The sad result is a mounting disillusionment with all faith approaches. Since the pseudo-spirituality is bereft of any substance, and since much of the mainline Western spiritual institutions are so stuffy and unfocused, many people have come to the belief that all things spiritual are false. Our Western society lacks a spiritual-cultural matrix. We have no faith that helps define and identify us. In The United Methodist Church, as an example, more members avoid church on Sunday morning than attend.
Few churches report fifty percent or greater worship attendance on a weekly basis.
Based on sales, it is estimated that the Bible is the most sold, least read, book of all time. An informal Mediamart survey of 90,000 mall shoppers across America in 1999 reported that 71,454 claimed to be Christian, but fewer than 4,000 had read the Bible within the last week. Regular, disciplined prayer, fasting, study, and meditation are rare in our denomination. The role of leaders in today's church is to create environments for spiritual growth and development. We need faithful teachers who can not only share ideas and information, but also model an integrated, disciplined life.