When I began to work on my research, I read a study by a great researcher of society, George Barna. He identified ten “stops” of the spiritual journey and through his surveys revealed the percentage of Americans that have reached those various stops:
- Unaware of sin 1%
- Indifferent to sin 16%
- Worried about sin 39%
- Forgiven for sin 9%
- Forgiven and active in their faith practice 24%
- Holy discontent 6%
- Broken by God 3%
- Surrender and submission 1%
- Profound love of God 0.5%
- Profound love of people 0.5%
Barna concluded that “most Americans who confess their sins to God and ask Christ to be their savior…live almost indistinguishably from [others], and their lives bear little, if any, fruit for the kingdom of God.” Ouch! I resemble that remark!
I wonder if this is why so many people don’t go to church. If only 0.5% of self-identified Christians in America exhibit a profound love of God and people, then Houston, we have a problem.
If the point of the Christian life is forgiveness and going to heaven, then stage four is the destination. However, if the Christian life is about learning to exhibit a profound love of God and people, then stage four is just a starting point. Forgiveness and assurance of salvation are keys to a vehicle that moves us toward profound love.
If Barna’s 6 years of research are correct, then the road between forgiveness and love is very challenging. We must face our holy discontentment (doubts?) and the truth of our brokenness, something our conscious minds work hard to keep covered up out of deeply embedded fears. We must surrender and submit ourselves to the loving hands of God, which is something your ego will fight you hard on. These are very uncomfortable things to experience, but it’s the path you must take to become a profoundly loving person. I am talking about loving like Jesus.
In many ways, our lives are solitary journeys. No one else can fully understand our lives besides God. However, in the words of another great researcher of humanity, Brené Brown, “We don’t have to do it all alone. We were never meant to.” And that is why I formed Soul Metrics. If you want someone that will hear you and walk with you down the road of your soul, we are here for you.
We believe that profound love awaits you.
Paul Burns, Executive Director and Founder of Soul Metrics
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