Before you can solve a problem, you have to first know what the problem is. In America these days, it is definitely easy to identify a lot of different problems. I could make a list here, and it would be quite long, dealing with various matters related to the economy, politics, wars, corruption, lawlessness, sexual immorality, education, the entertainment industry, business, and on and on.
And while it is these various matters that people get all exercised about, what most people don’t realize is that the things in my list are not the real problems – they are merely symptoms of the problem. The problem itself lies underneath the visible issues and cannot be solved simply by attacking the symptom. It is much like when we become ill with a cold. We can take aspirin to mitigate pain and lower a fever, and use decongestants to clear up the stuffy nose, but that does not cure the cold. That only mitigates symptoms until the cold can run its course.
When it comes to society’s problems, all the issues you see are merely symptoms. The problem is society’s spiritual underpinning – and the only way to get rid of the actual underlying problem is for the people in society to have an internal spiritual change.
In some of his recent polling, Christian pollster George Barna found that 92% of self-identified Christians have what he called a “syncretistic worldview.” That is, their beliefs are “a fusion of disparate ideologies, beliefs, behaviors, and principles culled from a variety of competing worldviews into a customized blend.” The practical implication is that is that most Christians don’t have a very good grasp of what a biblical worldview actually looks like. He found that this holds true in both Catholic and Protestant denominations.
One question that arises is, “How is it possible that 95% of self-identified Christians don’t hold a biblical worldview?” How can that many people who claim to be Christians be so off on the core beliefs of their faith? There are, certainly, numerous reasons that is so. One is that many of these people actually never have been born again. They simply don’t know Christ. Another large percentage were raised in the Christian faith, but no longer participate in it in any meaningful way. And there’s another segment that, while they may participate in church, have allowed the values of society to influence them more than the teachings of the Bible. Then there is the fact that only a very small percentage of churches provide the kind of training for their members that systematically teaches them a biblical worldview.
But there is another question that is even more important: “What will be necessary to turn things around?” This is important because not only will a solution solve the spiritual problem in individuals, but will also lead to solving the problematic symptoms in society that were spoken of earlier.
The solution to this has actually already been alluded to above. Since the problem is that most self-identified Christians don’t hold a biblical worldview, the solution is to teach them what a biblical worldview looks like.
Now while this is the obvious solution, it is not as easy as it might seem. There are a number of things that get in the way of this kind of training.
One obstacle is that many Christians (maybe even most) really aren’t interested in learning. They have become satisfied with straddling the fence so that they can call themselves Christians, yet still “enjoy” some of the sins of society. God will understand, after all, right? Many won’t even go to church except for a couple of special days each year.
Another problem is that most churches are not set up to provide that kind of training. They might have a special program on occasion, but nothing that provides their people with a systematic means of learning the full extent of a biblical worldview.
Now understand, those who participate regularly in a Bible believing church will get biblical worldview teaching in the pastor’s sermons and in their Bible study classes. But both of these things only provide random, non-systematic teaching. And sadly, most consumers of these methods do not have the knowledge base that enables them to stitch those teachings together to form a truly biblical worldview. With all the gaps, it is very easy for non-biblical beliefs to insert themselves into people’s lives to create the syncretism that pollutes their individual faith, which affects the church.
In order to provide truly systematic biblical worldview training, it is necessary to understand worldview concepts. In order to provide truly systematic biblical worldview training, it is necessary to set up the church schedule in a way that includes it. In order to provide truly systematic worldview training, the church leadership has to want it badly enough to make it a priority.
When that happens, the church itself will turn around. When enough churches turn around, the local community will turn around. When enough local communities turn around, their entire region will turn around. And when enough regions turn around, the nation will turn around. And that’s how you turn America around.
[MarketFaith Ministries is a worldview discipleship ministry. We are able to not only provide systematic worldview training materials, but are also able to consult to help local churches implement a systematic worldview training effort in their situation. Contact us at info@marketfaith.org and let’s explore how to make this a reality in your church.]