USA (MNN) — Barna Research indicates a new generation of adults in the United States is bending the needle of their moral compass to fit their way of thinking. While many adults are concerned about the morality in the county, they have difficulty agreeing on what they consider immoral behavior.
The research indicates two-thirds of young adults believe extra-marital affairs, cohabitation, and homosexuality were acceptable behavior. Many also indicated they had gotten drunk and used illegal drugs recently, without saying it was wrong.
The sad thing is, these thoughts are also invading the local church as a majority of born-again ‘Busters’ believe these types of behavior are acceptable.
Executive Director of Life Action Revival Ministries Byron Paulus says “If found one of the most interesting results of this study was that the moral profile of the younger generation, the ‘busters,’ is more likely to resemble their peer group than it is to take shape around the tenants of their faith.”
Paulus thinks he knows why they’re looking for answers outside faith. “They have been hurt and wounded by those who have misrepresented truth in the generation before them. And therefore, that relationship is missing that they long to have. If they don’t see a person walking their talk, then they’re saying, ‘why would I want to get close to that person.”
So, they’re filling that desire for relationships filled within their peer group.
According to Paulus, church has itself to blame, because many churches have stopped preaching about sin. “We’re afraid that we will either lose members, or budget, we’ll lose some of the resources that we have, if we’re to talk about repentance, or hell and sin and we tend to avoid some of those more confronting messages and themes because we’re afraid, not realizing that those people in the pew are actually wanting the truth.”
Paulus the previous generation allowed these behaviors in moderation, the current generation is allowing in excess. “When we are walking in sun, we’re being immoral, the only way we can live with our conscience and our guilt is to change our theology or say they’re no absolute truth. Then I feel less convicted. I feel less guilty over my sin.”
Because sin isn’t addressed in the church, many aren’t confronted with it and it continues to grow causing many ‘churched’ young people to leave. “10-percent of teens, 20-percent in their 20’s, and 30-percent of those in their 30’s are active in church. They have no interest in church and no interest in what their parents believe.”
Life Action wants to change that. They’ll be in 70 different locations helping the local churches with personal and corporate revival. They do that through 4-day, 10-day and 14-day events.
