Throughout Barna’s Spiritually Open series, we’ve focused on interpersonal interactions about faith and spiritual curiosity, especially between Christians and non-Christians.

In summary, there is a lot of talk about Jesus—from individual Christians sharing about Jesus in conversation to pastors teaching about Jesus from the pulpit.

Indeed, 85 percent of pastors say that having a one-on-one conversation with a Christian is one of the most successful ways to help people learn about Christianity. More than half of pastors (56%) point to small groups, another venue for conversation, as a successful method.

People outside the Church may be drawn to these opportunities; previous Barna study shows that 71 percent of non-Christians say that casual one-on-one conversations encourage them to explore Christianity further. The next most popular option is casual group conversation, with 61 percent of non-Christians saying this draws them into further exploration.

More institutionally, when asked to evaluate their preaching and programs, nine in 10 pastors (89%) say their church definitely prioritizes talking about who Jesus was.

On its face, this is a good thing: You may recall that the public, including non-Christians, holds generally warm feelings toward Jesus. People tend to have a positive opinion of Jesus and his teachings. The traits people associate with Jesus often align with the things they say they hope to find in their spirituality. This makes sense, when we remember that even among spiritually open non-Christians, 39 percent say they have made a commitment to Jesus that is still important to them today.

Yet, if non-Christians are looking for things that Jesus provides, have a positive opinion of Jesus and are hearing about Jesus from Christians … then why don’t more people identify as Christians? Our research suggests that the most likely reason for this disconnect is the hypocrisy non-Christians witness among Christians. This means that the biggest challenge to the effectiveness of our spiritual conversations may lie in how people—and the Church at large—embody Jesus.

Put another way, the missing ingredient in many approaches to sharing faith may actually have nothing to do with what Christians are saying, but how Christians are living. Sadly, people of no faith or of other faiths say that the hypocrisy of religious people is the number one reason they doubt their faith. Perhaps even more telling is the fact that 22 percent of Christians say the same thing.

Elsewhere, we see a deficit of trust and respect in Christianity. For instance, politics is a sticking point for non-Christians who have moved away from Christianity; more than half (51%) say they’d like to distance themselves from the politics of the Church. Of those open non-Christians who were raised Christian or had a Christian experience in their past, 40 percent say they have a hard time trusting religious institutions. Non-Christians also note that the Christians they know lack a “mature faith.”

Is all this communication and conversation about Jesus … just talk? Or are there leaders and members of the Church point to Jesus’ person and work through more than just words? And what can be learned from them?

Resilient Faith in a Spiritually Open Culture

Satisfying the spiritual curiosity of non-Christians and equipping Christians to share their faith will be shortsighted if these efforts are not ultimately about holistic, whole-life discipleship.

At Barna, we sometimes talk about building resilient disciples. At the moment, just 20 percent of U.S. Christians meet Barna’s definition of a “resilient disciple,” meaning they are: Christians who (1) attend church at least monthly and engage with their church more than just attending worship services; (2) trust firmly in the authority of the Bible; (3) are committed to Jesus personally and affirm he was crucified and raised from the dead to conquer sin and death; and (4) express desire to transform the broader society as an outcome of their faith.

Let’s look at how today’s Christians—including resilient disciples—are experiencing and representing Jesus. To do this, we’ve separated the Christians who are resilient disciples from two other groups of respondents: 1) Habitual churchgoers (who make up 17 percent of today’s Christians) describe themselves as Christian and have attended church at least once in the past month, yet do not have foundational core beliefs or behaviors associated with being a resilient disciple. 2) Nomads, or lapsed Christians, identify as Christian but have not attended church during the past month. Most nomads—who, overall, make up nearly two-thirds of today’s Christians (63%)—haven’t been involved with a faith community for six months or more.

Resilient disciples are highly motivated to find a way to follow Jesus that connects to their modern world, 57 percent say this is “completely true” of them. In contrast, less than one-third of habitual churchgoers (30%) and nomads (31%) answer the same way.

Resilient disciples see following Jesus as something that shapes and impacts them in a holistic way: body, mind, heart and soul. They want others to see Jesus reflected through their words and actions, and their relationship with Jesus brings them joy, satisfaction, energy and fulfillment. More than 80 percent of resilient disciples agree strongly with statements like these—approximately double the rate of habitual churchgoers and nomads.

From this data, we learn not only how resilient disciples distinguish themselves but also how church engagement alone is not enough to nurture an impactful, compelling relationship with Jesus. Christians who habitually attend church may look no different from lapsed Christians who don’t presently attend church, if they do not also have roots in scripture and a holistic approach to their faith. (For more on developing this kind of resilience, read the field guide “Embodied Faith: Following Jesus Is More Than Talk.”)

Conversations about Jesus, even positive ones, may be aplenty in an era of spiritual openness. But Jesus is more than just a topic. Christians are called not just to know how and when to bring up their faith in a conversation, but to be transformed by Jesus and to represent him.

As church leaders consider how to be effective in connecting with non-Christians about faith, they must consider the ways they model and encourage whole-life, resilient discipleship. Cultivating curiosity and conversation about Jesus is about more than words.