What is the most important task for churches today? Making disciples and teaching them to obey Christ. How is that happening now?

According to the latest Barna Research survey, most Christians continue to cling to the religious notion that trying hard to be good is the mark of a follower of Christ. In spiritual maturity research that was conducted by Barna Group and Living on the Edge (www.livingontheedge.org) five challenges to facilitating people’s spiritual growth emerged.

The primary challenge is that most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules in the Bible.  Some 81 percent of self-identified Christians endorsed this statement, and a majority agreed strongly (53 percent). Even among those individuals defined by their belief that salvation is not earned through “good works,” four out of five born again Christians concurred that spiritual maturity is “trying hard to follow the rules.”

Barna’s 2001 book “Growing True Disciples,” found a lack of effectiveness in most church discipleship programs.  “My study of discipleship in America has been eye-opening,” Barna is quoted as saying. “Almost every church in our country has some type of discipleship program or set of activities. Stunningly few churches have a church of disciples.”

Barna’s basic solution: “Ignite people’s passion for God and get out of the way.”

Hallmarks of a disciple

Barna’s hallmarks of a good disciple:

•  Every day, everywhere worship;
•  Constantly growing faith;
•  Submission to the Holy Spirit in decision-making and behavior;
•  Sensitivity to sin;
•  Joyfully sharing with those in need;
•  A deep commitment to building a lasting and life-changing community of believers;
•  Spontaneous compassion;
•  Relational and lifestyle evangelism;
•  Lives that conform to Scripture;
•  A church body with an image and a reality of being loving and pursing the ways of God;
•  Prayer and meditation.

The Barna/Edge research also indicates few churches have any sort of similar listing for their congregation. Church leaders encourage believers to follow Christ, but often fail to map out any specific ways of doing that. So the default becomes the easily and immediately measurable “rules” of Christianity. Yet, since Christianity is not about rules, this is problematic.

David Kinnaman, President of the California-based research firm, and director of the research project pointed out several implications of the study:

“America has a spiritual depth problem partly because the faith community does not have a robust definition of its spiritual goals. The study shows the need for new types of spiritual metrics. One new metric might be a renewed effort on the part of leaders to articulate the outcomes of spiritual growth. Another might be the relational engagement and accountability that people maintain. Of course, spirituality is neither a science nor a business, so there is a natural resistance to ascribing scientific or operational standards to what most people believe is an organic process. Yet, the process of spiritual growth is neither simplistic nor without guidelines, so hard work and solid thinking in this arena is needed.”

Lots of wisdom in Kinnaman’s comment.