"A recent Barna report offers an interesting snapshot of the current mood. Surveying those who are “Christian” by self-designation—which, we know, is not of much use as a category—Barna found that a majority of adults believe that there are six alternative ways to attend a conventional church service that are biblically acceptable:
- worship at home (89%),
- active in house church (75%),
- watching religious TV (69%),
- radio broadcast (68%),
- special ministry event (68%),
- and participating in a marketplace ministry (54%).
Keep in mind, these are not both/ands, but alternatives! Each of the six was deemed by most adults to be “a complete and biblically valid way for someone who does NOT participate in the services or activities of a conventional church to experience and express their faith in God.” Barna also found two more alternatives regarded as legitimate by a significant minority of adults, including
- interacting with a religious website (45%)
- and engaging in spiritual activity on the internet (42%).
Appended to this report are the conclusions from Barna's latest book (Pagan Christianity, co-authored with Frank Viola) which argues that much of what conventional churches do are rooted in pagan origins: church buildings, formal sermons, official pastors, the truncated form of the Lord Supper, as well as later accretions like stained glass, pews, altar calls, pulpits, pastoral prayers, church bulletins, clergy attire, choirs, tithing, seminaries, infant baptism, and funeral processions."
What if these statistics are true? Is this mood in our churches? Most other trends from America are found over here, how about this one? If it is how are we going to respond to it? What are its causes?
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