Pastor's Blog

I have a love/hate relationship with academic studies and marketing research. Obviously I believe in the usefulness of research to verify assumptions, but I find it ridiculous that our society seems to need an academic study to determine if the sun shines. That being said, I appreciate George Barna's newsletter and the research that he does, even if his conclusions can be frustrating at times. His most recent findings fall into that category, confirming what I've said for years. American Christianity has succumbed to the individualistic nature of our society. American Christians no longer believe the community of believers is a critical component of their faith.

This trend has been obvious for years. The over-used phrase "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" is a perfect example of the mentality of many Christians. "It's a personal thing," they say; "just between me and God." The problem is, that's totally wrong. Scripture makes it infinitely clear that our faith is a communal activity. We are not effectively part of "the body of Christ" sitting at home watching Joel Osteen on the TV. For iron to sharpen iron (Proverbs 27:17), we must be involved in each other's lives on a regular basis. The early church met together daily, we have a hard time fitting one hour a week into our schedules. No wonder our faith lacks power.

What is needed is not just attendance at regular church services, although it does start there. Real first century-style Christianity requires real community. Real community takes time, and time is one commodity that most of us are very unwilling to part with. It's easy to blame our society and economy for making us too busy, but the truth is we make our lifestyle choices and then consider how to cultivate our faith as an afterthought. Barna states it quite well: