Dr. Paul J Dean

Pastor, Counselor, Professor, Columnist and Radio Talk Show Host

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Four key trends in the church should be noted according to the Barna Group. Crosswalk.com

explains: "Ignoring reporters' questions about church growth figures by stating, 'church

attendance is grossly overrated as a measure of anything that is spiritually significant,' researcher

George Barna instead offered four factors that he described as "indicative of the reshaping of the

church in the U.S."

Of course, the statement that "church attendance is grossly overrated as a measure of anything

that is spiritually significant" is extremely significant. Long have we been told by church growth

proponents that attendance is the be all to end all. It has been attendance that defines successful

ministries, launches pastors to positions of prominence and leadership, and drives seminars on

"how to do it like we do." It is refreshing to hear Barna speak of that which is spiritually

significant and look beyond the surface issue of attendance.

Scripture does indeed place a great deal of emphasis upon numbers, especially in the book of

Acts. Yet, the more pressing concern in Acts is the saving work of God in those who attend as

opposed to an emphasis on a high attendance of pretenders. The spiritual condition of all

churches with large numbers of attendees is not being called into question with that statement.

Rather, one might call into question the spiritual condition of those churches with large numbers

of attendees who engage in manipulative evangelistic methodology, who are largely

man-centered in their approach to ministry and worship, and who forsake church discipline. At

the same time, no church is perfect, large or small. Therefore each church must be viewed on its

own rather than lumped in with any group.

Having dispensed with introductory comments, Barna's conclusions concerning key trends may

be highlighted. "The first of those patterns had to do with the priorities embraced by church

leaders, in which most local churches essentially ignore three critical spiritual dimensions:

ministry to children, ministry to families, and prayer." Certainly these areas of ministry are

critical.

Regarding children, it appears to me that too often we seem to assume that they are saved by

virtue of the fact they are raised in the church and make the required profession of faith. Yet,

approximately 80% of those children fall away when they hit college. We must minister to them

and in such a way that they are confronted with and equipped to defend a biblical worldview.

At the same time in my estimation, the issue of family ministry has largely been ignored in the

sense that church is viewed as that dynamic at which we get our spiritual fix so that we might

then return to our normal activities for a week or so. But biblically speaking, the father is a

prophet, priest, and king in his own home. Churches must equip him to be such that he might

minister effectively to his own family. When families come to church these days, they are

separated into various groups that they might ostensibly receive specialized instruction. Perhaps

if the whole family received ministry as a family with an emphasis upon the family unit, then

families would understand their roles in relation to one another and view it as quite normal that

the family would come together for times of worship and devotion, even at home. The divide and

conquer approach to family ministry seems to be working: our families are being divided and

conquered.

Of course prayer is all but forgotten by most of us today. It is rarely practiced in some contexts

and merely part of the duty check list in others. Spurgeon pointed to his constant prayer warriors

as the source of power in his church and ministry. Would that individuals and churches could see

the difference between being individuals and churches that pray at times vs. being praying

individuals and praying churches.

"A second trend defined by Barna is that congregations are rapidly incorporating new

technologies into their activities. Among the fastest-growing adoptions are big-screen projection

systems, websites, and e-mail blasts to congregants." No doubt exists that technology can and

should be used for the glory of God.

E-mail can be used in a number of ways. We certainly use it to send weekly Bible studies to our

teachers, devotionals to certain segments of the congregation, prayer requests to all, and

announcements to the appropriate parties.

Websites can not only be informative with reference to a particular church, but can actually give

a church a much broader ministry impact depending upon how the website is utilized. Indeed, the

web can be a gateway opened to the world. Audio and the written word can be used effectively

by any local congregation.

Regarding big screen projection systems, we in fact use that medium for announcements in

between Sunday School and worship. We also use it during the services for our singing. We feel

it gets our heads up toward the Lord rather then down in a book (though there is nothing wrong

with hymn books), and, the sound is better when we look up as well. We use it for Scripture

reading and we often have responsive reading and use it for that too. The rest of the time, the

Screen is off. We want folk to be focused on the "preaching event," and not distracted. We want

them focused on the preached Word as the Scriptures make much of its importance (1

Corinthians 1-2 for example).

However, we must be careful. Much of what goes on in some churches "on screen" I would not

embrace for biblical reasons. Much of that is driven by the entertainment oriented nature of our

culture. There is nothing wrong with entertainment at appropriate times. Yet we must not be

entertainment driven, especially in our relationship with God. He is Holy. We are driven by

amusement in our culture (think of the word a-muse...no musing...no thinking). We must not be

so in our worship of Almighty God.

One reason many resort to "Power Point" presentations in worship is that it provides variety or

something different for the people. Someone thinks it would be great to be able to do something,

others copy to compete (there's another issue, competition in the church of Jesus Christ), and

before you know it, people demand high tech, high powered, shows or they will go somewhere

else. The danger is that we get onto the slippery slope and before we know it, we are too far

down the hill to climb back up, at least with those who are with us, as many would rather keep

sliding down the hill for lack of discernment.

Let me again say that we use "Power Point." We actually put the words of the solo and/or choir

up there as well. Our rationale is that the words are the most important thing, not the

entertainment value of the choir or soloist. We appreciate the talent God gives people, but our

focus must be on Him and not on those who sing. Reading the words as they sing helps us to

focus on God and His truth.

[Part Two Tomorrow]

Sign up free for "Christian News and Views," a weekly e-mail newsletter highlighting relevant

news stories affecting Christians. An editorial by Dr. Dean is included as well as a link to his

comments on selected stories. The e-newsletter goes out each Friday and is sponsored by

"Calling for Truth," a daily, live, call-in radio program co-hosted by Dr. Dean and Kevin Boling.

Simply e-mail us at pauldeanjr@juno.com to receive your first issue this Friday.

Go to source: Crosswalk.com - Dr. Paul J Dean's Weblog#1370275

Dr. Paul J Dean

Pastor, Counselor, Professor, Columnist and Radio Talk Show Host

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Trends Reshaping the American Church, Part II

According to the Barna group, four key factors are reshaping the American church. Two of those

factors were highlighted in part one of this article. Let me briefly add some comment.

The first factor is the neglect of three critical dynamics in the life of the church: children, family,

and prayer. Regarding children, if 80% of our youth fall away when they get to college, part of

that tragedy has to do with their marginalization by peers and professors who scoff at and tear

down Christianity. Our young people are ill-equipped to defend and even maintain the faith.

Children must be given a full-orbed biblical worldview if they are to effectively defend the faith

in this pluralistic culture.

At the same time, we recognize that simply being instructed in the Christian worldview will not

change the heart. For our young people to truly be saved and not walk away from the faith either

philosophically or practically, they must be born again. Yet, as we give them solid biblical

instruction throughout their formative years right up until the time they leave, not only have we

given them that which God uses to convert, the word of God, but we have given them tools by

which to think, evaluate the world, and ward off false philosophies by which they will be

confronted in the college setting. As they see and set forth the fact that the biblical worldview is

the only worldview that makes sense of the reality we experience, in human terms, they have a

better opportunity to be saved than if they either did not think about the things of God or if they

could not defend the things of God. Again, God has to save. But, He uses His truth to save and

sanctify.

Regarding the family, it will have to be emphasized in terms of functioning as a unit with the

father taking his role as prophet, priest, and king seriously. While instruction at church can be

individualized (men's ministry, women's ministry, youth ministry, etc.), in addition, the family

unit should be instructed as a family. We do not advocate an either/or dynamic but a both/and

ministry. The reality is that while the contemporary church will be hard-pressed to do away with

youth ministry models that are largely unbiblical simply because we are myopic by nature and

assume what we do has been done for two-thousand years, churches do need to find some way to

focus on the family, to borrow a phrase.

Our families are being torn apart by the culture in which we live. Some of the issues that factor

into that tearing apart include parents who spend more time with careers than with their children;

children who spend more time with their friends than their families via school, cell phone, instant

messaging, and hanging out; activities that are all consuming; and a general neglect of the things

of God. Family devotions are practically non-existent in most homes. At the same time, a sick

hybrid exists in most family situations: while parents have little time to spend with their children,

they in turn worship their children in the sense that the children are doted upon in terms of things,

activities, and freedom. Many children assume the right to do what they want when they want.

Parents allow such by virtue of work fatigue, spiritual ignorance, or being battled so much they

simply give up. Children even dictate where parents go to church. By the way, such is not an

exception or a minority occurrence, it is the norm. Of course, if those same children decide they

don't want to go to church, they don't go.

Families must be brought together by the church, not torn apart further by copying the world in

terms of inane activity or ineffective segregation. Parents who do not understand the pitfalls of

contemporary life and parents who do not have a reign on their children must not dictate the

direction of children's or youth ministry. Effective segregation is to be prized. Family units are to

be helped. Christ is to be exalted. Church leaders must not be neglectful.

With regard to prayer, it is prayer that demonstrates our dependence on God. Without heart-felt

and faithful prayer concerning church life, ministry, one another, and the larger world, we do the

work and God gets no glory. In fact, we become largely ineffective spiritually speaking. With an

emphasis upon prayer the power of God becomes manifest. When our Lord said "this kind does

not go out but by prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21)," He meant that total dependence upon God is

the key to all genuine ministry.

The second factor reshaping the American church is the proliferation of technology in worship

and ministry. Our point in part one was that technology can be used for the glory of God, but, we

must be cautious that it is being used for the glory of God.

James Emery White has an interesting comment on the word technology and points out other

concerns for us in this area. "Ironically, within the word Technology itself lies the new

philosophical mooring that marks our intent. The word is built from such Greek words as

technites (craftsman) and techne (art, skill, trade), which speak of the idea of either the person

who shapes or molds something or the task of shaping and molding. But it is the Greek word

logos, to which technites is joined, that makes our term technology so provocative. Within Greek

thought logos is a reference to divine reason or the organizing principle of the world. In John's

Gospel logos is used to communicate the idea of the divinity of Jesus. Moderns have put together

two words that the ancients would not have dared to combine, for the joining of the words

intimates that mere humans can shape the very order of the world. Though technology itself my

be neutral in its enterprise, there can be no doubt that within the word itself are the seeds for the

presumption that would seek to cast God from his throne and assert humanity in his place as the

conduit of divine power. And we have wasted little time."

By way of one example, how often have we heard that we cannot worship without the power

point screen, the lights, or the music? How often have we heard that we cannot preach without

the video clips serving to illustrate our points? Churches that don't have the technology are often

viewed as inferior or unable to provide genuine worship. Let us be warned that worship can

occur only when the Lord works in our hearts. He works apart from technology. Technology may

not hinder our worship in many cases. But, we must never fall into the trap of thinking that

technology induces our worship. Those who worship God must do so in spirit and in truth. Let us

be careful not to cast God from His throne and assert ourselves or our technology in His place as

the conduit of divine power.

How critical it is that we be like "the children of Issachar, which were men that had

understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1 Chron. 12:32)." May God grant us

understanding of our times and the trends reshaping the American church and may He grant us

wisdom to know what to do.

[Part Three Tomorrow]

Go to source: Crosswalk.com - Dr. Paul J Dean's Weblog#1370549

Dr. Paul J Dean

Pastor, Counselor, Professor, Columnist and Radio Talk Show Host

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Trends Reshaping the American Church, Part III

Four key factors are reshaping the American church according to the Barna Group. Let us now

turn to numbers three and four and add a few thoughts.

"The slow demise of the African-American church community was a third outcome highlighted

by Barna, identifying the decline within the black community of factors such as church

attendance, Bible knowledge, faith prioritization, and reliance upon the faith community for

support and relationships." These trends seem to transcend racial barriers, at least in my context,

though they may be reaching critical levels within certain segments of our evangelical society.

No doubt Barna's research is accurate.

It is interesting that Acts 2:42f describes the commitment of those converted at Pentecost. They

continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

Those factors pointed out by Barna loosely correspond. Bible knowledge corresponds with the

apostles' doctrine; faith prioritization corresponds with church attendance, breaking of bread

(Lord's Supper), and prayer in that these issues represent corporate and personal priorities in

one's life and walk with Christ; and reliance upon the faith community for support and

relationships corresponds with fellowship.

While church attendance is not always an indicator of one's spiritual health, and while we must

be careful to avoid legalistic judgments, the lack of church attendance is in fact a good indicator

that there is a lack of spiritual health. We are told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves

together because corporate worship, bible instruction, fellowship, and accountability are

important factors, among others, in our spiritual vitality and growth. This issue is so important

that a lack of church attendance is given as the first step down the road of spiritual apostasy in

Hebrews 10. This issue is indeed serious whether we like to admit it or not.

Bible knowledge is certainly important in that right living flows from right thinking and one

cannot develop his/her relationship with the Lord apart from knowing Him better. That

knowledge comes in large measure from bible intake. God's people are languishing in spiritual

lethargy and ministry ineffectiveness for a lack of bible knowledge. Sadly, many fall away from

the faith for a lack of the same. I have a close friend who is acquainted with the black

community. For this friend, the issue of biblical ignorance is paramount. I would say the same

holds true for the rest of the evangelical community as well.

Obviously Christ and faith in Him, not only for salvation but for everyday living, must be our

priority. If He is not our priority, then more may be at stake than spiritual sickness. Too many

Christians make Christ a part of the many things in their lives when Christ should be at the center

of their lives. Our priorities, decisions, actions, and attitudes must flow from and relate to Him.

Christ will not be one dynamic in a multitude of dynamics that revolve around ourselves at the

center. He will be at the center and all will revolve around Him. He will not be a tack on in our

lives. He will be Lord.

Reliance upon the faith community for support and relationships is all but forgotten in many

evangelical circles. How can we build one another up and bear one another's burdens if we don't

spend time together? How can we keep unspotted from the world and gird up our loins for the

fight if we spend more time with our worldly friends than we do with our brothers and sisters in

Christ? The church itself has become one activity among many in our lives. But, like Christ, the

church and our relationship to the church must become central if we are to effectively grow in

grace and reflect the light of Christ in this dark world. Otherwise, as we make other relationships

central, our light is strangely dimmed in those contexts. Like a flashlight, we can shine brightly

for Christ if we are supplied by more power (the influence of the Spirit through biblical means of

grace), or we can grow dim and weak if we cut ourselves off from that power supply.

"Barna's fourth trend, which he labeled as somewhat 'invisible yet significant' is the 'changing of

the guard among the leaders of the leaders.' Where the media, general public, and pastors had

previously perceived Billy Graham, Adrian Rogers, Jerry Falwell, John MacArthur, Pat

Robertson, Robert Schuller, and Charles Stanley to be the leading spokespersons for Christianity

in the U.S., Barna showed that the leading representatives of the Christian faith now include Rick

Warren and T.D. Jakes." Critical issues are raised here and this trend is alarming.

While the old guard isn't perfect (Schuller cannot even be counted as evangelical), regardless of

theological differences here and there, and allowing for some unorthodox statements made by a

couple of those individuals (in their old age), these men with the noted exceptions have been

committed to Scriptural authority. With the passing of Rogers and a changing of the guard, one

would like to see the weaknesses eliminated and the strengths shored up. Looking at the new

leadership, on balance, the pool of truth is diluted even more. One is now swimming in the

dangerous waters of ecumenicalism and pop psychology while missing opportunities to set forth

the gospel in plain terms in major pagan contexts, and the other cannot be considered evangelical

(unless he's changed his position recently, Jakes is a modalist).

A need exists for those evangelical leaders who are respected in academic or smaller circles to

make some inroads into those circles which are more popular. We do not advocate a watering

down of the truth. But, if MacArthur has figured out how to make those inroads, maybe he could

serve as a guide. Wouldn't it be great to hear the typical Christian speak about Mohler, Dever,

Duncan, and Packer to name a few?

Church leaders must work hard to focus on children's ministry, family ministry, and prayer,

critical issues which are being neglected today. New technologies may be used for the glory of

God as long as the medium does not overtake, overpower, or overshadow the message of the

gospel and the worship of Almighty God. The demise of the black church community must

somehow be halted and reversed. A commitment to church attendance, bible knowledge, faith

prioritization, and the church as primary in terms of relationships and support must be regained.

Further, sound and respected evangelical leaders must gain inroads into the popular

consciousness. If these necessities are not realized, then attendance may very well still be high,

but it will still be spiritually insignificant. Of course, with a continuing decline in true religion,

attendance is sure to follow at some point as well. This too is significant in that the insignificance

of false spirituality will then be visible for all to see.

[Scroll Down for Parts One and Two]

Sign up free for "Christian News and Views," a weekly e-mail newsletter highlighting relevant

news stories affecting Christians. An editorial by Dr. Dean is included as well as a link to his

comments on selected stories. The e-newsletter goes out each Friday and is sponsored by

"Calling for Truth," a daily, live, call-in radio program co-hosted by Dr. Dean and Kevin Boling.

Simply e-mail us at pauldeanjr@juno.com to receive your first issue this Friday.

To listen live to "Calling for Truth" each day from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm eastern time, go to

www.christiantalk660.com and click on the "Listen Online" button.

Go to source: Crosswalk.com - Dr. Paul J Dean's Weblog#1370725