People in the U.S. are increasing in their quest for spirituality and their propensity to determine personally held religious beliefs. Studies from the Barna Group show that more than 70% of Americans indicate that “their faith is becoming more important in their life” and that “they will develop their own slate of religious beliefs rather than accept a package of beliefs promoted by a church or denomination.”

In a postmodern, post-Christian context, individuals look for a narrator(s) or sage(s) that explains their life, experiences, relationships, hopes for the future, politics, social views, religion, etc. The embraced paradigm simply needs to make the most sense of reality for the individual. Based largely on a shared narrator(s), small collections of friends or tribes form and maintain community.

While few churches are measuring spirituality of parishioners, the Barna Group reports that “pastors who made any attempt to measure maturity were more likely to gauge depth on the basis of participation in programs than to evaluate people’s spiritual understanding or any type of transformational fruit in their lives.” Meanwhile, the majority of respondents desire to do church or express their faith in new ways. This is highly incongruent.

People are looking for a new expression of spirituality with a narrator to give meaning to their life while churches are measuring spirituality of members by participation in programs. For churches to see disciples be made in this postmodern, post-Christian world, change is in order. It is essential for churches to think and act like a missionary. Also, it is imperative that missionaries think and act like Christ.

The challenge before us is immense. David Kinnaman writes, “It is relatively rare to find someone who is an exemplar of the Christian faith.” But this is the very thing that people are seeking. Once again, Barna’s research indicates a disconnect: “barely one-third of self-identified Christians (36%) strongly agree that it is important for followers of Christ to maintain positive relationships with people who are not Christians.”

It is time for each church to think and act like a missionary or to recognize its role in the annals of history.

Written by almost an M. Almost is networking and consulting in the U.S. after having lived 10 of the past 15 years in Eastern Europe. He seeks to learn, grow, and influence others while seeking to personally play a part individually and with his family in obeying the Great Commission. Whenever possible, he enjoys partnering with The Upstream Collective.