George Barna, a leading expert in church and worldview trends, has weighed in on some of the biggest issues facing the Church — including the steady decrease in a biblical worldview and dwindling concern for spiritual formation — at a time of “Christian invisibility in our culture.” 

In an interview with The Christian Post, Barna said,

“People have become more selfish, churches have become less influential, pastors have become less Bible-centric. Families have invested less of their time and energy in spiritual growth, particularly of their children. The media now influences the Church more than the Church influences the media, or the culture for that matter. “ 

On a wider scale, one of the most troubling trends Barna highlights is the decline in discipleship and a lack of solid, biblical training from seminaries. He criticized the prevalent metrics used by churches to gauge success — attendance, fundraising and infrastructure — which he stressed have little to do with Jesus’ mission.

Barna also complained that while many seminaries have “good intentions,” they set young ministry leaders up for failure by measuring the wrong things, how many people show up, how much money they raise, how many programs they offer, how many staff persons they hire, and how much square footage they’ve built out. 

To address these issues, Barna advocated for a radical return to biblical roots.