Rick Warren who? 72% of Americans haven’t heard of this best-selling author; 63% of Christians haven’t heard of him. James Dobson who? T.D. Jakes who? Tim LaHaye who? Joel Osteen who? According to the latest Barna Update, Major Christian Leaders Are Widely Unknown, Even Among Christians. The email teaser also noted this ethnic distinction: “This week’s update shows that black Christians are more in-tune with their spiritual leaders than are white, Hispanic or Asian Christians.”
Maybe Christian people have heard of Jesus Christ or Billy Graham, at best, but the majority don’t know who’s who. The majority seem to only know celebrities and politicians. And if you’ve seen one of those Jay Leno street interviews, many people don’t even know who is the Vice President or Speaker of the House. Plain clueless. Don’t even try asking them about a blog or podcast.
This is a really interesting article, DJ, because I think it exposes a negative reality perhaps not intended by The Barna Group. I think part of the problem can be attributed to the very fact that these high-profile churches and pop culture are in fact on the same side of the coin, competing with Christ and the Gospel for people’s hearts.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not accusing any of the pastors of mindfully having this kind of intent but I think it’s alarming when popularity surveys such as this one lead folks to conclude that, “Christian individuals are more attuned to matters of culture and entertainment than to matters of faith.”
Daniel, thanks for your astute comments. The way I read the article, it’s not so much that churches, church leaders, and pop culture are on the same side. The survey is a descriptive observation on who Christian people recognize and who Christian people don’t recognize. You’re right that the statement “Christian individuals are more attuned to matters of culture and entertainment than to matters of faith” is an over-generalization; it could be better stated that Christian individuals are more attuned to matters of culture and entertainment than to who’s who on the Christian bestseller list. It is possible that these Christians are devout in their faith and strong in their personal private piety, but very withdrawn from what’s happening in the Christian subculture’s books and media.
[...] First Things has a lengthy post up about the “Quiverfull Christians” that Kim talked about here last month. “In a culture where work can be a religion, burnout is its crisis of faith”—a close look at the phenomenon of burnout; what it means and how our attitude toward it has changed over the decades. (Via Godspy.) The upcoming Rocky movie is being specially marketed at the “faith-based” crowd—see this piece about the themes of redemption that allegedly lurk behind all that pugilism. James noted earlier today that he liked the portrayal of Joseph in The Nativity Story. Cher of The Culture Beat recommends Anne Rice’s Out of Egypt for a particularly good exploration of Joseph’s character. This seems important: it turns out that major Christian leaders like James Dobson, TD Jakes, and Tim LaHaye are not widely known, even in the Christian community. I’ve actually wondered if I were the only one who hasn’t even heard of half the people who are supposedly out there representing Christianity to the media and government. (I’d never heard of Ted Haggard until the scandal broke.) [Hat tip: DJ Chuang.] [...]