Name: George Barna
Why you should know him: Barna is the most-quoted statistician in evangelicalism.
Position: founder and Directing Leader of the The Barna Group, Ltd., a marketing research firm that specializes in conducting primary research for Christian ministries and non-profit organizations.
Education:
B.A. in Sociology, Boston College
M.A. in Urban Planning, Rutgers
M.A. in Political Science, Rutgers
Ph.D., Dallas Baptist University
Area of expertise/interest: Polling and research
Books: Barna has written more than 30 books including: Think Like Jesus (2003); Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions (2003); A Fish Out of Water(2002); State of the Church: 2002 (2002); and Single Focus (2003).
Assessment: Born a New Jersey Catholic, Barna began his career working on the campaign staff of a liberal Boston Democrat. Though attracted to the idealism of politics he soon became disenchanted and returned to graduate school to earn a degree in urban planning. While at Rutgers, Barna became interested in polling and took another M.A. in political science. He then went on to take a job with a California media company where he was assigned televangelists Rex Humbard and Oral Roberts as clients. After moving to Wheaton, Il, Barna began to attend Willow Creek, the upstart church led by Bill Hybels. He realized the power of applying marketing strategy to the church and after returning to Southern California in 1984 he launched his own company, Barna Research.
Although he has written over two dozen book, Barna’s main influence is as a pollster who shows the evangelical community the trends in the secular culture while holding a mirror up to the church itself. While the use of marketing techniques can have a deleterious effect on the church community, Barna’s research has been a valuable source of information, helping the Christian community understand the trends and patterns of our world so that we are better able to engage our communities for Christ.
(This post is #16 in the "Know Your Evangelicals" series. Coming next: Os Guinness)
1
I love George! And I've heard some pretty cool things about how he treats people. He's a great man.
Although, there are some people who have issues with the way he does polling.
posted on 09.07.2004 9:16 AM2
I hadn't thought of Barna for the series, but he's an excellent choice. For better or worse, he has more influence on evangelical pastors than any theologian or biblical scholar.
posted on 09.07.2004 4:39 PM3
Finally, one convert from Catholicism to Evangelicalism who's intellectually respectable -- ie, not a nut-job who churns out tracts about Jesuits and bar-codes.
posted on 09.07.2004 6:02 PM4
I hadn't actually heard--even in this profile--whether Barna actually converted; only that he has found profit in polling evangelicals and attended Willow Creek. Of course I utilize his material; although sometimes it is suspect. I rarely see his data quoted outside evangelical circles. The fact that he is so popular is more telling of our evangelical community and its reliance on "things below" than of Barna. Thank goodness Moses wasn't attempting to deliver Israel in a time of flash-polling or the Apostles work was subject to how people felt in the community...ok back to reading A fish out of water....
posted on 09.10.2004 3:19 PM5
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