While part of this is because we churchgoers, like all of mankind, are sinners, I suspect that a large part is because of the namby-pamby secular message conveyed in most church pulpits. After all, if the Bible is wholly written by man and subject to re-interpretation/revision according to contemporary culture, then “sin,” “redemption,” and “judgment” are either meaningless terms or merely relative. This leaves the door wide open for a church attendee to consider his or her (in)actions to be perfectly acceptable and not requiring of change.

Did the time these folk spent in the pews have any effect on the Church?

Both the notion of having such a survey, and answering such a question, are completely nonsensical and irreligious to me.

Let’s be thankful for the quarter who say their lives were greatly affected by church attendance. Truthfully, a random survey of around 1000 adults is not a huge study. I would expect a much large study population for any significant results.

I received this e-mail from a friend and it really got me thinking, also.

Last week I mingled with a group of Christians at a church event, and the encounter got me thinking. How many people in your world are sold out for Jesus, like, really in love with him? And of that group, how many are aware that we are in a battle and know how to handle it? Are experiencing substantial breakthrough? How many report regular intimate encounters with Jesus? Really – think of those you know, and then filter them through these questions. It is stunning; it is heartbreaking. I am not holding up a high bar here. I am asking about some very basic elements of the Christian life, things held to be normal in the New Testament. But my experience reminded me how very rare it actually is.

My problem with Barna surveys in general isn’t, like #4, that the sample polled was too small to be reliable.  George Barna is a trusted, veteran pollster who knows his craft and does his work responsibly, in a scientific manner.  No, my problem is that this is a SELF-REPORTING survey, and that kind is notoriously apt to produce results skewed in a socially acceptable direction, making the respondents look better than they really are.

For example, similar surveys that test how many people go to church on Sundays (on average) show that in SELF-REPORTING surveys, people are far more likely to say they go to church regularly than they actually do.  When tested against actual church attendance records, such surveys generally show people CLAIMING to go to church twice as often as they really do.

If that basic pattern holds true in this case, then I’d estimate that the actual number of people who’ve been even signficantly influenced (much less greatly influenced) by their worship experience (time in the pews) or church participation is only about half of the one-fourth this Barna survey seems to show.  Likewise, I’d guess that only about 1/8th of the respondents were even SOMEWHAT influenced by their church participation.  Thus, if I’m right, the numbers are even more sobering: some 3/4 of all Americans are barely influenced by their involvement in the life of the church.  Not just half, around 75%.

That may seem depressing, but I suggest it’s merely, as I said above, sobering.  After all, if church involvement was really making a significant difference in most people’s lives, the divorce rate and abortion rate wouldn’t be so similar between Christians and non-Christians (or, the churched and unchurched).  Likewise, we wouldn’t have the massive problems that we Americans have with churchgoers who are convicted of crimes, or are addicted to all kinds of habits that are destroying their lives and families (alcohol, work, food, porn addictions, etc.).

Bottom line: In the American church in general, with few exceptions, church membership has almost nothing to do with real discipleship.  Especially in the so-called “mainline” or oldline denominations.

But why should this surprise anyone?  That is the historic “Christendom” pattern.  It’s what you expect in a society that is supposedly Christian, but where the Christianization of the population is a mile wide, but only a half inch deep.

This survey provides something of a scientific, statistical support to Jesus’ grim words in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is broad and the way is easy that leads to…”

well, not social harmony and universal virtue, but (alas) destruction.

“For the gate is narrow and the way is HARD that leads to life.”  And therefore, those who choose to take the hard and narrow way are almost inevitably FEW.  Even 1/8th of the American population is probably too optimistic and generous an estimate.

David Handy+