The post is significant for two reasons:
1. He defends the potential validity of non-conventional church structures
2. He highlights the way statistics, including his, can be misrepresented, misapplied and misused.
As we proceed, it is vitally important that we maintian the utmost integrity in our work and be extremely careful to avoid mischaracterizations. Such errors can be quite subtle and unintentional and therefore can easily creep into our work. As Barna puts it:
People often hear what they want to hear, and if it’s not quite what they
need, they “tweak” it to better fit their presentation, without letting facts
get in the way....
I dread the day – which may be here – when church leaders, with good
intentions, are comfortable imitating the insufferable journalistic practices of
lazy or ignorant reporters who convert a single instance into a “trend.” We
unjustly disparage good people by making such broad and unsupported claims. If
we are supposed to be people of integrity and righteousness, our words should
reflect truth and love.
The blog is worth reading.
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