What do you expect from your church? Biblical preaching? A community where biblical values are exemplified by clergy and laity alike? A recent poll from George Barna’s Cultural Research Center (CRC) indicates that these are no longer reasonable expectations in American churches.

The CRC poll surveyed 1000 pastors from a variety of ecclesial traditions (Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Black Protestant, etc.), asking them to evaluate 54 worldview-related statements such as “Having faith matters more than which faith you have;” or “the Bible is ambiguous regarding abortion; it is possible to make a compelling biblical argument either for or against abortion.” On the basis of their responses, it would appear that a mere 37 percent of Christian pastors in the U.S. possess a biblical worldview. 

Among evangelical pastors, a biblical worldview was somewhat more common, but the numbers are hardly encouraging: only 51% percent of pastors in traditionally conservative denominations (Southern Baptist Convention, Presbyterian Church in America, Evangelical Free Church of America, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, etc.) met the standards for a biblical worldview.

The American Church, it seems, has fallen from its calling to be “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). This begs the question, what is the Church teaching? If America’s pastors don’t have a biblical worldview, what kind of worldview is being propagated in America’s churches? The CRC poll’s results indicate that 62 percent of American pastors have a syncretistic worldview—a hodge-podge of biblical theism and whatever secular ideology was in vogue last Tuesday. One-third or more of senior pastors surveyed affirmed the statements “socialism is better than capitalism” and “sexual relations between two unmarried people who believe they love each other is morally acceptable.”

The problem, however, doesn’t just lie with America’s clergy. The results of the CRC’s poll implicate the laity as well. As St. Paul says, “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). America’s churchgoers, it would seem, have lost their taste for sound doctrine and would much rather have their itching ears tickled with pleasant words—words that won’t require them to stop sleeping around; words that won’t tell them to stop voting for pro-abortion candidates just because they were promised student loan forgiveness.

As bleak as the situation would appear to be, the solution is wonderfully simple: find a church that preaches the Word of God. Find a church that reads and/or exhorts passages of Scripture every Sunday. Find a church that isn’t afraid of taking on the cultural issues of the day and understand that the Bible is profitable “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Find a church that administers the sacraments in accordance with God’s Word. Find a church where the only new words you’re worried about your kids learning are words like “justification” and “eschatology.”

Moreover, if a faithful, Bible-believing church doesn’t exist in your community, is it too much to pull up stakes and move somewhere there is such a church? Or how about starting a new church? We are commanded to “test all things and hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and if your church can’t be trusted to show you and your family how to do that, it’s high time you found another church. And above all, every one of us ought to be praying that God would raise up men in our nation who, like St. Paul, can say “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ…” (1 Cor. 11:1).

There is an interesting national poll finding that most parents are worried about their children’s spiritual condition. The Christian polling firm led by George Barna surveyed parents with children under the age of 18 and measured their level of concern regarding their peers.

The survey asked parents “how concerned are you about your child/children’s spiritual development?” Most respondents (73 percent) indicated that they were either “somewhat” or “very” concerned with their children’s spiritual development.

The survey broke the respondents down into three categories: practicing Christian parents, Christian parents, and non-Christian parents. It classified “Christians who have attended a worship service within the past month and strongly agree their faith is important to their life” as practicing Christians.

A majority of practicing Christian parents (51 percent) reported feeling “very” concerned about their children’s spiritual development, followed by 33 percent who were “somewhat” concerned.  Similarly, 80 percent of Christian parents were either “very” or “somewhat” concerned about their children’s spiritual development.

Non-Christian parents had the lowest level of concern about their children’s spiritual health among the three groups, with 27 percent telling pollsters that they were “very” concerned about their children’s spiritual development and an additional 31 percent identifying themselves as “somewhat” concerned.

Practicing Christians also had the highest level of concern about their children staying true to their faith among the three groups surveyed. A solid majority of practicing Christians (58 percent) asserted that they were “very” concerned about whether their children would “stay true to their spiritual faith,” while an additional 28 percent were “somewhat” concerned.

The survey also asked parents about their level of concern surrounding their children’s ability to make meaningful relationships with other children. A plurality of U.S. parents (48 percent) said that they were “very” concerned about their children’s ability to form meaningful relationships with their peers and an additional 35 percent identified themselves as “somewhat” concerned.

This article was originally published by the AFA of Indiana.

Last night, IFI hosted its annual Faith, Family and Freedom Banquet. Hundreds of supporters from across the state gathered to enjoy a good meal and fellowship while being informed, encouraged and edified by our emcee, State Representative Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) and our keynote speaker, George Barna. Together we are working for the common good.

In my short presentation, I reminded attendees that we are called to be steadfast and immovable while abounding in the work the Lord calls us to do and to remember that our labor is not in vain. God’s truth is marching on. We are His soldiers in the battle. And it is, most definitely, a spiritual battle.

I know that many of our subscribers would have loved to attend our annual banquet, but due to calendar conflicts or prohibitive traveling hurdles could not join us. The exciting news I have to report to you is that a very generous donor has offered a $20,000 banquet-matching challenge that has been extended through the weekend so that you can participate by giving in support of our work in Illinois.

Every dollar that is given or pledged will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000 through Sunday evening. This includes pledges of monthly giving which is a great way to support the work that we are doing.

I hope you agree that a vigorous defense of policies and laws that reflect biblical truth is needed more than ever in Illinois. Certainly, as a subscriber to IFI’s emails you understand that the godless Left isn’t willing to tolerate Christian family values.

The culture war isn’t lost. It isn’t over. Rather, it has entered a new and more aggressive phase. For the sake of our children and the future of Illinois as well as the country, we must rise to the challenge.

IFI is doing some great work here in the People’s Republic of Illinois, but we cannot do it without your prayers and your financial support.

Please consider this appeal and the opportunity to partner with us in a strategic and effective way. A gift of $25, $50 or more this weekend would help tremendously. Perhaps you are able to contribute even more. This is an amazing opportunity to double your impact!

Your love, your prayers and your gifts make our work possible. Please prayerfully consider helping us meet this matching challenge!

Please DONATE ONLINE or call the IFI office
at (708) 781-9328 to support our work.

Thank you for your support!

P.S. Help us reach our goal of raising a total of $40,000 by the end of the weekend — Donate today!  You can also send a gift to:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, IL  60477

Recall that liberals attacked Chick-Fil-A, the popular fast food chain, in 2012 when the CEO said he opposed same-sex marriage. Yet days later conservatives lined up for more than chicken sandwiches and waffle fries – they sought to express support on “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day.”

According to the survey, more than a quarter of conservatives and more than a third of liberals are willing to change their shopping habits based on a company’s social stance, says George Barna, executive director of the American Culture and Faith Institute.

“When we look at conservatives,” he says, “they’re most likely to be no longer buying products from Starbucks, or Target, or Wells Fargo, or Disney.”

Liberals, meanwhile, avoid Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

“Those were the biggest ones,” he says, citing the survey.

More people are willing to stop shopping somewhere to protest a social stand, Barna learned, than to start shopping somewhere to support a company.

The survey showed, however, that conservatives eat at Chick-Fil-A and shop at Hobby Lobby because of their public stands. Liberals, meanwhile, shop online at Amazon.com and buy Starbucks coffee due to their stands.

“Relatively few companies come out ahead,” Barna advises. “We found that Amazon, Google, Microsoft and PayPal were the four that actually were doing better based on some of the stands that they’ve taken.”

The ones who have been hurt for their stance, or are still being hurt, he says, makes for a “much longer list.”

This article was originally posted at OneNewsNow.com

Election 2016 will go down in history as a great surprise — a quasi-triumph for Conservatives, for Evangelicals, and a tragedy for the Progressive Left. Millions of Americans were praying, they knew the nation was heading at breakneck speed toward godless socialism, with every possible perversion being lauded by The Left.

Life and marriage, natural marriage, were still vitally important to Bible-believing Christians in America. As was our relationship, nationally, to the Jewish state of Israel. Though Donald J. Trump was an unlikely champion for such conservative issues, he was the only choice. Everyone nervously hoped Trump would keep his promises. But most understood that Hillary Clinton would keep hers: she was ardently pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage and LGBT “special rights,” for a two-state solution with Palestine and Israel, for open borders and so many other disastrous policies.

The future of America weighed in the balance and on November 8, 2016, conservatives, Christians, nationwide breathed easier, a seed of hope and prayers answered energizing that long-maligned segment of the country.

In 2010, United in Purpose (UiP), a nonprofit, was “started with a question: Is it possible to transform American culture by bringing together conservative Christian organizations to act in unity to reach their shared goals?” They assembled a team with the sole mission “to unite and equip like-minded conservative organizations to increase their reach, impact, and influence for the purpose of bringing cultural transformation in America based on Judeo-Christian principles.”

The election of 2016 further steeled the determination of UiP. The American Culture and Faith Institute (ACFI) is one division of UiP, under the leadership of Executive Director, George Barna, of famed Barna Group, the research organization “regularly conducts national surveys to gauge the sentiment and activity of politically conservative, spiritual active Christians in America.”

On April 12 of this year, ACFI published an article, “Mixed Views on Morals.” The article summarizes “a FullView™ online survey was conducted March 22-29, 2017, with 1,000 respondents age 18 or older whose demographic profile reflects that of the United States.”

The article begins:

Americans are not too pleased with where things stand in their country these days. A nationwide survey of adults by the American Culture & Faith Institute (ACFI) reveals that a key reason for peoples’ dissatisfaction relates to their perceptions of the morals and values of the nation’s adults.

The survey found that only four out of ten adults (40%) feel satisfied with the way things are going in the United States these days.

Of note, some of the keen dissatisfaction appears among liberals:

Less than four out of ten adults (37%) believe the country is headed in the right direction. Once again, conservatives (56%) were far more likely than liberals (20%) to express that belief.

The population segments most likely to feel more disadvantaged these days were Baby Boomers (45%) and liberals (42%).

Interesting, now that President Donald J. Trump is steadily reversing former President Obama’s executive orders, most of which forced immoral and ungodly practices on Americans, The Left is unhappy.

But there were other valid concerns respondents shared:

• Only one-quarter of adults (24%) are satisfied with the moral condition of the nation. Such concerns were especially deep among adults with a biblical worldview (just 7% of them were satisfied with America’s moral condition). People 50 or older were less satisfied (21%) than were those under 50 (27%).

• One-third of adults (34%) are satisfied with the values and moral views taught in the public schools. Dissatisfaction ran especially high among those with a biblical worldview; among SAGE Cons (i.e., Spiritually Active, Governance Engaged Conservative Christians); and among conservatives.

• Just one out of three adults (34%) is satisfied with the honesty and integrity of the mainstream media. The segment that most clearly separated itself from the rest of the population is liberals: 52% are satisfied with the character of the media.

• Not quite four out of ten people (38%) are satisfied with the degree of compassion that Americans have for one another.

• Four out of every ten respondents (40%) feel satisfied with the values embraced by most adults. The one out of ten adults who have a biblical worldview emerged as the segment least satisfied with peoples’ values (18%).

• Not quite half of the nation (44%) is satisfied with the fairness experienced from the court system. Conservatives and liberals had a common concern in this regard. The only segment for which a majority felt the courts are judging fairly was people 70 or older.

It’s quite heartening to see that those who espouse a biblical worldview are discerning, responding with biblical precepts in mind.

In direct opposition to the conservatives, the survey demonstrated “liberals are twice as likely as are conservatives to feel satisfied with the values and views taught in the public schools. They are also twice as likely to feel satisfied with the moral condition of the country.”

For decades and decades Progressives have owned education. The Schools of Education at U.S. universities are academic petri dishes of socialist thought, inculcating a Leftist, godless worldview in all but the hardiest of conservative, Christian students.

Election 2016 may have been a turning point. Post-inauguration, every day the news brings signs of hope. President Trump is working to defund Planned Parenthood and rolling back many of the liberal and/or immoral executive orders mandated by Obama and his pen. Israel is once again completely confident in our friendship. Our borders are being enforced and unlawful illegals being deported. We have a strong presence at the United Nations and are not capitulating to the evils of that organization.

With entities such as American Culture and Faith Institute and United in Purpose, conservatives are wising up, using information and sound battle tactics to defeat The Left and their godless agenda.

Perhaps God will have mercy on America as her citizens hunger and thirst after righteousness, remembering that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people”. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The “Slouching Toward Gomorrah” has been stayed. Burgeoning hope compels more and more conservative people of faith to make their voices heard, to be salt and light in our culture.

Let’s pray it’s not too late for that salt and light to right America’s course, remembering:

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.