The Second Coming of the Church (Book reviews)

By George Barna

Some surveys show public optimism at an all-time high, with a few mega-churches whipping up enough enthusiasm to maintain the illusion that all is well.

But Christian sociologist George Barna's data shows otherwise. In this sobering book he reveals the moral and spiritual decline within the body politic and wonders if the Body of Christ, the Church, can do anything about it.

Of his twenty-four books, Barna says this is his most "personal, strategic and intense." It's personal because he is more than a detached surveyor of public opinion; strategic because he shows how the Church can respond; intense because be believes the future of both the Church and the culture hangs in the balance.

In Part I Barna evaluates unblinkingly the state of the Church. He shows that while modern society "reinvents itself every five years," most churches are satisfied with programs designed a generation ago.

Part II provides an analysis of the "navigational environment"--the society in which the Church must operate.

Part III lifts up Scripture's high charge to the Church, with exhortations that Christians be light and leaven to the world.

And in Part IV Barna outlines adjustments required if the Church is to be "healthy, fruitful, and biblical."

The author's analysis is based not on hand-wringing conjecture but on facts. He poses hard data against Christian resistance to change:

• Although only one-half the population will be Caucasian by the year 2050, the Church today is still the most segregated institution in America.
• Although most young adults don't learn by traditional ways (and one-half are functionally illiterate), the Christian message is still packaged in archaic teaching styles.
• While poverty is growing and welfare is declining, the average church spend $6 on facilities for every $1 it spends on its ministry to the poor.
• Although most people enter full-time ministry hoping to use their teaching gifts, most church-goers don't want to be taught.
• In a world of niche-marketing and specialists, the average pastor is required to be a generalist who spends 65 hours a week tending to 16 different tasks.

A committed churchman as well as a social scientist, Barna issues an urgent plea for God's people: "Stop dabbling in religion and grow in spiritual maturity..." He warns that the pace of decline in our society, coupled with the reluctance of the Church to make meaningful changes, means that Christians are on the verge of losing the platform they once had to influence the culture for Christ. "Our situation is not hopeless," he writes, "but is urgent."

George Barna is founder and presinent of Barna Research Group in Oxnard, California. He has conducted demographic and marketing research for many secular and religious groups, including the Disney Channel, Focus on the Family, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Barna's previous books include the best-selling Frog in the Kettle, Marketing the Church, and User Friendly Churches. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters, Samantha and Corban.