REVOLUTION by George Barna — studies recent church trends and what the church of 2025 will probably look like. Published in 2005..
This description for a new book by Barna, who focus a lot on American Evangelicalism:
“World-renowned pollster George Barna has the numbers, and they indicate a revolution is already taking place within the Church–one that will impact every believer in America. Committed, born-again Christians are exiting the established church in massive numbers. Why are they leaving? Where are they going? And what does this mean for the future of the Church? Using years’ worth of research data, and adhering to an unwavering biblical perspective, Barna predicts how this revolution will impact the organized church, how Christ’s body of believers should react, and how individuals who are considering leaving (or those who have already left) can respond. For leaders working for positive change in the church and for believers struggling to find a spiritual community and worship experience that resonates, Revolution is here. Are you ready?”
I still contend that the exodus from American-Evangelical churches may well be because for over the last 20+ years the movement’s leadership has tied the movement to Neo-Conservative politics. The way the Culture Wars have been thrust upon American society does play too well any longer, particularly among younger Evangelicals.
Just as people fled the Mainline Protestant denominations when they became too closely associated with liberal politics, so now the same is happening within Evangelical churches. When power, dominance, control within the larger society overwhelms Christian organizations or individuals, the Gospel suffers and eventually people leave.