America at the Crossroads

To say that America is at the crossroads is one heck of an understatement. But yeah I guess you can think of it that way. This election cycle has shown us that perhaps more than ever this country is divided, and that division shows up in the competing visions of where America ought to be headed towards in the future. And honestly, not matter which fork in the road America takes, the future doesn’t look so bright.

What I’m saying here is nothing new people feel this. But we can’t (contra what some people in political circles these days are saying) base facts on feelings. This is where George Barna’s new book, America at the Crossroads, comes in. Doing what Barna does best, polls and trend tracking, he gives us the hard facts about those feelings. The studies which you will find in this book track the results of how people are feeling/thinking about issues like:

• Religious Belief
• Religious Education
• The Bible
• Evangelicals
• Government Satisfaction
• Political Engagement
• National Priorities
• Population Growth
• Happiness
• Political Correctness
• Confidence in Institutions
• Confidence about the Future

Building upon his findings Barna consolidates what he finds into a helpful summary section, describing recent and past state of affairs regarding the topic. Each chapter also includes a “key facts” section which he lists some important and pertinent information. For example in the chapter on National Priorities you will find that the top issue of concern for Americans  in 2015 was terrorism, followed by the economy and jobs. Republicans pretty much mirrored this trend. However democrats placed “improving the educational system” at the top of their concern list, followed by improving the economy and job situation. Finally each chapter includes an Outlook and Interpretation section, where Barna makes his own subjective interpretation of the data and predicts future trends.

Overall this is a pretty helpful book. I recommend that pastors take a look at these findings, as it will help them better understand where their congregations are at, and where they may be going.

BOOK GIVEAWAY

I would love to give away a copy of this book if you think it will be helpful to your ministry. If you would like a chance to win (and live in the continental US). You can enter to win by doing one of the following:

• Tweet out the link to this blog post or the review and mention @Cwoznicki
• Retweet my tweet about the giveaway
• Like this post
• Comment below on how this book would benefit you

I will be selecting one winner soon. Good luck!

Note: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an impartial review.

Good Luck!