Posted on 05/16/2022 9:02:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University has found that just 37% of Christian pastors in the United States have a biblical worldview, demonstrating that spiritual awakening is "needed just as desperately in our pulpits as in the pews," according to the pollster.
The nationwide study of about 1,000 Christian pastors found that just slightly more than a third (37%) of the U.S. pastors hold a biblical worldview. The majority (62%) possess a hybrid worldview known as Syncretism.
The study, released Thursday, showed that 41% of senior pastors — as compared to 28% of associate pastors — have a biblical worldview. Further, only 13% of teaching pastors and 12% of children's and youth pastors have a biblical worldview.
The lowest level of biblical worldview was among executive pastors, with only 4% of them holding consistently biblical beliefs and behaviors.
The research included 54 worldview-related questions, and it found that only 47% of the pastors have a biblical worldview regarding family and the value of life; 44% concerning issues related to God, creation, and history; 43% in relation to personal faith practices; 43% when it comes to matters of sin, salvation, and one's relationship with God; 40% pertaining to human character and human nature; and 40% when it comes to measures of lifestyle, personal behavior, and relationships.
The study, however, noted that not having a biblical worldview doesn't mean adherence to a competing worldview, such as secular humanism or Marxism.
"In fact, less than 1% of pastors embody a worldview other than Biblical Theism (i.e., the biblical worldview)," researchers said. "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."
George Barna, the director of research at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, said that a person's worldview primarily develops before the age of 13, then goes through a period of refinement during their teens and twenties.
"From a worldview perspective, a church's most important ministers are the children's pastor and the youth pastor," he said. "Discovering that seven out of every eight of those pastors lack a biblical worldview helps to explain why so few people in the nation's youngest generations are developing a heart and mind for biblical principles and ways of life, and why our society seems to have run wild over the last decade, in particular."
In conclusion, Barna said, "God is in the transformation business. Pastors who are willing to allow Him to transform their thinking and behavior can emerge from that process as a powerful example of what can happen when one's heart, mind and soul are surrendered to God. It certainly seems that if America is going to experience a spiritual revival, that awakening is needed just as desperately in our pulpits as in the pews."
Another study released by the Barna Group last month showed that more pastors now say they considered quitting their jobs compared to a year ago, driven to despair by stress, loneliness, political divisions and other worries like their church being in decline.
The share of pastors who have seriously considered quitting being in full-time ministry within the last year increased from 29% in 2021 to 42% in March of this year.
Michael Youssef, pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, recently urged pastors to stand firm on biblical truth as many churches are capitulating to woke theology in an effort to seem inclusive and “seeker-friendly."
“The Apostle Paul tells us we’re going to see young people fall by the wayside, but don’t give up on the Gospel, don’t compromise on the truth,” the 73-year-old Egyptian-American pastor told CP.
“We’re seeing deconstruction, pastors watering down the Gospel, and other things going on. I realized this is a time for me, at the age of 73, to leave a legacy to the younger generation of pastors. And it's not really my legacy; it's the Word of God, it’s the Apostle Paul's legacy."
To discern when a pastor is a false teacher who promotes a watered-down theology versus a biblically-sound one who holds to the ancient truths found in the Scriptures, Youssef urged churchgoers to ask: “Do they lift up Jesus and the cross of Christ as the only hope for salvation, eternal life, and calling men to repent and women to repent of their sins and turn to the Lord? Or do they simply preach affirmations?”
Study finds church targeted for destruction in the 60s and infiltrated with leftists to the very highest levels including the pope ever since
I find the article's final advice spot on. But they didn't give enough details about the various categories they listed to know what they viewed as a biblical world view.
But at the same time, over the years I've seen phrases like "anti-biblical worldview" to mean things like Christians who believe the earth is billions of years old, or things like believing some of the eschatology teachings in the Bible are symbols. (Before you say all of Revelation's visions are literal, keep in mind that Revelation 17 itself says that the seven-headed best the woman was riding represents seven lands or nations, not an actual beast).
The study (linked above) assures us that George Barna and the Barna Group follow “biblical Christianity” and that should be all the assurance we need. /s
“The Apostle Paul tells us we’re going to see young people fall by the wayside, but don’t give up on the Gospel, don’t compromise on the truth,”
Preach it! Jack Hibbs is another good source.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
Biblical world view? Do people who have that believe in stoning and slavery?
I have the same misgivings when someone claims to have a “biblical worldview.” It could mean anything - from something essential like Christ’s death and resurrection to minor things like the age of the earth or the exact sequence of end times events. I think the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed keep one focused on what is primary.
JMO, but I think Christians need to have a direct personal relationship with Jesus, and the first step is to believe in the historical reality of Jesus. From that belief the essential beliefs of Christianity follow: that Jesus was both man and God, that He was sent here by the Father, that he died for our sake and was resurrected.
God bless those Christians who rely on pastors, and it is especially wonderful if the pastor is a wise and true man.
But (IMO) no pastor can supply a personal relationship with Jesus, and very often they mislead, or lead into confusion. Too often the concept of authority is a negative factor.
Jesus actually existed. What is the significance of that fact? The answer is what leads us to the Truth, in the most expansive meaning of the word.
But (IMO) no pastor can supply a personal relationship with Jesus, and very often they mislead, or lead into confusion.
***True, because pastors often have their own agenda. It sounds like about a third of them here in America would actually lead a soul down the right path rather than confusion.
Too often the concept of authority is a negative factor.
***Especially since there’s a human tendency to abuse authority.
Article is pointless without defining their terms.
But there is a network of churches that subscribe to the “9 Marks of a Healthy Church,” and you can check them out by voting with your feet:
https://www.9marks.org/church-search/
Some of their prominent pastors you can check out on social media include: John MacArthur, John Piper, RC Sproul, Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham, Mark Devers, Mike McKinley, Alister Begg, Sinclair Ferguson, H.B. Charles Jr.
Their fathers would include: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathon Edwards, John Owen, John Knox, John Newton, Charles H Spurgeon, Huldrych Zwingli, among others.
The other 63% think religion is a good scam to fill their pockets and drive lefty voters to the polls.
John Calvin does NOT belong with this illustrious group. He was the protestant equivalent of the Medici family.
THe other guys, while they had their imperfections, were at least earnestly seeking for biblical truth and not earthly power and control.
All the local churches that tickle the ear, give a pep talk and do the social club thing in our area are dying, some quickly, some slower. Coivd has hastened the demise of the ear ticklers congregations, many have not recovered in our area.
I talked to a family friend who “attends” a woke church that miffed him to begin with to a point about their wokeness. The pastor is a baptist/catholic mix and per this gentleman’s words “when covid hit the pastor went full Catholic and started issuing his decrees like the pope.” When he found out that during covid the church took PPE money he was done with them and won’t set foot back in the building.
Those preaching Jesus and salvation seem to be thriving with full services and budgets being met without help from the government.
I meant no offense, but he is. It is what it is.
Along with his friends, Amir Tsarfati, Barry Stagner, Jan Markell and Mike Golay. 😀
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