JANUARY 2006
Dear Mt. Olive family and friends,
A new report in which George Barna reviews the “Top Religious Trends
of 2005” (www.barna.org) is just
out. As in past years, some of the news
is encouraging; some is scary.
One trend that Barna feels has reached crisis proportion is, as
the report states:
“American Christians are biblically illiterate. Although most of
them contend that the Bible contains truth and is worth knowing, and most of
them argue that they know all of the relevant truths and principles, our
research shows otherwise. And the trend line is frightening: the younger a
person is, the less they understand about the Christian faith.” Barna mentioned
several studies done throughout the year that explored beliefs related to the
existence and nature of God, the holiness and authority of Jesus Christ, the
need for and means of salvation, the key teachings of Jesus, the role of a
community of faith, and other foundational elements of Christianity. “By and
large, people parrot what their parents taught them. Sadly, with fewer and
fewer parents teaching their kids much of anything related to matters of faith,
young people’s belief system is the product of the mass media.”
“The investigation into this problem undertaken by The Barna
Group indicates that people are oblivious to committed study of the Bible for
various reasons. Among those are the fact that they think they know what is
important to know; churches have de-emphasized Bible teaching; families have
become too busy and have demoted Bible learning as a family endeavor and
priority…”
I am relatively certain that what Barna reports
is, in fact, quite true. And I’m
pretty sure that much of it is true of the
When I read things like this, I feel a flood of emotions. One the one hand, I feel a burning anger at
what sin in us and around us is doing to our society and, more specifically, to
the American church. I feel frustration
over my inability to stop this rapid erosion of faith and values. I feel disappointed that parents, who hold
such an important position and are thus invaluable in the nurturing of the next
generation, have not only dropped the ball, but are running off the playing
field. I feel responsible because all
this is happening during my watch.
On the other hand, I feel a certain sinful pride: “This is what I said was going to happen, but
nobody was listening.” “I’ve warned
about poor Bible study habits, a lack of parental responsibility and respect, a
brisk erosion of things spiritual: worship, prayer, Christian love, morality,
our relationship with Jesus - but nobody seemed to care.” “I’ve maintained for years that the Church
shall never perish, but the Lord may well remove it from our shores if we
continue to ignore Him, yet ears seemed not to hear.” Oh, for the good ol’ “Leave it to Beaver”
days!
Is it too late? It is if
we just continue to let it slide and hope that something or someone else will
come along to fix it. It is if we
retreat into a hole, cry in self-pity, and do
nothing. It is if we bury our heads in
the sand and say, “What problem? Is
there a problem? I don’t see a problem. If there’s a problem it must be someone
else’s problem.”
But it’s not too late if we address the problem – first within
ourselves. We must repent of the
spiritual lethargy of our past. We must
recognize the problem – and we are (I am) it!
We must own up to the reality that the immortal souls of an entire
generation are at stake. We are engaged
in – be sure about this - a brutal, merciless war over the eternity of our
children and grandchildren. It is a most
serious matter with eternal consequences: heaven or hell.
And it’s not too late if we begin today – with God’s help and
under grace – to read and study the Bible each day, and commit ourselves to a
life of prayer. 2006 is now before us as
a most opportune time to do what we should have been doing all along: giving
top priority to our life in the Lord, our relationship with Him, and our
spiritual responsibilities to Him and those whom He has entrusted to our
care. Forget about how the rest of the
world is wasting its time on worthless trivialities. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes
on Jesus…” (Heb 12:1-2)
Some great advice came this week from, of all people, Mike
Tice. Deeply touched by the tragic,
suicidal death of the son of Tony Dungy, Tice said: “What Tony does, and what
you guys do, it’s a job. Your family and
God are so much more important than your job…”
It often takes a tragedy for us to realize that. But learn it we must. Before going on to something else today,
reread the two paragraphs of Barna’s report again (above). Then commit yourself to making a real
difference in 2006 in your family, in your congregation, and in your
community.
God bless your efforts!
Pastor Carl R. Henkel
Sunday Worship ~
9:00am
Bible Class & Sunday School ~ 10:30am