Barna Calling

I just got done with a phone survey from the ubiquitous Barna Research Group, in which I found great difficulty answering many of the questions. The premise of the questions threw me, that pastors could measure or classify people as "spiritually healthy" or "spiritually mature".

One went something like this:

"If someone were to create a comprehensive spiritual maturity diagnostic tool, what percentage of your congregation do you expect would be seen as spiritually healthy or mature disicples?"

Wha-huh?

She wanted to know which passages we use to base our understanding of how to help people become "spiritually mature". So I pointed to Romans 3, Matthew 28 and Ephesians 2:8-9.

"Any others?"

"Yeah. Lots. But that's all I can think of off the top of my head."

This could have been a very long survey.

All this measuring, labeling, classifying, diagnosing, buzz-wording..... blech.

"What, in your opinion, is the reason more people are not spiritually mature?"

So I said, "Sin."

"That's all? Nothing else?"

"That's it."

Then they asked me how much oru church budget is and how much money I make, and how long I've been here, and what race/ethnicity we are... Oh, and what I read and what denomination we are.

I feel like in some way I've contributed to the next church-marketing strategy fad. It's kind of an icky feeling.....