What Are Global Church Leaders Worried About?

AP Photo

A survey of 2,196 Protestant leaders from around the world
highlighted the concerns shared by Christians in 166 countries and the
divergent outlooks for the church in the Global North (Europe, North
America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) and the Global South
(sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and
most of Asia).

On Wednesday, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on
Religion & Public Life released the results of a survey of those
invited to attend the Third Lausanne Congress of World
Evangelization, a 10-day gathering of ministers and lay leaders held in
October in Cape Town, South Africa. The leaders surveyed expressed
agreement on theological and social issues, such as abortion,
homosexuality, the authority of Scripture and the uniqueness of Christ,
but leaders from the Global North and the Global South expressed
differing outlooks for the future of the church in their parts of the
world.

While 71 percent of evangelical leaders in the Global South expect that five years
from now the state of evangelicalism in their countries will be better than it
is today, a majority of evangelical leaders in the Global North expect that
the state of evangelicalism in their countries will either stay about the same
(21 percent) or worsen (33 percent) in the next five years.

The
threats to the progress of evangelicalism cited primarily surround
cultural influences that have invaded the church. Only 22 percent cited
government restrictions as a “major threat to evangelical Christianity.”
Of greater concern are secularism (71 percent), consumerism (67
percent), sex and violence in pop culture (59 percent), the influence of Islam
(47 percent), theological divisions among evangelicals (30 percent),
evangelical leaders leading lavish lifestyles (30 percent) and sexual
misconduct among leaders (26 percent).

Other intriguing results of the
study are the respondents’ views toward Pentecostals, the prosperity
gospel and women in ministry leadership. While 92 percent of those
surveyed had a positive view of Pentecostals, 90 percent expressed
disapproval of the prosperity gospel. Although most responded that men
should be the religious leaders in marriage and family (79 percent)
and the main financial providers for the family (53 percent), most do
not think that women must stay home and raise children
(63 percent), and a majority favors allowing women to serve as pastors
(75 percent).