Odds-n-Ends . Volume 12 | Issue 02

Discipleship Failures

According to the Barna Group and Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life:

  • Seven out of 10 born-again Christians don’t believe in moral absolutes, while only 10 percent base their moral decision-making on principles taught in the Bible.
  • 59 percent of Christians believe that Satan isn’t an actual being but simply a symbol of evil, while 58 percent say the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol of God’s power or presence. Another 39 percent think Jesus sinned while on earth.
  • 61 percent of 20-somethings who had been active in a church youth group are now spiritually disengaged, while only one-fifth remained as spiritually active as during their high school years.
  • Among those raised as Protestants who become unaffiliated with any denomination or religion, more than half say it’s because they “stopped believing its teachings,” while 71 percent “just gradually drifted away from religion.” In addition, almost 40 percent of those who no longer attend church remain unaffiliated because of their spiritual needs not being met.
  • Six out of 10 Christians have shared their faith with a non-believer in the last year. However, a full two-fifths say they don’t have a responsibility to share their faith with others.
  • 81 percent of the overall Christian population believes spiritual maturity correlates to “trying hard to follow the rules described in the Bible.” And among born-again Christians, only 30 percent mention having a relationship with Jesus as one of the characteristics of spiritual maturity.
  • Nearly 90 percent of pastors say a lack of spiritual maturity is one of the nation’s biggest problems, yet a minority of them believes this isn’t the case in their own church.