Don't Underestimate The Importance of a Biblical Worldview

You may recall in last Sunday’s message on being doers of God’s Word I spoke to the matter of biblical worldviews and why they are so important. On the heels of that comes an article I read this past week referencing George Barna’s new book, Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind and Soul. It speaks to the lack of a biblical worldview being reproduced in our homes and in our children. The book was released on September 5th and is already Amazon’s number one book on family health. According to the research from seven original studies in partnership with the Cultural Research Center, Arizona Christian University and the Family Research Council, the lack of commitment by Christians, and in particular Christian parents, to pass on biblical values to their children has and is resulting in a “catastrophic decline in biblical worldview in America.”

Barna, who serves as director of research at the Cultural Research Center for Arizona Christian University and who has long been considered the leading national pollster regarding Christianity, Church, and culture, in a highlighted summary of the new book states, “…because they love their children and want them to have the best experiences and outcomes, parents look to find people who they believe can do the job in various dimensions of their child's lives." And thus, instead of passing along biblical values they simply look for what they hope will be the best substitutes in teachers, coaches and other experts who can "give their children the training they believe they need to succeed. As a result, parents have stepped back and handed over the worldview development process to experts, who may or may not share their worldview and values."

Alarmingly so, the study found that less than 10% of today’s parents have any kind of spiritual development plan for their children and that most of them were incapable of passing along a biblical worldview to their children because they did not have one themselves. 94% of the parents embraced syncretism—a mixing of many different “competing and conflicting worldviews.” Barna goes on to add, "Most parents, even born-again parents, do not really think the spiritual component of their child's life is a big deal — at least not as big a deal as doing well in school, sports, or relationships. And even if they are focused on building their child's biblical worldview, very few parents today — only 2% — possess a biblical worldview.” Further, to illustrate the magnitude of the decline the study reports that just 36% of 13 and 14-year-olds believe that God exists and is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the universe, while "A majority of the youngest teens (61%) either believe Jesus Christ sinned while He was on Earth or hold open the possibility He did. Not even half (45%) believe that God created the universe. And an overwhelming majority believe that there are no absolute, objective truths."

The research revealed that an individual’s worldview is largely determined by the age 13! This is why so much energy by leftists, progressives and activist educators are focused on capturing the hearts and minds of our children (starting in preschool and kindergarten) and filling our schools with everything but civics, true history, reading, writing, and arithmetic. There has emerged a real agenda to replace genuine education with a radical worldview of confused identity, sexual liberty, socialism, CRT, and pseudo history, among other dysfunctional ideas. That’s why the matter of building a biblical worldview in our own lives and in the lives of our children is all the more important if we are to counter these godless heresies. So how can we do that?

First, you must let the Word of God dwell in you richly so that you will have a biblical worldview that is passed along in your home, workplace, and with your children. Second, make Church a priority for yourself and your kids and not just an option or one of many good “weekend opportunities.” No, I am not saying that because I am the pastor. But your kids are not going to develop a biblical worldview when the majority of their week is given to experiences shaped by the cultural worldview. The Church still represents the place of God, you need it, and you need to help your kids see it for what it is and why it is essential. Third, don’t be afraid to speak up “out there” when it comes to standing for the truth… If we do not do that today, the day will come when we cannot do it.

Remember, God is always trying to take us someplace new. I love being your Pastor!

For God’s Glory Alone,
Pastor Ray