If the Apostle Paul attended a Sunday service today would he recognize the American church as the Church he help found? Probably not.
George Barna and Arizona Christian University published an alarming study in 2022. Here is a direct quote from the American Worldview Inventory 2022:
“Among all Christian pastors in the United States, slightly more than one out of every three (37%) possesses a biblical worldview…
Among Senior Pastors, four out of 10 (41%) have a biblical worldview—the highest incidence among any of the five pastoral positions studied. Next highest was the 28% among Associate Pastors. Less than half as many Teaching Pastors (13%) and Children’s and Youth Pastors (12%) have a biblical worldview. The lowest level of biblical worldview was among Executive Pastors—only 4% have consistently biblical beliefs and behaviors.
Much like other Americans, the pastors who do not have a biblical worldview are unlikely to fully embrace a competing worldview (such as Secular Humanism, Marxism, or others). In fact, less than 1% of pastors embody a worldview other than Biblical Theism (i.e., the biblical worldview).
Instead, their prevailing worldview is best described as Syncretism, the blending of ideas and applications from a variety of holistic worldviews into a unique but inconsistent combination that represents their personal preferences. More than six out of 10 pastors (62%) have a predominantly syncretistic worldview.” (1)
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” – Matthew 15:8-9
What price will our children and grandchildren pay for this drift? What must you speak up about today that if you don’t, you will regret tomorrow?
Eric Metaxas said, “It is far easier to ignore God’s call than to acknowledge it and rise to fulfill it, but it is more difficult and painful than anything to live with the results of ignoring God’s call. Let the reader understand…”
Diagnosing the Problem
As individuals and the church, we are prone to place blame and responsibility for our failures, problems and weaknesses outside ourselves. Just as we face significant challenges and threats from the outside, we fail to realize most problems and failures begin on the inside. On the same note, we are the solution (Christ being the ultimate solution). As faithful Christians, we must be sober-minded and honest about our weakness and sin. As the Church we should remove the log from our own eye before removing the speck from someone else’s.
“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God…” – 1 Peter 4:17a
As I survey the landscape of the American evangelical church, I am grieved and disgusted. The church is cowering in the fear of man. Preachers and theologians dress up their cowardice using a camouflage of thin theological justifications and proof-texts (albeit out-of-context). “Leave theology and interpretation of scripture to the experts!” is the cry from comfortable ivory towers far above the burning cities. This is gnosticism in new garb. The professional ministerial class is over-confident in their seminary degrees and under-informed about the realities of the world around them.
Church Inc. Business
A modern Tower of Babel has been constructed through empire-building and marketing of religious goods and services (entertainment and programs). This feeds Christian consumerism. It seems like many churches have been transformed into businesses.
Institutionalism, elitism, pragmatism, moralism, and pretension have overtaken the original mission of the church. The incremental secularization of the church combined with pragmatism and a focus on church growth over Kingdom growth have resulted in a consumer-focused mission over a Christ-focused one.
The clarion call of the modern American evangelical church is, “Let us make a brand for ourselves, create more parking, and more views on YouTube! Lest we become irrelevant!”
When a church behaves like a business, preachers and pastors are replaced by a specialized managerial class of administrators that embrace a business mindset over a biblical mindset. Many of these administrators and executive pastors have specialized administrative degrees from seminaries. The problem is that seminaries are poor at teaching business administration, it’s not their purpose. If you want to run a business, get an MBA from a University not a D.Min. (Doctor of Ministry) from a seminary.
The D.Min. was created in the 1970’s and marketed by seminaries to those seeking upward mobility but did not have time, commitment, or resources to obtain a Ph.D. David Wells wrote, “This is the old market mechanism at work. In the 1970’s many seminaries were hard pressed financially, and the D.Min. was a lucrative new product to sell. At the same time, many ministers were hard-pressed psychologically as they sensed the decline in their profession…” (2)
Should it surprise anyone that, “The lowest level of biblical worldview was among Executive Pastors—only 4% have consistently biblical beliefs and behaviors?” (3)
Professional administrators have replaced called and committed pastors as the business of Church Inc. has replaced the ministry and witness of the Church. As a result, the goal is to use marketing strategies to entice people to come to a church ‘worship experience.’ As such, many evangelical pulpits promote therapeutic moralistic deism over biblical faith. Think of a rock concert and a TED talk followed by a therapeutic message making sinners feel better about their sin and a God who winks at sin. Aaron Renn, says it’s a “curious blend of moral posturing and play-it-safe proclamations” which are becoming the dominant evangelical perspective today.
It seems like the modern evangelical worship service is built around entertainment and performance for the experience of attendees. It begs the question, exactly who is the worship experience for? What is the purpose of worship? Can we entertain the lost into the Kingdom? Perhaps we can get everyone emotionally riled up and feeling good or watching online? Is the tithe just a tip or a transaction in the eyes of most Christians? Consumers demand, “Entertain me, make me feel good, and in return I’ll throw some cash in the offering plate. But, keep the sermon short, I have a 1:00pm tee-time.”
The Reality
We’re a preference-driven society… Don’t like how the preacher looks? Leave! Don’t like the sermon? Leave! Don’t like the music? Leave! After all, there are thousands of worship experiences at your fingertips. Don’t forget we have an espresso bar serving hot Lattes in the back of the sanctuary for your worship enjoyment.
If “sightly more than one out of every three (37%) pastors possesses a biblical worldview” then, our churches will look like the world and use the tactics of the world to be accepted by the world.
Here’s an idea that Chuck Colson put forth, “It’s time for the church to be THE Church” and stop being like the world. This is going to require a multigenerational recovery of a biblical worldview among those who are called to ministry. That recovery must begin now.
“You may be able to articulate a biblical worldview but if your biblical worldview doesn’t arise from the deep and growing love of Jesus Christ and the love for others (particularly sinners – just like us) then, you may have a biblical worldview but it doesn’t have you?”
– Dr. Bill Brown, Ph.D. (Colson Center for Christian Worldview)
Footnotes:
(1) https://www.arizonachristian.edu/2022/05/12/shocking-lack-of-biblical-worldview-among-american-pastors/
(2) Wells, David F. “No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology” (1993)
(3) https://www.arizonachristian.edu/2022/05/12/shocking-lack-of-biblical-worldview-among-american-pastors/
