The Christian pollster George Barna put together a list of biblical
teachings that presumably Christians of every denomination or
theological tradition could affirm: There is absolute moral truth based
on the Bible; biblical teaching is accurate; Jesus was without sin;
Satan literally exists; God is omnipotent and omniscient; salvation is
by grace alone; Christians have a personal responsibility to evangelize.

This is a bare-bones list. It says nothing about the Trinity or the
Deity of Christ or other important teachings that are essential for
salvation. The list has to do not so much with theology as with the
assumptions that are behind one's theology; that is, with worldview. Any
minister of whatever denomination, especially a Protestant one, should
be able to agree on these basics. But only 51 percent do.

Mr. Barna's breakdown of this data is telling. In the two largest
Protestant denominations, Southern Baptists had the most pastors,
percentage-wise, who hold to this biblical worldview (71 percent), while
Methodists had the fewest (27 percent). The glass is either
three-quarters empty or one-quarter full. That one in four Methodist
pastors takes what the Bible teaches seriously might be surprising and
encouraging in a liberal-leaning denomination. But it is equally
surprising, though discouraging, to find that one in four Southern
Baptist preachers does not.

The statistics of pastors holding a biblical worldview for other
denominations studied were 57 percent of (non-Southern) Baptists; 51
percent of nondenominational Protestants; and 44 percent of charismatic
or Pentecostal churches. In the so-called mainline Protestant churches
(essentially those belonging to the National Council of Churches), those
pastors who could be described as having a biblical worldview numbered
only 28 percent.

Mr. Barna also broke the statistics down demographically. Only 35
percent of pastors of black churches hold to a biblical worldview, as he
defines it. In denominations that ordain women, only 15 percent of
female pastors hold to a biblical worldview.

Mr. Barna also found that pastors who attended a seminary are less
likely to have a biblical worldview (45 percent) than those who did not
(59 percent). This is doubtless due to the anti-Christian scholarship
that dominates much of today's academic religious studies, such as the
higher-critical approach to Scripture, which begins by assuming that the
Bible is nothing more than fiction.

There is some good news, though, in Mr. Barna's numbers. Younger pastors
(those under 40) are more likely to have a biblical worldview (56
percent) than older pastors (50 percent). Those who have been in the
ministry for five years or less score even higher (58 percent). Perhaps
the unbelieving ministersmostly aging baby boomers, shaped no doubt by
the theological, moral, and cultural upheaval of the '60s, and still
assuming they are relevant todaywill die out, to be replaced by younger
and more faithful shepherds.

But, in the meantime, the sheep are hungry and are not fed. Many have
already starved to death. Mr. Barna, who discusses these findings in his
new book Think Like Jesus, says that if the numbers are bad among
pastors, they are even worse for church members. Just 7 percent of
American Protestants overall agree with the biblical tenets on that
list. And among those who consider themselves "born again," only 9
percent do. About one out of 10.

There is a huge gap even when pastors do hold to biblical beliefs. "The
research also points out that even in churches where the pastor has a
biblical worldview," said Mr. Barna, "most of the congregants do not.
More than six out of every seven congregants in the typical church do
not share the biblical worldview of their pastor even when he or she has
one."

This suggests, he says, that "merely preaching good sermons and offering
helpful programs does not enable most believers to develop a practical
and scriptural theological base to shape their life." Based on his
research of those who have a biblical worldview, he says that acquiring
one "is a long-term process that requires a lot of purposeful activity:
teaching, prayer, conversation, accountability, and so forth.

"Based on our correlations of worldview and moral behavior," he said,
"we can confidently argue that if the 51 percent of pastors who have a
biblical worldview were to strategically and relentlessly assist their
congregants in adopting such a way of interpreting and responding to
life, the impact on our churches, families, and society at large would
be enormous."

© 1996 - 2003 WORLD Magazine