I recently read an article that reported on George Barna’s speech to an Ohio pro-life organization. The report caused me great alarm as it revealed the state of Americans in relation to their worldview. Barna told the pro-life advocates that their movement faces some major 
challenges in the days ahead. These challenges are a result of society’s move away from biblical principles guiding their decisions.
One of the things that Barna noted is something that all of us are probably aware of ourselves. It seems like everybody is TOO busy today! I am convinced the enemy is content with Christians simply being too busy to be able to fight against the secularization of society. We find ourselves rushing here and there for church and/or school activities when we are not busy at work.
In addition to the busyness that consumes us, we are also inundated with large amounts of information. Much of the information that bombards us daily really has no impact on our lives. We hear or read about accidents that occur halfway around the world as if it just took place outside our homes. Then there is social media! The constant ding or buzz from our “smart” devices tells us there is another text message, Facebook or Instagram post, or some other notification that is calling for our attention and the need to check it out right away. Most of what we take time to look at is of little importance to real life.
The busyness of everyday life and the constant bombardment of knowledge is proof that we are very self-involved. In the end we don’t know how or don’t want to bother to know how to discern truth and how it should guide our lives. I remember reading a quote in Jeff Meyer’s book, Handoff, several years ago. It read,
Young people spend between 27 and 33 hours per week using communication technology. They are overwhelmed with information. Information overload is destroying their capacity for discernment. They are finding it increasingly more difficult to determine what is really important (emphasis mine).
This isn’t something new to our society. It has been a plague on our families and society for the past several decades but it has increased in
its intensity in recent years. In fact, Meyer’s book was written in 2008. We are now reaping the consequences of not addressing these issues for many years. This brings me to the crisis facing today’s parents and the education of their children. The article I was reading stated that Americans [parents] right now are so busy that they really don’t invest very much in trying to understand everything that’s going on around them…in fact, they don’t invest much at all in trying to discern truth. Pay careful attention to what Barna actually said.
The focus in America right now is on experiencing happiness rather than identifying and living in accordance with truth. So there’s a completely different plan that we’re pursuing than what God intended for us.
Since people are more interested in experience and personal connections, they are not desiring to pursue justice and righteousness. The research shows that Americans are biblically illiterate and are not that interested in gaining a biblical perspective on life. This is especially true for younger generations. Barna talked specifically about the characteristics of the Millennial generation. This is the generation of young adults that were born between 1981 and 1996. It is important to note that Millennials range in age from 22 to 37 years old today.
Barna’s studies show that a biblical worldview is disappearing from the American landscape. He reported that only 10% of Americans actually possess a biblical worldview. This is despite the fact that 7 out of 10 Americans still identify themselves as Christian. The percentage of adults who possess a biblical worldview is on the decline when looked at from one generation to another. It is estimated that only one out of every 25 Millennials have a biblical worldview. These statistics are important because one does what one believes!
How does all of this bode for future generations across the land? It does not bode well for future generations because Millennials are America’s primary parenting generation today according to Barna. If our hope is to see our children and youth develop a biblical worldview and change the direction we are going in, we have to ask ourselves the question, Where will they get a biblical worldview from? If only 4% of the primary parenting generation has a biblical worldview, their children have little chance of developing one on their own. Barna put it this way.
You can’t give what you don’t have, and most of them [Millennials] don’t have that kind of worldview to give.
This truth was also emphasized by Dr. Tony Evans in his series on growing Kingdom Kids. Evans stated,
Parents are to transfer a theo-centric, God-centered worldview; that’s why He said raise them in the Lord. Let the glasses that they wear, we call that a worldview, a lens through which you view life, be constructed by the parents as they have gotten it from the Lord. But if parents haven’t gotten anything, they can’t give anything. we are to transfer to them what we have gotten from the Lord. (emphasis mine)
I would add to this that this same warning is true for administrators, teachers and coaches in a Christian school. If these people don’t have a biblical worldview, then they cannot give it to their students. Millennials are not just the primary parenting generation today but they are, or soon will be, the primary teaching generation in Christian schools. There is no question about it. We are facing a parent and a teacher crisis. We must act quickly if we have any hope of turning the ship around.
This is why I have spent the last two years developing a wide variety of resources to help train today’s parents, church leaders and educators on developing a biblical worldview and a biblical philosophy of education. These resources are now available through a subscription-based website. It is my prayer that many schools and churches will become a KEM Prime Member and equip their staffs and board members with a biblical worldview. Parents can also subscribe as an individual and access the same resources that are available to churches and schools. For more information, email me at [email protected] or click here and scroll down to get a better look at the benefits of becoming a KEM Prime Member. We must act quickly.
Wonderful article! Thank you!
Well expressed Glen. I’m left with two concerns:
1. That unless Christian parents have a heart’s desire to give their children a biblical worldview, the situation you describe will continue to deteriorate. Could it be that the affections of our hearts need to change in North America – I mean what we really believe is important, not just what we say is. Maybe we’d better be praying for a Spirit led revival in the church.
2. That so many Christian leaders don’t get it about the consequences of secular education, or, if they do get it, they’re afraid to speak out boldly in support of biblically based Christian education. It’s not a matter of condemning secular schools. Secular educational leaders have the courage to promote a worldview in their schools that is in keeping with their beliefs. If only more churches would do the same.
Glen, your post and Mark’s reply make me think of a situation that occurs every other year or so at our school. We often have a few parents of high achieving 8th grade students apply to the local Governor’s School for 9th-12th grades. Their reasoning is simply that they perceive an academically superior atmosphere at Governor’s School…………not to mention the “heady” implication that their child is intellectually gifted. Upon learning that they are applying, I will often ask the parents why they are making such an educational choice for their student. Their reply is at least honest when they say that they feel that the academic instruction is at a much higher level, giving their student an advantage for college admission. When I ask them how they think the Governor’s School compares to our Christian School in preparing their student spiritually for life in college and beyond, they are once again sadly honest in admitting that there is no comparison. However, in my 21 years here at FCS, of those families whose child has been accepted, there has only been one who has abandoned the idea of Governor’s School in favor of giving their student a Biblical Wordview. To me, the translation is that the deepest desires of many (if not most) of our parents, is for academic/college/lucrative career success. Not to say they don’t want spiritual training and a Biblical worldview for their students, but the other piece trumps it.