“Leaving behind this long trail of failure as if it had never happened, Barna has nevertheless struck out in a new direction with the same old panache, bravado, and undented self-assurance.”

This is so typical of those who trumpet overthrowing the tried and true (and in this case Biblical) in order to jump on the latest bandwagon. They just can’t admit that what they supported was a failure so the decide they must do MORE of the thing that hasn’t worked.

Just like proponents of things like Socialism and the “War on Poverty” they can’t admit that their approach was wrong and has yielded disastrous results so they just keep doing more of the same, so convinced they are that their approach is correct and will one day produce what they think it should.

The church I’m currently attending has been deeply influenced by Barna and the Willow Creek method of “doing Church’. They also have been involved in the whole 40 day purpose stuff , which I will never be a part of!! Sad to say but in many ways I have yet since I have returned , experienced what I would call real worship. They have given up way too much to make the church thing feel welcoming and comfortable to the “seeker” . There is no call to worship , no congregational reading of scripture , and they have exchanged many of the great hymns of the past with trite, repetitive praise songs that annoy me to no end. I do not mind many new songs , like In Christ Alone which has a rich and hymn like feel but singing you are worthy over and over , does not make true worship. This style of worship is producing exactly what it is , a completely biblically illiterate mass of pablum fed Christians that think having a happening band perform songs and a coffee house feel as you enter is where its at. Micheal Horton at the White Horse Inn has been going through what he calls Christ less Christianity and that is exactly what Barna and Willow Creek has fostered. May we cast off this worldly mind set and remember the “ancient ways”. P.S Tim,glad to hear that things are going well .

Tim, good to hear that your little one is on the road to recovery… it is hard when little ones need to spend time in hospitals. I visit a little guy in our area’s Children’s Hospital who was born with an illness that makes his bones brittle… not sure that he will ever get out (has a tube in his throat so he can breath, his name is Matthew Brian Scott), but am praying God will heal the impossilbe. It brings me to the reality that we are in a fallen world each time I visit him, and see his young parents dealing with it as best as they can… ok, nuff of that.

Glad to see Wells dealing with the subject of the day (thanks for putting it on your blog), which affects many many churches, and in some degree the one I attend also. AND, folks like Barna do need to be held accountable for the stuff that they feed evangelicalism, so it’s good when Wells, Carson, and others bring to bear in their writings what his results bring to the church… some of it is profitable because it’s just a matter of reality, but many others issues drive the church to hear more than just results, but trends… trends in what? In how God is working in the church? Is that even a possible result from various polls? Are we now stating how God performs in our culture?

It is normal for people to try and to run the church as a business, I’ve been in the midst of it, and it’s failed terribly. While we have to be in the realm of reality, we also need to understand faith, and that it is the product of God’s Word to us, not a marketing plan. Bottom line, are we making ourselves open to what God’s plan is, and is it according to His Word?

Another book on my wish list… and how does that help my finances :)?

Blessings,Ralph