According to results from a recent Barna Group survey, terms used to define followers of Jesus Christ have significant differences in interpretation among adults in the United States.
In October, 1,002 adults ages 18 and older participated in telephone survey conducted by The Barna Group in which participants were asked to choose a description that best describes their spiritual lifestyle.
The research group found that 80 percent of U.S. adults call themselves "Christians," 68 percent say they are "committed Christians," 45 percent choose "born again" to describe themselves and 44 percent identify with Barna's definition of born again Christians.
To define "born again" without using the actual term, the Barna Group uses a two-part question describing those who "have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today, and claim they will go to Heaven after they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior."
Twenty-five percent of the adults who called themselves "born again," did not meet the Barna Group definition for born again. From this, Barna researchers deduced that this segment of adults rely on something other than grace to get to heaven.
Interestingly, only half of both of the "born again" segments (self-described and those who chose Barna's definition) had prayed to God, read the Bible and attended a religious service in the past week. And while nine out of ten "committed Christians" had participated in the three activities, only one-third of "Christians" had done so.
The Barna research suggests people are using Christian labels that have ever-expanding definitions, and then putting too much weight on these labels. The research underscores the inherent dangers and weaknesses of undefined labels and "Christianese," as even common words such as "born again" are interpreted differently from person to person.
Gary Allen, director of the national AG Ministerial Enrichment Office, offers advice on using "Christianese" terms that have been given multiple definitions.
"I think it is a matter of educating people, but not lecturing," Allen explains. "There are terms we definitely use that we probably shouldn't. I'm concerned about terms like 'born again' or 'truth,' but I don't think the answer is to avoid using them. It is often necessary to use the term, but then it is important to clarify it."
Allen says although the term "born again" has been watered down and been given multiple meanings, "it is a biblical term," he says. "Using another term could do more damage. 'Born again' signifies justification, sanctification and redemption. To someone who doesn't know the true meaning, the term can simply imply being a better person. Many times, pastors preach on the concept of being 'born again,' but don't explain what words like justification or redemption mean," Allen explains.
Allen says it is the pastor or individual Christian's responsibility to make sure believers and non-believers understand a word's meaning, just as a doctor has the responsibility to make sure a patient understands a diagnosis after medical terminology has been used. "It's really about learning to be a better wordsmith, basing definitions on Scripture and not caving into culture or trends," Allen says.
George Barna, directing leader of The Barna Group, noted in the report that there are more than 250 Protestant denominations in the U.S., and it is "not surprising that there is very limited common understanding with such language."
However, Barna said the challenge to churches is "to know each person more deeply in order to serve them more meaningfully," rather than relying on labels to determine spiritual depth.
Allen believes this should apply both inside and outside of the church setting. "We need to be clear with our words internally as well as to those outside the community of faith," he says. "But in addition, we cannot assume too much merely from labels and become so skeptical that we don't trust. To avoid assumption, it is necessary to know the person -- we must not be hesitant to build a relationship with them."
Christians can stand out from those who call themselves "Christians" -- but lead non-biblical lives -- through clear conversation and investing in relationships, Allen says. "Many times when non-believers disagree with us initially, we take this as rejection," he explains. "We don't go far enough to build a relationship that is meaningful and through which they might discover that the truths of God are absolute."
To view the full Barna Group report, visit http://www.barna.org/.
