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 people, bad personal experiences with churches, and ineffective Christian leadership. The result is that those who choose Christianity are reformulating what “Christian” and the Christian life mean.
For instance, spiritual practices among those who claim to be Christians are shifting dramatically. New practices are in vogue: tolerance within congregations, spiritual diversity in conversations and relationships, valuing interpersonal connections above spiritual education and biblical correctness, and accepting divergent forms of spiritual community (e.g., house churches, small groups, and cell groups). Churches that integrate spiritual discipline with personal faith development are increasingly less popular. Repeating the same weekly routines in religious events is increasingly considered stifling and irrelevant. Rigid beliefs, including the idea that there are absolute moral and spiritual truths, are perceived by a large and growing share of young people to be evidence of closed-mindedness. The result is new, individualized forms and structures of the Christian faith that will have consequences on the practices of Christianity for years to come.
What is the church to do in the midst of such startling redefinitions? What people expect from a church is changing significantly; what churches believe, teach, and do is equally in flux. It seems that some churches want to distance themselves from anything Christian, or at least from traditional versions of Christianity. This is a time for seeking God’s will and way. Some of the changes mentioned have solid foundations in Scripture. Few are the congregations that could not be helped by increased understanding, deeper fellowship, wider connections, and appreciation of diversity. Most congregations would do well to consider how assemblies can avoid being stifling and irrelevant; preachers must accept anew the challenge to bring God’s word to the world in which we live. At the same time individualism, dislike for discipline, and misunderstandings of the nature of truth must be addressed.