George Barna

A Christian researcher quoted in Law of the Harvest (David G. Stewart’s book on LDS missionary work and church growth) on why good research fails to change behavior. Barna expressed disappointment that a ten-year informational campaign to improve outreach in Protestant and evangelical churches did not reverse concerning trends: “Most of the information users in ministries don’t know how to use information…they nod their heads approvingly and then they don’t do anything with it.” He concluded that the strategy was flawed because it assumed church leaders were actually leaders capable of drawing the right conclusions from good data — and that, in his judgment, most local-church leaders are “great people, but they’re not really leaders.” Stewart cites him to argue that even compelling research is rarely translated into practical action, a problem he sees (in a milder form) among LDS leaders as well.

Context: George Barna is an American author and pollster who founded the Barna Group, a research firm studying religion, faith, and culture in the United States, especially within evangelical Christianity.

Where this appears

• Law of the Harvest — quoted on the gap between research and action in ministry, and on the assumption that leaders will act on good information.