Among those in their 20s or 30s, twice as many admit to embracing a secular mindset (14 percent). Among those 18 to 22, one out of every five (19 percent) is an atheist or agnostic. This may still represent a minority of individuals, but the growing popularity of this perspective makes it a more prominent feature of the ministry landscape.” Barna.org (9/2007) – David Kinnaman

Worldview inside the Church…
The way American Christians see the world (their worldview) is assessed by Barna using several methods. One of those is by way of a nine-point questionnaire for the categorization of evangelical, summarized below:

·         Has a personal commitment to Christ

·         Belief Heaven awaits those whose sins are forgiven

·         Belief faith is important in their lives today

·         Has a responsibility to share the Gospel

·         Belief Satan exists

·         Belief eternal salvation is only possible through grace – not works

·         Belief Jesus lived a sinless life

·         Belief the Bible is accurate in all its teachings

·         Belief God is all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect

One could argue whether or not this is the right list of questions to ascertain one’s status as evangelical Christian, but it certainly seems passable. And although it may not be the best list to get a bead on the state of Christian worldview, the results of such a questionnaire can certainly tell us something in this area. And what does it tell us? For one thing: although 38% of Americans label themselves as evangelical – in 2006 only 8%, less than one in twelve, of the respondents in Barna’s study answered all nine questions in the affirmative. And of those who profess to be an evangelical Christian (38%) but did not answer all nine questions in the affirmative - they were:

·         60% less likely to believe that Satan is real

·         53% less likely to believe that salvation is based on grace, not works

·         46% less likely to say they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others

·         42% less likely to list their faith in God as the top priority in their life

·         38% less likely to believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth

·         27% less likely to contend that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings

·         23% less likely to say that their life has been greatly transformed by their faith

Now although I appreciate the weight of these results, I think Christian worldview is better measured by what people do – not how they respond to a questionnaire. The late George MacDonald (who was an inspiration to C. S. Lewis) wrote: "A man's real belief is that which he lives by. What a man believes is the thing he does, not the thing he thinks." (or says on a survey!) So what are Christians doing these days which might shed some light on the matter? 

Well, I am not going to tire you by rehashing all of the statistics about the rates of divorce, being in serious debt, personal addictions, being under stress, etc. The bottom line is those who profess to be Christian in our country do not look much different than those who say they are outsiders – that is, according to the studies looking at those specific behaviors. But I think something is seriously wrong when we make statements such as “Christians and non-Christians don’t look any different.” The biblical truth is: The regenerate heart must be different than the unregenerate heart.
(Matthew 7:20, Luke 6:43, Romans 6:6, 6:17-18, 22 James 2, Galatians 5:22)

Since Christians and non-Christians do objectively look different, we may need to refine our method of identification. But rather than entering into the thorny business of quantifying the Christian heart, I want to look at the perception of the Church by both insiders and outsiders. I find this tact more fruitful because a poor perception of the Church negatively impacts evangelism - and promoting Christ should be our focus, not figuring out who the real Christians are. I also believe it is in part because of the decline of Christian worldview, we are seeing a decline in church perception. Put simply, what we truly believe is reflected in how we act, and how we act is affecting perception of those inside and outside the church.

The decline in perception of the Church
According to a recent (2007) Barna study by David Kinnaman:

“First, most non-Christians in America today have a great deal of experience in Christian churches and with Christians. Most non-Christians are actually de-churched individuals.”

 “…a decade ago the vast majority of Americans outside the Christian faith, including young people, felt favorably toward Christianity’s role in society. Currently, however, just 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a "good impression" of Christianity.

“… The negative perceptions are often just as common among young Christians as they are among young non-Christians. This means that whether we want to admit it or not, these are not merely image issues for outsiders, but issues of real substance with which young churchgoers wrestle. “

Young people are very candid. In our interviews, we kept encountering young people - both those inside the church and outside of it - who said that something was broken in the present-day expression of Christianity. Their perceptions about Christianity were not always accurate, but what surprised me was not only the severity of their frustration with Christians, but also how frequently young born again Christians expressed some of the very same comments as young non-Christians. [Emphasis added]

What are some of the perception issues among non-Christians according to Kinnaman’s study?

·         Christianity is Judgmental (87%)

·         Hypocritical (85%)

·         Old-fashioned (78%) 

You may be thinking as I did when I first read this: “ok, but doesn’t Jesus say we will be hated on account of our association with Him?” (John 15) So why should this surprise us? But this line of reasoning ignores the more significant evidence of the study: “Half of young churchgoers said they perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political.” (Kinnaman 2007) When you get right down to it regarding contemporary church perception among young people, Kinnaman sums it up well with this statement:

“When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was "Christianity is changed from what it used to be" and "Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus." These comments were the most frequent unprompted images that young people called to mind, mentioned by one-quarter of both young non-Christians (23%) and born again Christians (22%).”

I think we can all agree if Christians “no longer look like Jesus” then we have a serious image issue! At this point you are probably wondering why drop this negative statistical bomb on me? Doesn’t every good message quickly move from the malady to the cure? Okay then, let’s move on.

Turn the tide
It’s easy to look at these statistics and say: “yeah, but we know who is victorious in the end” or “the U.S. is just one region and the Church is exploding in other parts of the world.” But I’ll bet if you were suddenly transported back to Oahu on December 7^th, 1941 you would have gotten involved in a losing battle despite your knowledge of who was eventually victorious in the greater war. And Jesus didn’t say “go and make disciples in regions where Christianity has double-digit annual growth.” So clearly, we are not off the hook yet. Somehow we must deal with the decline of Christian worldview and church perception in America, internally for the sake of the Church, but also as we connect with outsiders. Some say we are only one generation behind the church in Europe. With God leading the way, we can do our part to turn the tide. I propose God’s people…

·         Adopt habits that strengthen their Christian worldview

·         Be prepared to promote Christian worldview to others

What do I mean? Simply this: We must develop habits to both grow the character of Christ in ourselves and prepare us to effectively promote the Christian worldview to others. It just so happens in the church where I attend, we recently completed a study on the seven essentials for being a disciple of Jesus. I cannot think of a better place to start. The following seven essentials strengthen Christian worldview and prepare one to be effective in promoting their worldview within the spheres of influence they engage:

·         Worshipping

·         Praying

·         Learning

·         Connecting (investing in meaningful relationships where trust is built)

·         Caring

·         Serving

·         Reaching Out (sharing the Gospel)

Reaching out and connecting
From an apologetic perspective allow me to elaborate briefly on “reaching out” and “connecting.” Some will say you only need to get out there and share the Gospel – “it’s easy, anyone can do it.” And in many cases I would agree. Romans 10:17 says – “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” – we don’t create faith, the Holy Spirit does this. Sometimes it is merely a matter of delivering the straightforward Gospel message. Yet I have generally found just dropping the message at the doorstep to be ineffective. Some may disagree, but Scripture and practical experience says otherwise.

Various obstacles
As Kinnaman reported: Most non-Christians are actually de-churched individuals. The idea of your typical evangelism opportunity involving blank-slate outsiders ignorant of biblical truths is not realistic in some spheres of contemporary American culture. In fact what I’ve found over the last twelve years at my workplace is most who profess atheism and agnosticism (outsiders) are well aware of the Gospel; they have been to church; some have read the entire Bible and one comes to mind who is today studying the Dead Sea Scrolls! Now I realize my spheres of influence are not necessarily the norm. I don’t know if anyone has done a study on the worldview of software developers but I suspect they skew the stats towards unbelief! Of the 75 to 100 or so employees who have come through my company, I can count the number of open Christians on one hand – far more have been open outsiders. When I have shared my faith with a coworker and have inquired into their belief, I have yet to meet one who did not know the core truths of Christianity. Of course please understand; I believe sharing the Gospel again is crucial. But depending on the individual, there is often pre-evangelism work to be done. This is especially the case when we have to deal with poor perception issues.

Apologia
1 Peter 3:15 says:  “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” The Greek for “answer” is apologia which we get the word apologetics. And remember how Paul reasoned with the Greeks and Jews in Acts 17. Paul gave an apologia to affect the worldview of his listeners. The problem today though is we not only have a poor-perception barrier to overcome, but we are surrounded by deception and philosophical perspectives hostile to the Christian worldview. Many of these perspectives are in vogue and have permeated the outsider’s worldview – whether it’s Darwinism, anti-supernaturalism (philosophical naturalism), scientism, skepticism, etc. – lots of isms in stark contrast to the Christian worldview.

God can use us to make a difference
By adopting habits that strengthen Christian worldview we become more like Christ. If we are “like Christ” then I believe we open up opportunities to build trust-relationships and get beyond the barrier of “judgmental” and “hypocritical.”  By taking the time to learn what those in your spheres of influence believe and by working through how the Christian worldview provides answers to real issues they are facing, then we are “prepared” to give an answer back when we are asked. But remember the end of Peter’s verse – “with gentleness and respect.” The last time I had an opportunity to share my faith with an agnostic (borderline atheist) coworker; he actually listened and took seriously what I had to say. Not because of my superior rhetoric or argumentation skill, but because I had spent nearly a year earning his trust by honestly caring and listening to his perspective. Unfortunately every time I have lost my temper or raised an eyebrow at a contrary perspective at the office, I have let my coworkers down and have hindered Christ’s work there. Thank God for His grace! We simply have to get back up and keep going.