At least that's what the Rev. Doug Murren, former pastor of the Eastside Foursquare Church in Kirkland, Wash., reads into all the statistics and survey results running around in his head. Nearly half of adults are functionally illiterate and can't understand the King James version of the Bible, the one most often read in church. Track One was started this spring by Murren and the Rev. Steve Sjogren, pastor of a Cincinnati megachurch, with the encouragement of George Barna, a leading religion pollster. About 100 small churches nationwide have affiliated as Track One churches, Murren says. That includes four congregations started by Murren in the Seattle area known as Hope Community churches.
Most members are independent churches on the East Coast.
Congregations are small. People gather around tables, in close-knit circles. If they have a question about a sermon, they interrupt and ask. There are no rituals, little mystery. The problem is that traditional churches have lost touch with the younger generations, Murren says.