December 3, 2001
EDITORIAL:
How much has America changed since Sept. 11?
___Everything changed. Or did it?
___As tears flowed, Americans flooded into churches in the wake of Sept. 11. "This was like Christmas and Easter rolled into one," a pastor described the first Sunday after the terrorist attacks, echoing sentiments heard across the land.
___What terrorists intended for evil, God turned to good. The cascading horror of the World Trade Center collapse. The open wound of the Pentagon crash. The scar in the Pennsylvania countryside. Warriors of wickedness intended them to destroy our nation. But God planted a rainbow of hope in the clouds of smoke and ash and dust. Shaken but not shattered, people returned to church. Their confidence cracked; it did not crumble. They flocked to church.
___However, not much changed.
___A new study conducted by the Barna Research Group shows the spike in spirituality prompted by the Sept. 11 tragedy has dissipated. For example, weekly church attendance--which increased by about 25 percent nationwide--has returned to "normal levels," reported George Barna, president of the research agency.
___Similarly, measures of Americans' religious behavior--Bible reading, prayer, volunteerism, Sunday School attendance, small-group participation and witnessing--are at "identical levels" to findings of a study conducted in August. Likewise, several core beliefs--about the Bible, the importance of faith and personal commitment to Christ--have not changed, either.
___A couple of the most interesting, and disturbing, revelations showed turns away from traditional, orthodox Christian understandings. The survey taken after Sept. 11 revealed a 16 point decline in the percentage of adults who believe in absolute moral truths. The new survey also disclosed a four point decline in people who view God as "the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect Creator of the universe who still rules the world today."
___So much for a new revival.
___Perhaps Barna's poll presents a perverse response to Bush's call for Americans to "get back to normal." Maybe Americans' return to the shopping malls signaled a return to faith in tangible things, like retirement accounts, durable goods and interest-free car loans, but not necessarily God.
___Still, Christians would do well to consider Barna's findings with a sense of self-awareness. Did we fail to work with God to find some measure of redemption in this tragedy? If so, how? And what do we do about it?
___The new poll is discouraging, for it seems to indicate seeking people entered our churches for a week or two but somehow didn't find what they sought. Sometimes, I wonder if it's because we sugar-coat the gospel in times like these. Kind of like at Christmas and Easter, the only times many people come for religious instruction, when they leave thinking these holy days are all about warm feelings and hold no more meaning than watching a fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Maybe they need to hear more from Elijah and Jeremiah and Amos and John the Baptist than Isaiah and the angels.
___Of course, people sought and needed comfort in the wake of Sept. 11. But they also needed truth. They needed to hear that all people--including themselves--are sinners and lost without Christ. They needed some honest-to-God truth about the fate of terrorist victims. Some of them died without Christ and went to hell. Martyrdom didn't make them angels, as America's most popular preacher, Oprah, told the Yankee Stadium crowd. Maybe the occasional church visitors left and didn't come back because we--all of us--didn't give them more than the warm-fuzzy feeling they think church-going folks are addicted to but real people only need at Christmas and Easter.
___And maybe they left and didn't come back because they didn't find a friend. When you're sad and lonely and scared, what feels better than anything? Friendship. Spiritually transformed friendship is what lost people need in a frightening world. They instinctively need it. But can they find it? Surprising as it may sound after a decade of controversy, Texas Baptists' greatest weakness probably is our love for each other. We're so comfortable in our Christian cocoons that we hardly know the lost and hurting folks all around us who need what only Christians can give them.
___Retired Texas pastor/professor Clint Dunagan taught a generation of college students the essence of the gospel: "Faith is relationship." It's our relationship to God in Christ; it's our relationship to people who need us to introduce them to the Savior. BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade admonishes us well: "We need to hug people up close to Jesus." Our hugs, our loving acts, our tenderness reveal the love and reality of Christ to people, who need him now more than ever.
___Fortunately, time didn't end 9/11, and it's not too late to make a difference in the lives of folks who crossed our church thresholds.
___I have a friend who spent time Thanksgiving talking with his friend, an unbeliever, who all of a sudden started asking profound and moving spiritual questions. My friend responded honestly, lovingly. He built upon their longstanding relationship. His friend hasn't embraced Jesus yet. But he's still seeking; he's not turning away. And the love and care of my friend and others like him will be the key to that man's heart.
___Sept. 11 changed everything. Did it? Will it?
___ —Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook