NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Only half of the nation's senior pastors hold a biblical worldview, according to a new study by Christian researcher George Barna.
A Baptist Press report said a poll of 601 randomly selected senior pastors from some 50 denominations (conservative, moderate and liberal) showed that only 51 percent of the nation's pastors held to a biblical worldview.
The survey was conducted in November and December.
Southern Baptist senior pastors had the highest number holding a biblical worldview (71 percent), while United Methodist pastors had the lowest (27 percent). Only 28 percent of pastors from mainline denominations hold a biblical worldview. (Mainline church pastors are those in the American Baptist Churches USA, United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church [USA] and the United Methodist Church.)
Requirements in the poll for holding to a biblical worldview were: Pastors had to embrace the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone and the personal responsibility to evangelize.
"George Barna has discovered a critical issue in the American church today: Many senior pastors do not hold to the basic tenets of historic Christianity," said Thom Rainer, dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
"In this age of 'doctrine really doesn't matter,' Barna has shown us it does indeed matter. If senior pastors do not believe the key doctrines of the faith, the millions in the churches will never be taught that which defines our faith. It is little wonder that many churches today mirror the values of the world."
Among other denominational segments, 57 percent of Baptist (non-SBC) senior pastors held to a biblical worldview, as did 51 percent of nondenominational Protestant pastors, 44 percent of charismatic/Pentecostal pastors and 35 percent of black church pastors.
Among geographic regions, senior pastors in the South (57 percent) and West (58 percent) led the way, while senior pastors in the Midwest (49 percent) and Northeast (43 percent) trailed.
Pastors younger than 40 (56 percent) were more likely to hold to a biblical worldview than those 40 and older (50 percent).
