Religious energy may be experienced through new forms of music or dramatic architecture, but there is a noteworthy staleness to the faith experience of most Americans.
If Christianity is to be a serious component in people's lives, there must be an intentional and strategic shakeup of what we do and how we do it within our faith communities. More of the same won't get us any farther down the road of genuine discipleship.
Challenge 2: The Decline of the Evangelicals
We categorize people as "evangelicals" on the basis of their theological beliefs. The diminution of the group suggests that aberrant theology and doctrine are increasingly invading the inner circle of the Bible-believing community. Whether you applaud evangelicals or abhor them, recognize the implications of their marginalization. Every day, the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change. At what point does that collapse become a "crisis" and merit concentrated and strategic response?
Challenge 3: Ethnic Ascension
How will the church address the extreme ethnic diversification of faith communities? Most efforts at building multiethnic or multicultural churches have failed for various reasons. Planting new churches designed to reach a particular nonwhite ethnic group may not do much toward building a true church. How can we translate that openness into a church that is truly colorblind and authentically biblical?
Challenge 4: What About the Bible?
In the last quarter-century it seems that we have learned how to sell Bibles but not how to sell what's in the Bible. Increasingly, people pick and choose the Bible content they like or feel comfortable with, but ignore the rest of God's counsel. This tendency seems especially prolific among young adults and teenagers. What can we do to elevate the prominence, credibility, and perceived value of God's Word in the eyes of a fickle and distracted public?
Challenge 5: A Costless Faith
Christianity has no cost in America. We've made it way too easy to be "born again"—perhaps much easier than Jesus intended. When do we get to the point at which we accept smaller numbers of intensely devoted people rather than feverishly investing in filling auditoriums and stadiums with massive numbers of the lukewarm "Christians" that Jesus promised to spew from his mouth (Rev. 3:16)?
Challenge 6: Understanding the Supernatural
Shockingly few Americans understand the power and significance of the supernatural world—the real supernatural dimension. Most Americans deny the existence of Satan and the Holy Spirit and are blissfully ignorant of the spiritual battle that rages around and within them. Who will inform and motivate God's people about the realities of the battle?
Challenge 7: New Form and Substance
Aided by the rise of Busters in the pastorate, Mosaics [18 and younger] will question and reshape much of the theology that many churches embrace. And they will alter the very ways in which the community of saints gather and experience God's and each other's presence. You can count on some foundation-rattling challenges coming from the Mosaics. Are you ready?
Challenge 8: Isolation amid Plenty
There are more than 300,000 Protestant churches in the U.S. There are another 20,000 Catholic churches that can be added to the mix. In many communities, churches compete rather than cooperate. What will it take for churches to become the Church? At what point will we drop our territorialism and recognize how much we need each other in order to complete God's work his way?
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