A GROWING PERCEPTION IN AMERICA:  OUR INSTITUTIONS ARE FAILING

• First of all, why is this perception of institutional failure growing? Is there genuine evidence of such failure?  As David Brooks has commented, “Americans have lost faith in their institutions.  During the great moments of social reform, at least 60% of Americans trusted government to do the right thing most of the time.  Now, only a quarter have that same kind of trust.  The country is evenly divided about President Obama, but state governments are in disrepute and confidence in Congress is at withering lows.  As Frank Newport of the Gallup organization noted in his year-end wrap-up: ‘Americans have less faith in their elected representatives than ever before.’”  Government has become so involved in every area of our lives that it has lost its fundamental mission.  Columnist Peggy Noonan observes that “our federal government now does 10 million things, many of them not so well.  Its attention is scattered.  It loses sight of the essentials, which is part of the reason underpants bombers wind up on airplanes.”  Also consider American perceptions about Wall Street.  Confidence in Wall Street is at an all-time low as well.  Public perceptions focus on greed, self-centeredness and huge bonuses at the expense of the public.  Many Americans perceive Wall Street as the central cause of the recession in America.  Also consider the church.  In a recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, an astonishing result was documented:  Seven percent of Americans say they “attend religious services in someone’s home.”  This statistic is rather significant for it defies all mainstream conceptions of what it means to go to church.  For this 7%, the established and recognized ways of worship are simply not working anymore.  Indeed, Gary Laderman, professor of American religious history at Emory University, has argued that “What’s going on is a kind of deinstitutionalization of religious life.”  Further, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna research group, contends that many Christians are expressing “disappointment that the congregational models have become consumeristic.”  He goes on that “House church” [aka home church, simple church, organic church] is “the new expression of hippie Christianity.”  The same thing is occurring within Roman Catholicism, where there are a burgeoning number of house churches where the mass is said with the help of a priest.  Lisa Miller, Newsweek communist suggests that “As people reject a one-size-fits-all approach, they’re yearning for a church that’s more homemade.”  When the institutions of civilization do not work (or at least are perceived not to work), new institutions or a significant modification of these institutions will occur.  In my opinion, that is what is occurring within American civilization.

• Second, consider the Tea Party movement within America.  David Brooks writes that “The Obama administration is premised on the conviction that pragmatic federal leaders with professional expertise should have the power to implement programs to solve the country’s problems.  Many Americans do not have faith in that sort of centralized expertise or in the political class generally.”  It is this very mindset that is energizing the tea party movement.  In general, this movement is really defined by what they are against.  Brooks writes that “They are against the concentrated power of the educated class.  They believe big government, big business, big media and the affluent professionals are merging to form a self-serving oligarchy—with bloated government, unsustainable deficits, high taxes and intrusive regulation.”  The tea party movement is especially popular among independents.  The Rasmussen organization confirms that among independents, the tea party ideas are resonating.  The tea party movement manifests among a significant minority that American institutions are failing, or at least are perceived as failing.  Smart, resourceful people in leadership should not ignore this movement.  It could possibly shape the next decade of American civilization.

• Third, permit me one final comment.  Fundamentally, God has created three central institutions, each with clear stewardship responsibilities defined in Scripture.  Each institution is a dimension of God’s common grace.  If they function properly according to His defined parameters, there will be common grace blessing.  If they do not function according to His parameters, there will be failure.  Those institutions are the family, the state and the church.  From almost any vantage point, those three institutions are not functioning well within our civilization.  This is not only a perception; this is truth.  It will be important for us to understand that the renewal of American civilization must begin with the renewal of these three institutions—along the lines of God’s clear mandates defined in His Word.  Perhaps America is indeed at a crossroads.  Renewal will not come from Washington, D.C.  It will come from His church, re-energized by the clear teachings of His Word.  May God in His grace renew our civilization.

See David Brooks in the New York Times (5 January 2010); Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal (2-3 January 2010); and Lisa Miller in Newsweek (11 January 2010).

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