Some Thoughts on a Barna Study

The following is my article for the church and community newspaper. I reflect a bit about a recent study by Barna on obstacles American Christians struggle to overcome in their spiritual journeys.

Spiritual Obstacles

            Today’s article is a reflection on a recent study released by the Barna Group. You can find the study online at www.barna.org titled “Self Described Christians Dominate America but Wrestle with Four Aspects of Spiritual Depth”

            George Barna (that guru of contemporary surveys and cultural observations) has recently released the findings of another study that does not reflect well on the American Church. The study sought to find obstacles in the American Church that people struggle to get past. They came up with four.

            Firstly, according to the study, American Christians struggle with Commitment. They found that 81% of self-identified Christians have made a commitment to Jesus Christ. (I could probably write a book about the remaining 19% who self-identify as Christian but have made no commitment to Jesus). 81% sounds pretty good, but the findings show that only 18% of them are actually committed to growing in their spiritual lives. Growth, it seems, is an obstacle to contemporary American Christians because they simply do not see the need.

            A second obstacle was not surprising to me. They call it simply Repentance. 64% of self-identified Christians, says Barna, have confessed their sins. It doesn’t say how long ago that was, only that at some point in their lives they have confessed their sins. Only 3% reported that through confession they have come to submit their lives fully to God. Only 3%! My preaching lately has taken to speaking a lot about submission to God. I have recognized this as a great obstacle in the church today. Christians do not think God desires much more of them than what they are currently giving, and that giving is very minimal. Transformation of a life into the image of the Creator cannot happen without submission, of which true confession will be a mark.

            Barna calls the third obstacle “Activity” by which he means the religious practices we commonly engage in to find spiritual depth. They found that 39% of Christians engage regularly in Church worship, prayer, and reading the Bible. Barna sees this number as pretty good. As a pastor I see 39% as abysmal. It gets worse. Less than 10% engage in deeper practices of self-sacrifice, service, fasting, meditation on Scripture – in other words, practices that will lead you forward in your relationship with God. American Christians tend to keep a simple check list in their minds: read the Bible? Check! Took 30 seconds to pray? Check! Read a verse or two from the Psalms? Check! We tend to think that as long as we cover the checklist, then we’ve done our religious obligation, and God will reward us with riches and good health. American Christians don’t so much want to grow in their faith as much as just appease the gods so they’ll leave us alone.

            The fourth and final obstacle is about Spiritual Community. A majority of self-identified Christians claim to feel comfortable in their faith communities. However, only 1 in 5 believes that growing into spiritual maturity requires a deep connection to a community of faith. They further do not believe that they need to be held accountable for their daily practices by their churches. The reality for the spiritual life is quite simple: you cannot grow in your faith if you are not willing to submit to God and the guidance of his Church. There is no Christianity without community. There are no Lone Rangers to this faith. God makes us responsible for one another, but Americans don’t want to be vulnerable to each other. We build up walls instead to keep others out.

            In their conclusions, the Barna Group noted something very telling. Most churches do encourage their people to engage in spiritual activities as a means of growing. The problem is that most church members confuse the purpose for growing. Instead of growing into the image of God, exemplifying the attributes of our Lord (let’s look at Galatians 5:22 for what some of that might be), Americans are seeking to grow into greater wealth, health, security, and fame. In other words, Americans actually think that if they just do a few little spiritual exercises once in a while, then they will be rewarded with material gain. They don’t want to go deeper because that would challenge them to let go of their material idols.

            My friends, this does not have to be the case. We were created in the image of God, and because of our sin we have fallen very far from God, far from the true place of blessedness, peace, and joy. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, came and invited us to follow him, to deny ourselves, to take up the cross and go with him into the world. This requires submission. It requires confession. It requires seeking out deeper spiritual practices that will challenge our everyday idols. It requires giving yourself to a community of sisters and brothers who are on the very same journey. This journey is what we call “Salvation” in its fullest sense. Never be satisfied in your spiritual life. God is endless – without beginning and end. For the sake of our souls, we must dive deep into the soundless depths of God’s being. Only there will we will find a new life, a transformed life, a holy life.