The Christian church has been a cornerstone of American life for centuries, but much has changed in the last 30 years. Americans are attending church less, and more people are experiencing and practicing their faith outside of its four walls. Millennials in particular are coming of age at a time of great skepticism and cynicism toward institutions—particularly the church. Add to this the broader secularizing trend in American culture, and a growing antagonism toward faith claims, and these are uncertain times for the U.S. church. Based on a large pool of data collected over the course of this year, Barna conducted an analysis on the state of the church, looking closely at affiliation, attendance and practice to determine the overall health of Christ’s Body in America.
Most Americans Identify as Christian
Debates continue to rage over whether the United States is a “Christian” nation. Some believe the Constitution gives special treatment or preference to Christianity, but others make their claims based on sheer numbers—and they have a point: Most people in this country identify as Christian. Almost three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they are a Christian, while only one-fifth (20%) claim no faith at all (that includes atheists and agnostics). A fraction (6%) identify with faiths like Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or Hinduism, and 1 percent are unsure. Not only do most Americans identify as Christian, but a similar percentage (73%) also agree that religious faith is very important in their life (52% strongly agree + 21% somewhat agree). – George Barna
We Have Become Complacent vv.4-9
We have not mourned and grieved over sin, but have justified it openly. We have become comfortable in conforming to the world!
We Have Been Taken Captive vv.10-13
We gather our values from culture not the Creator.
“The church shares the love affair of the world with prosperity and ease and self. Many groups of Christians are just not that different from the spirit of Babylon, even though the Lord says that we are aliens and exiles and that we are not to be conformed to this age. So, like Israel of old, much of God’s church today is captive to godless forces.” – John Piper Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
We Have Compromised v.16
The people of that day saw the people of God as a joke. People today may be seeing the people of God has a joke! We have forsaken the mission and have become compromised to meaningless task!
A church that doesn’t care about the churches down the street, is a church that has become compromised! What do I mean by this? We want the Church, capital C, to reach, and grow people for Christ! Several denominations used to be about the gospel, few are still standing on the Word of God and the Great Commission.
How did Daniel Pray?
1) He Prayed Consulting the Word. v.2
– A correct view of God is conformed by a correct view of the Bible.
– Let your prayers be saturated with the Word of God!
– We have lost a Biblical worldview because we have lost a love for God’s Word.
Psalm 119:16 “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”
3) He Became Committed. v.3
“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” –Martin Luther
2) He Confessed vv. 4-8
-He acknowledged disobedience against God!
-Until we return to a place of mourning over our sin, we will never experience revival.
3) He Counted God’s Blessings v. 15
– He remembered what God had done! It proves and awakens us to the reality of the fact that God can!
Psalm 103:2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
4) He Confided in God vv.16-19
He had confidence in God!
“If you believe in prayer at all, expect God to hear you. If you do not expect, you will not have. God will not hear you unless you believe He will hear you: but if you believe He will, He will be as good as your faith.” – Charles Spurgeon