In The State of the Church 2002 report, researcher and author George Barna wrote, "It is quite astounding that although Protestant and Catholic churches have raised—and spent—close to one trillion dollars on domestic ministry during the past two decades, there has been no measurable increase in one of the expressed purposes of the church: to lead people to Christ and have them commit their lives to Him."

In 2005, Barna stated, "Nothing is more numbing to the Church than the fact that it is mired in a rut of unfathomable depths. The various creative approaches attempted over the course of this decade have drawn much attention but produced little, if any, transformational impact."

Some churches may have changed the ambiance, the music, the lighting, added video screens, pastors, elders, and Web sites. Others may have embraced bigger buildings with different architectural features. Some have turned to new delivery systems, serving up their products via seminars, books CDs, DVDs, live television and training by subscription satellite broadcasts. But the bottom line is that the spirituality served up in the name of Christ in the United States is distinctly unproductive.

According to Barna, the Church does not appear to be making a measurable transformational effect on Christian behavior. In business, one often hears the phrase that there is no more effective form of advertising than your current, satisfied customers. The U.S. Christianity franchise has attempted to sell the truth that "if you eat here regularly, you will become Christ like." Unfortunately, according to Barna, nothing could be further from the truth in terms of actual, verifiable, behavioral outcomes.

In 2002, Barna wrote, "We witness a born-again population that is indistinguishable from the rest of the nation – and has very little credibility when it comes to promoting genuine Christianity…At some point, poor products come back to haunt the producer. Welcome to the haunting time."

In 2005, Barna's sentiments remain unchanged. He suggests that, "people sleepwalk through their religious paces, oblivious to the fact that many of their beliefs and practices dishonor God."

There's no way that we can overlook the fact that the people Jesus had the least patience with were the people who said they represented God but didn't.

There is no denying the cause and effect relationship between declining discipleship and declining church attendance. Fewer and fewer people are interested in Sunday services. In 2005, Barna stated, "The nation's population growth has fostered an expansion in the number of people who avoid churches." He estimates this figure to be 100 million people in America. A figure he says is growing by one million annually.

In 2002, Barna suggested that there were more than 300,000 Protestant and 20,000 Catholic churches in the United States. He contrasted this with the 50,000 post offices and 15,000 McDonald's that serve our nation. He wrote, "The Church has less impact on our culture than any of those less prolific entities, despite missions that are much less significant or compelling."

When your franchise's performance is benchmarked against the U.S. postal service and your outfit comes out on the short end, perhaps it's time for a change. There is a very vocal, well-regarded cadre of authors, theologians, academicians and laypeople who now agree that: "Christianity cannot survive in anything like its present form." Barna remains at the forefront of this movement adorned with the same sandwich board and megaphone he has used for the past 25 years.

Leadership void and lack of purpose

Barna's evaluation of the U.S. Church in 2005: "The Church suffers from a debilitating absence of visionary leadership." In 2002, Barna said: "They are incapable of motivating and mobilizing people around God's vision. They fail to direct people's energies and resources effectively and efficiently. The Church suffers for this absence of genuine leadership."

Perhaps the difficulty is centered in the fact that the Church has morphed from its original structure as a movement that transforms people, into an institution that is focused on survival. As one author says, "institutions preserve culture, while movements create culture."

Barna also points out that church leadership must come from the laity. According to Barna, the figures for the laity volunteering at church are relatively constant at 25 percent from 1991 to 2005. So the serving work within of the U.S. Church is still primarily accomplished through the efforts of paid professionals.

As Paul Lakeland, author of "Liberating the Laity – In Search of an Accountable Church" says, "laypeople have been a theological afterthought throughout the history of the church."

All the evidence suggests that the vast majority of U.S. Christians are more interested in being served than serving. As Barna wrote in 2001: "We serve others when we must, but few believers have a love of serving people; our culture has seduced us into loving to be served instead of committing ourselves to meeting the needs of others."

How can the Church change all this? According to Barna, "The impetus to change and the creative focus and force reside among the frustrated masses, not the distracted professionals."

Lakeland agrees, suggesting: "The church of the future will be shaped from the bottom up rather than the top down."

For the foreseeable future, Barna also recognizes the growth among those who "are disassociating from churches because they want more of God, not less, and feel that the local church constrains them."

Barna wrote, "Americans are not about to patronize and institution which appears incapable of living what it preaches."

Throughout Barna's career, he has been consistent in maintaining that "American Christianity has largely failed since the middle of the 20th century because Jesus' modern-day disciples do not act like Jesus."

Since 1982, Barna has been a prophet eloquently advocating for change. A quote from author Philip Yancey captures the essence of the results of Barna's work on the State of the Church in 2005 when he says, "Dependence, sorrow, repentance – a longing to change. These are the gates to God's kingdom."

Formerly a business consultant and executive with several FORTUNE 500 companies including Chrysler, Nations Bank, Bank of America and GMAC, Bill Dahl is now a freelance writer and social justice advocate. Contact Bill at: wsdahl@pacbell.net or see his website at www.justjesus.us.