This past Sunday, October 4, 2009, Christine Wicker reported on the statistical findings of her spiritual survey of America in Parade Magazine. Christine is the author of several books including "The Fall of the Evangelical Nations." While her aggregate findings are interesting, I want to focus on what she reported on about prayer:
- 77% pray outside of religious services
- In previous eras Americans were on their knees nightly, convinced that they had to prayer because a higher power demanded it. That conviction has largely evaporated.
- 51% of respondents said they pray daily
- 15% pray because God expects them too
- 67% pray because it brings them comfort and hope
- What do they ask for in prayer?
- 72% pray for the well-being of others
- 60% pray for forgiveness
- 27% pray for personal success
- 21% pray for money or other material things
My thoughts? I'm glad the majority of us are still praying, but think we need to dig deeper into the question, "To whom are we praying?" If we dug a little deeper the numbers might reveal even less people praying to the true God. God clearly defines himself and his character in the Scriptures. If the 1,051 survey respondents for the Parade survey have in mind someone other than the self-described God of the Scriptures then, are they not praying entirely to someone else, a god, (small "g"), in fact? That is where the argument of the "wheel and spoke," where all religions are like spokes leading to the God-hub, fall apart. People easily and inarticulately ask "Aren't we all praying to the same god?" The answer is no. Allah is not the God. Buddha is not God. The pantheon of Hindu god's are not God. I'd imagine even some modern, somewhat evangelical images of God are not god, inasmuch as they deviate from the God of the Scriptures. That is where we must be careful. Not all broad nor popular opinions of who God is, and thus, to whom one is praying is valid. Related to this, in Matthew 7:13-23 Christ says:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
My point here is this. Let's not measure whether or not our prayer activity is valid or worthwhile by the statistical measurements reports such as the one this past week in Parade. Going with popular opinion could be like choosing wide gate and broad road that Jesus spoke of. Instead let's look to another, higher standard, the Word of God, which has lasted though revolutions and generations, and consistently proven itself true, though often considered passé or out of favor. It is within this word of God, that an accurate picture of God, and the right means to pray to him are found.
In the parade article Christine Wicker also commented that her findings pointed to a whole new category: 24% of respondents put themselves into a whole new category: "Spiritual, but not religious." Bob Buford, business entrepreneur turned social entrepreneur, friend of the late Peter Drucker, and founder of Leadership Network in Dallas, Texas, commented on this trend in his blog at ActiveEnergy.Net in February of last year. I have met with Bob several times, respect him greatly, have heard him discuss similar trends, and think you will find his comments below worth noting. After revisiting Bob's comments, my intuition says the church is in for a major reconfiguring over the next two decades. Good thing we have a God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
"Just for Me" Media - February 2008
Bob Buford
A recent study of 20,000 member Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago suburbs and several other megachurches brought to light some surprising results. Among its findings for these:
- Involvement in church activities does not predict or drive spiritual growth. “Church activity alone made no direct impact on growing the heart.”
- The church is most important in the early stages of spiritual growth. Its role then shifts from being the primary influence to a secondary influence.
- More than 25% of those surveyed described themselves as “stalled” and “dissatisfied” with the role of the church in their spiritual growth. “The higher the level of commitment to Christ – the more likely it is that satisfaction with the church will be lukewarm.”
No doubt being in a small group helps, but our experience with over 200 highly capable Halftimers is that very few find the answers for their success to significance desire inside a church. They are looking for high challenge, high impact work. They want to make a difference in the Second Half of their lives. They want to do this work on their own terms. The research shows that at this spiritually mature stage of their lives, they don’t want to be recycled back to the learning and growing stages. They have “been there, done that.”
Spiritually mature people want to be put to work doing what they do best. They are seeking to reignite their long muffled passions. In a piece posted this week (2.19.08) at USAToday.com, my friend, sociologist Michael Lindsay commented on his findings in a massive research project of hundreds of prominent evangelicals. Here’s what he said:
“When most of us think of devout evangelicals, we think of people who attend church regularly and are active in their local congregations. Yet many of the most prominent evangelicals do neither. They regularly attend Bible studies and religious gatherings, including last week’s National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, but many can’t be found in the pews on Sunday.
“I spent the past five years interviewing some of the country’s top leaders – two U.S. presidents (George H.W. Bush and Carter), 100 CEOs and senior business executives, Hollywood icons, celebrated artists and world-class athletes. All were chosen because of their widely known faith. Yet I was shocked to find that more than half – 60% -- had low levels of commitment to their denominations and congregations. Some were members in name only; others had actively disengaged from church life.”
This is not good news, folks – not good news for the churches and, even worse, not good news for the country. Independent Sector Gallup Research shows dramatically higher rates of both charitable giving and volunteerism (to all nonprofits, not just churches) by church attendees when compared to non-attendees. What we have here is a danger to our civilization as a whole.
My conclusion: people want to be engaged in meaningful work that fits their individual strengths and their sense of calling. Callings are always specific, unique and highly individual. God does not seem to call organizations. People may find their work in organizations (most of them not church organizations), but their life task, their vocation, their calling is a one-at-a-time, “just for me” affair.
