Raising the Cross of Christ over your city - and this nation - has never been more important, and perhaps never been more opposed.

This is why I'm offering you the Cultural Clarity Report: statistics and analysis to help you become more informed to help you reach your mission field more effectively. My hope is you will be invigorated to develop preaching and teaching that will provide the best connection with seekers and Christians in modern culture.



First, we must acknowledge that the debauchery and degradation in our culture is not of human invention. It is a diabolical effort on the part of the enemy of God Himself and of our souls to destroy humanity. Just look at an example of what is being perpetrated upon our children:

• Sage, a 14-year-old girl at a high school in Washington, D.C., began identifying as a boy. School officials encouraged her to use the boys' bathrooms and live as a boy, despite the fact that boys at her school were verbally, physically, and sexually abusing her because of her "new" identity. All the while, the school never informed Sage's parents of her choice.
• Sage ended up running away from home and found herself a victim of sex trafficking. Eventually she escaped and was placed in a male juvenile services facility where she was once again abused, forced to run away, and was trafficked.
• Thank God Sage has been found and reunited with her parents! What a horrifyingly needless ordeal she has been through, simply because the school system was complicit in encouraging her to live as a boy and keeping this choice from her parents. Read more about Sage’s story, and the subsequent legal case and legislation that resulted from this horrible exclusion of parental involvement.

How did we arrive here? While the majority of Americans identify as “Christian,” it is alarming that millions who claim the cross of Christ do not profess belief in foundational pillars such as creation, the fall of man, and the plan of redemption; let alone know, or read their Bible. Is it any wonder a generation is left hanging in the balance?



According to the American Bible Society:

• Only 39% of Americans say they use their Bible 3 or more times per year.
• American adults who say they consult their Bible at least once a week (outside of church): 24%, about 63 million people.
• Only about 18% of Americans, less than 1 in 5, attest that their daily decision-making is influenced by the Bible.

Among those who consult their Bible 3 or more times per year (those the American Bible Society calls "Bible users"):

• Women are more likely to be Bible users than men.
• Elderly people are the most likely to read the Word (48% of them), and Gen-Z (ages 11-26 today) least likely (but still 30%).
• Evangelical Christians are the most likely to be Bible users (70%), along with historically Black Protestant Church members (68%9), while Catholics are the least likely (37%).

It's heartening that the majority of those identifying as evangelicals read their Bibles, but does being a Christian - whether a regular Bible user or not - mean that you have a thoroughly biblical worldview? No, sadly, it does not:

• A Barna study among churchgoers revealed that only 33% believe the Bible is the true Word of God.
• And while 68% of Americans consider themselves to be Christians, only 6% have a biblical worldview.
• 1 in 6 churchgoers have had or encouraged someone to have an abortion.

Clearly, Americans in general, and even those who identify as Christians, are nearly biblically illiterate. The Word of God is crucial in building believers’ faith and informing their worldviews.



What can you do to encourage Bible engagement in your church?

• Esteem the Bible in a place of preeminence.
• Preach and teach from the B-I-B-L-E. It is inerrant and infallible, rooted in eternity and relevant for today.
• Teach children the Word of God in church, and encourage families to read the Bible together (and pray!) outside of church.
• Bible studies.
• Small-group meetings focused on Scripture.

How do you speak to the biblically illiterate?

• Don't assume anyone knows what you know. Not everyone in your pews knows the Bible nearly as well as you do. Assume you are speaking to people who may only have a vague idea about Noah's ark, Adam and Eve, and the nativity story.
• Design your sermons to speak to real-life situations but with a clear, biblical framework. You can show your congregation that Scripture contains practical answers.
• Go back to "Sunday School"! Develop a church-wide Scripture memorization practice.
• Focus a month's worth of sermons on one book of the Bible, and make at least that one book come alive in your teaching and preaching.

Hosea 4:6 declares, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Everywhere we turn it is evident that family structures are degrading, morals are eroding at a rapid rate, and people are being systematically destroyed through their lack of biblical knowledge. It is past time to sharpen our voices to declare God's Word with crystal clarity. As Jesus commissioned us in the Gospel of Matthew, we must make disciples! Let’s introduce people to the power of the Word of God to change their lives. I hope this resource helps you to understand your mission field a little better and sparks creative ideas to propel your church and community forward.