Those who study religion and its impact in our society continue to surface helpful, and at times surprising, research results. I remember a report from a few years ago. The results indicated that people who see themselves as lost and outside of Christ think doctrine is very important. Of those who admitted that they were …
Category Archives: Church
Sunday: Taking Church for Audit
Twenty years after I graduated from college with my bachelor’s degree, I decided to go back to school to earn a master’s degree. My Hebrew was a little rusty (OK, very rusty!) so I decided to audit a Hebrew course at the local university. There are two ways to audit a course. The first way …
Thinking the Faith
“Americans Describe Their Ideal Church.” Barna reports constantly survey the ever-changing U.S. religious scene. Churches find it more and more difficult to reach out to their communities. In his book, Thinking the Faith, John Douglas Hall pointed out that historically, until the 1960s, most Americans attended the church of their parents. Hall observes that faith …
Challenges for the Church: Strengthening the Foundations
Barna Research Reveals Four “Mega-Themes” in U.S. Culture (#4) As today’s young adults, teenagers and adolescents have become accustomed to radical individualism, they have introduced such thinking and behaviors into the realm of faith realm. Faith is an acceptable attribute and pursuit among most young people. However, their notions of faith do not align with …
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Challenges for the Church: Strengthening the Family
Barna Research Reveals Four “Mega-Themes” in U.S. Culture (#3) Most parents want to do a great job of raising their children. However, Barna studies conducted among parents of children under 18 revealed that few parents have a strategy or plan for how they will accomplish that goal. Barna’s surveys point out that most parents underestimate …
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Challenges for the Church: Redefinitions of Christianity
Barna Research Reveals Four “Mega-Themes” in U.S. Culture (#2) The research also reported that people are reframing Christianity to suit individual tastes. Fewer adults (and many fewer teens) identify themselves as Christians. The image of the Christian faith has taken a beating due to a combination of factors: harsh media criticism, “unchristian” behavior by church …
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Challenges for the Church: Helping the Self-Satisfied
Barna Research Reveals Four “Mega-Themes” in U.S. Culture (#1) A Barna report from over 20 years ago (December 2007) identified four significant “mega-themes” in contemporary U.S. culture: high self-acceptance or self-satisfaction, new definitions of Christianity, increased challenges and concerns in parenting and family dynamics, and individualized “designer faith” with rootless values. The report noted that …
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Your Cloud of Witnesses
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the …
Healthy churches require accountability
Over the past several years, I have written about this topic several times. What is missing in many churches today is accountability. Lack of accountability explains why church members drop out, why church members do not live lives worthy of the gospel, and why church members are at times uninvolved in kingdom activities. According to …
It’s Sunday Again: The Importance of the Church
The saving work of God in the world today is exerted through the church. Nowhere does the New Testament describe a saving work of God outside the church. Do not say, God has not called the church to greatness. It’s not enough to be great when God has made it possible for the church to …
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