As Christians, what can we do to shape America’s future? George Barna believes that Christians have a responsibility to shape the future of our country and leave a lasting imprint in the world. He shares several practical action steps that we can take.
Get involved.
George encourages Christians to get involved in the political process by engaging in conversations with others about important issues in American culture.
“So many Christians do not talk to other people about what they believe about the issues because they don’t want to get an argument, or they don’t want to offend people. Or they feel like they don’t really know enough to engage in that kind of a discussion, but it’s critical that we be a part of that process.”
Be well-informed.
“If you feel like you don’t know enough – study up. Get into God’s Word, get into the issues themselves, etc., try to understand that it’s not brain surgery, we can all do this.”
Regardless of political stance, George points out that the country needs strong, visionary leaders who are going to lead us in the right direction. He elaborates on the importance of being well-informed,
“Be well-informed about who you’re going to vote for, what they represent, and how they’re likely to behave. Perhaps in the election we’re facing now, the kind of leaders that we’d want to back aren’t there, but we still need to participate the process.”
“After this election is done, maybe we’ve become more aggressive about encouraging the leaders who we really believe in; to be more involved in the process, to step it up, to take a higher position in government, etc.”
Work with our children.
“Working with our children is perhaps the most important long-term strategy we can have for how we can affect the world.”
George says one of our top priorities as parents should be to leave a lasting legacy with our children.
“We pass on our greatest legacy to and through our children. So intentionally raising them to be spiritual champions, to be good citizens, to be terrific employees and to be everything that God calls us to be.”
He stresses the importance of teaching our children how to look at important issues through a biblical lens.
“Everybody’s got a worldview, but very few people have a biblical worldview. So how can we turn that around? We do it through our children.”
“Worldview starts developing about the age of 18 months. By the time they graduate from high school that worldview is well formed. By the time they graduate from college, they actually become an evangelist for their worldview. We can’t wait until they’re after college, in a job and having a family, it’s too late at that point they’re already pushing their worldview out into the world.”
George Barna founded The Barna Group in 1984. He currently serves as the executive director of the American Culture and Faith Institute, conducting research on governance, elections, worldview, and cultural transformation.
America at the Crossroads
