A pair of Southern Baptists hold the most sway – or influence – over American churches and church leaders, a new poll indicates.
A pair of Southern Baptists hold the most sway – or
influence – over American churches and church leaders, a new poll
indicates.
Evangelist Billy Graham and California pastor/author
Rick Warren hold the top spots in the poll by the Barna Research Group.
Surprisingly, President George Bush ranks in third place.
Researcher George Barna asked American pastors to
name three individuals whom they believe have the greatest influence on
churches and church leaders in America. While the pastors listed more
than 300 different names, just 10 persons were chosen by 4 percent or
more of the ministers.
Graham was chosen by 34 percent of respondents, and
Warren was selected by 26 percent. Bush was named by 14 percent of
pastors, while focus on the Family founder James Dobson was cited by 11
percent of survey respondents.
Others on the list – in descending order – were Bill
Hybels (9 percent), T.D. Jakes (7 percent), John Maxwell (6 percent),
George Barna (5 percent), Pope John Paul II (5 percent) and Max Lucado
(4 percent).
Graham led among mainline, Baptist and Pentecostal
pastors. Warren held second place with all groups except Pentecostals,
who chose Bush as the second-most influential personality.
Graham is a longtime Southern Baptist evangelist. Warren is pastor at
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of “The
Purpose-Driven Life.”
The Barna survey was based on telephone interviews
with 614 senior pastors from various Protestant denominations.
In the poll, pastors also were asked to rank individuals they believed would be the most trusted spokesperson for Christianity.
Again, Graham topped the list with 58 percent of
pastors naming him. Dobson was second with 20 percent, followed by
Warren (14 percent). Others were Jakes (7 percent), Charles Swindoll (6
percent), Jerry Falwell (6 percent), Hybels (5 percent), Charles Colson
(5 percent), James Kennedy (4 percent), Bush (4 percent), Pat Robertson
(4 percent) and Lucado (4 percent),.
Again, Graham topped the list among mainline, Baptist and Pentecostal pastors.
“Billy Graham has been a consistent presence in the
minds and hearts of church leaders and the public at large for many
years,” Barna noted.
“However, many of the other leading influencers in
the Christian church are relative newcomers to such widespread impact.
Names like Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes, Franklin Graham, John Maxwell,
Joyce Meyer and Will Willimon would not have appeared on the list a
decade ago.
“It is also interesting, though, how relatively few
names – less than two dozen – show up on the two lists, across multiple
segments of the pastoral community. That suggests that the influence of
these leaders is both broad and deep,” he said.
Barna observed that longevity played a role in whether certain people
were ranked highly as trusted spokesmen for Christianity. Most people
on that list are 60 or older.
In contrast, the most influential list is comprised of mostly younger leaders, the researcher pointed out.
Denominational background was another factor when
pastors selected the top leaders. For instance, Baptist leaders added
pastors from their denomination to the list, while Pentecostal
respondents chose persons more familiar to them.
Among Baptists, the top 10 persons with the most
influence on churches and church leaders were (in descending order):
• Evangelist Billy Graham
• Pastor Rick Warren
• President George Bush
• Focus on the Family founder/president James Dobson
• Pastor Bill Hybels
• Bishop T.D. Jakes
• Author.speaker John Maxwell
• Researcher George Barna
• Pope John Paul II
• Author/speaker Max Lucado
Meanwhile, for Baptist pastors, the most trusted spokesperson for Christianity were (in descending order):
• Evangelist Billy Graham
• Focus on the Family founder/president James Dobson
• Pastor Rick Warren
• Pastor Jerry Falwell
• Author/speaker Charles Swindoll
• Author/speaker John MacArthur
• President George Bush
• Bishop J.D. Jakes
• Author/speaker Max Lucado
• Author/speaker Chuck Colson
Of interest, although evangelical Christians
comprise just 7 percent of the nation’s adult population, evangelical
leaders werethree out of every five names listed as the most
influential among all pastors. In contrast, just 6 percent of those
listed as most influential were mainline Protestant leaders – and just
5 percent were Catholic.
Also, the top influencers were divided equally among
parachurch leaders (40 percent) and local church leaders (39 percent).
Evangelicals also dominated the list for
most-trusted spokespersons. Half of those cited as trusted were
parachurch leaders, while 39 percent were local church leaders.