In many ways, I have, and have had, it all when it comes to opportunities to be strong in the faith, and I am not unique in this position.
Yet, if even a portion of the available research is true, all of this availability has not made a substantial difference in my life or in our nation. Church has become a place where ones attendance can easily be missed, transformed lives are rare, ideas for success and growth are now coming from the Godless instead of the Spirit, and where churches measure their success by buildings, budgets, and bodies.
Many pastors claim that the research out there is exactly that - out there - and does not really apply to them. In their church there is real measurable growth, they say, and they are shocked that the nation is not changing. ...