The Barna Group is a privately owned (no governmental oversight), non-partisan (not tied to any political organization or any one theological entity) research group that has, since 1984, conducted and analyzed primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in American society, with an emphasis on patterns of worship. They are, essentially, a polling organization, but one that has no political agenda and that focuses on theological and worship issues. When political figures, media and other national outlets quote ‘religious polling data, they are quoting the Barna Group. Personally, I have read information from the Barna Group for the past thirty years.

            And the news isn’t good.

            Religion in America is failing. That is not to say that Christianity is failing. Religion is failing.

            What is the difference you ask? The word ‘religion’ in the Bible is the Greek word ‘threskeia’ and means ‘worship with ceremony.’ It can refer to some things that we do in Christianity, but it can also refer to things that are done in any other religion, from Judaism to Satanism. We have taken to applying the word ‘religion’ to Christianity precisely because we like our ceremony. It gives us comfort, it gives us satisfaction and it gives us a focus. Religion, though, does not give us Christ.

Religion is a habit, Christianity is a way of life.

The Board at McKinley Community Church in Warren, Ohio, a church I pastored back in the 1980s and early 1990s, decided at a meeting one evening that we were too tied to our weekly bulletin. We could not be spontaneous, the Spirit couldn’t move. They decided to do away with the bulletin. Our organist was exceptional so the song leader would pick the songs as the Spirit led and we would sing as many as he felt we needed to sing. Announcements would be made whenever, or not at all. The choir would sing, or maybe not. The only thing that didn’t change was that the preacher had to be mindful of the time. It was kind of exciting, even liberating. Back then, hardly anyone was doing such a progressive thing.

We had a tape ministry for our shut-ins. Every service was taped, the master tape was copied, or dubbed, on as many as eight tapes all at once and then they were dispersed to the shut-ins every week. For those without tape players, the church gave them new players. When a new tape was delivered the old tape would be brought back to the church and I would erase that tape (because we had gone cheap when we bought the dubber and if you didn’t erase it would simply lay the new recording over the old) and put it back in the supply of tapes.

 Somewhere along the way I missed erasing one tape. When I had transferred the master copy onto the tapes to be delivered I would listen to the first few seconds of each newly recorded tape to make sure it had recorded properly. When I put the tape that hadn’t been erased in the player, the first thing I heard was a horrible bit of music. I realized I had forgotten to erase a tape and it had copied over the old. Instead or just pulling the tape out, I continued to listen. What I heard bothered me a lot. Everything from both services, eight weeks apart, was exactly the same. I don’t mean the words were the same, but the services were the same. Same number of songs, same number of prayers, same amount of time for concerns and announcements, even the prayers were the same length. The two sermons started at exactly the same point on the tape and finished within five seconds of each other. In ‘freeing the Spirit’ we had simply instituted a new habit. We do love our religion.

 Which is not to say religion is a bad thing. I would hate to get rid of the acolytes, for two reasons; one, anything that involves the kids in a worship service is, for me, a good thing. And two, sometimes things can happen that are just funny when you are dealing with kids in the service. I don’t want to get rid of the bulletin or anything else we do in worship, so long as those things are not why we are at church. We are at church for the purpose of worship and praise and learning, not so people can feel comfortable in their surroundings. Unfortunately, that is what is happening in our churches today.

 Sociologists have named the various ‘generations’ we have in church today. The ‘elder generation’ is folks born before 1946. The ‘baby boomers’ were born between 1946 and 1964. We are pretty familiar with these two groups. But then, the ‘generation X’ people were born between 1965 and 1983, the ‘millennials’ were born between 1984 and 1998 and the newest group, the ‘generation Z,’ were born between 1999 and the present. I understand the need to separate the generations for the sake of studies and such, but it seems like they could either just give the years or, at least, use more imagination in thinking up the names.

 Anyway, the Barna Group has done an in-depth study on religious trends within these groups. I would like to look at just the Generation Z group at the moment. These are our Youth, the kids who light those candles and who participate in sports and who we want to take over our church one day.

These are results of national polls, so the results will differ a little from place to place, but only by a pointy or two. Unlike the political polls we see all the time, these pollsters are not affected by personal bias. In fact, the results they published are exactly opposite what they would prefer to see. These results concern Generation Z, the age group of our youth and the future of our church.

According to Gen Z, 24% believe the Bible and science are in conflict with one another. They then tend to believe science. 13% of Gen Z claim to be atheists. That is more than double any other group. 24% of the total population claim to be atheists, but far and away the largest of that group is Gen Z. The most common reason for embracing atheism is that they have a hard time believing a loving God could allow the suffering going on in the world. 29% of Gen Z atheists give that as a reason. I suppose we have3 all asked that question at one time or another. However, 23% give the reason the Christians are hypocrites. 37% of all, not just the atheists, Gen Zs say that it is impossible to know if God is real. 66% believe that one cannot be wrong if they really sincerely believe in something, leading to the conclusion that what is true for someone else may not be true for me, but it is true for them. On the other hand…….

Among Gen Z churchgoers (those who have attended one or more worship services within the past month), perceptions of church tend to be more positive than negative. Strong majorities of churched teens say that church “is a place to find answers to live a meaningful life” (82%) and “is relevant to my life” (82%), that “I can ‘be myself’ in church” (77%) and that “people at church are tolerant of those with different beliefs” (63%). Negative perceptions have significant currency, however. Half of churchgoing teens say “the church seems to reject much of what science tells us about the world” (49%) and one-third that “the church is overprotective of teenagers” (38%) or “the people at church are hypocritical” (36%). Further, one-quarter claims “the church is not a safe place to express doubts” (27%) or that the teaching they are exposed to is “rather shallow” (24%).

So, you say, all is not lost! If they go to church they can be talked too! Praise the Lord! We live in Wabash County and our kids are in church!

But not really.

We have great kids in church. Other churches around have great kids. But most churches have fewer than a half dozen Youth. At one time, not so many years ago, it was a horrible thought to think that anyone would sin in or around a church. But now, less than half the people in this county go to church. There is little respect among the younger adults; how can we expect respect from their kids. Twice, in the shadow of St. Peter’s, Marsha has run off two boys engaged in a sex act in one of the baseball dugouts. Once, in the same dugout, it was a boy and a girl. When told to stop and leave, Marsha was called some vile things. When Marsha reported this to the man who heads up the Lion’s Club, she was told that if it was consensual there was nothing anyone could do. Really? Nothing anyone could do?

And it is not all good for kids in church. 49% of the church going Gen Zs say that the rejects what science says. 36% say that the adults at church are hypocritical. 27% say that the church is not a safe place to express doubts. 24% say that the faith and teaching of people at church seems shallow. And, 17% say that church seems like an exclusive club for adults. And lastly, 59% of Gen Zs say that church is not relevant to them.

Moral of the story? Well, first, we need to support our Youth programs with prayer, willing hands and any financial help we can. But, secondly, we need to quit looking at the church as ‘our’ church. It is the one great hope the kids have for the future. What makes us happy and content is not anywhere near as important as what those young people see in us. Will this church be around to see them into adulthood? Will the path we lay down now have the Spiritual foundation to guide them in the future? And where do they learn things like church people are hypocritical, that church is not a good place to express doubts, that the teachings they get at church are shallow and that church is a club for grownups? They get those ideas from watching us, the grownups. Pastors fail, leaders fail, pew sitters fail. We often put our own wants and desires and agendas before what the Lord wants, and young people see that clearly.

The closer we move towards the Lord, the better the future of the church becomes.