Revolution

Revolution was recommended to me by someone I respect, and I wouldn't have read it otherwise. Where I thought it would be a rah-rah, "just get out there and be different...somehow", all-fluff-no-stuff book, it was scarily different. I could never make the connection of how Barna, a Christian Gallup-type pollster, could put out a vision-casting, fiery call to the people, but it's because he _does_ see the numbers that lit the fire for him and this call. The statistics on pp 30 - 36 alone are worth the price of the book. I haven't been so convicted about the reality of my spiritual condition in many, many years. How much am I worshiping, serving, giving, witnessing, reading the bible, leading my family's spiritual growth? Do these activities have to be cordoned or the responsibility of the church. It's the same issue of parent who see the school system responsible for their child's education, rather than the parent responsible and the school as a vehicle and help to that goal. And the paradigm shift Barna begs we make, and the weight of most of the book, is that our focus is not that church is enough, but that Jesus is. Leaders I love and respect say "The church is the hope of the world," and in the past I repeated it. Not I see that Jesus is the hope of the world, and we make a difference for Him in every way _we_ can, not limited to every way that church can, for we ourselves _are_ the Church. If nothing else, read the book to see the reality of the abysmal state of the average Christian and the statistics of some phenomenal success and growth of Christian work occurring outside the traditional church walls.

Church's future status?

This was a scary read on some many levels. First I would like to say I'm mixed on my emotions of the context of this book. Barna says that to become larger Christians we must become smaller in size. I guess this would be the reversing of mega-church phenomenon. He goes on to say God did not send Jesus so we might be comfortable or complacent. That is something today's church is extremely guilty of. It goes on to say "Revolutionist" are dissatisfied with the status quo and they want to be a part of something larger than what institutional religion has to offer. Another aspect of the movement described is to take seriously influencing the world rather than be influenced a "take your faith in your hands" approach and not use the church as a crutch for your children or outreaching the nations.

On a cautious side if this "Revolution" if it fails stalls or stumbles it could be detrimental to churches existence. This revolution would be in a must succeed status.

There are some scary truths and a lot of questions that this books poses. Over all a good read that every pastor or church leader should read. Each one of us should look at the format of the church whether it is institutional or internal of one's self!

Barna has taken a courageous--some would say foolish--step. He has applied his years of research and observation, studied the Word of God, and come up with his version of where the future of the Church and Christianity will lead. He keeps it fairly simple, addressing the thoughts and concerns of those who remain within the framework of traditional local churches and those who have entered into a larger view of the Church.

I happen to be one of the latter. I grew up as a missionary's kid and pastor's kid. I saw the constant attempts of the church to raise healthy spiritual adherents, as well as to maintain some personal accountability among its members. My first twenty years were spent within a loving, yet somewhat stagnant environment of Christianity. I was gung-ho, but spent four years in a Bible college where I witnessed stale rules and attention to numbers and church growth, instead of vibrant relationships with Jesus. My next twenty years, I tried to change this system from within, hoping to gain the respect and position to bring about revolution.

I was spinning my wheels. I was trying to fix a machine that should be a living organism, the Body of Christ, rather than a ponderous beast of burden that covers its irrelevance with thirty minutes of feel-good worship time. While I know many who do love Jesus within that framework, I decided three years ago that I had to move into a larger view of the Church, a more organic one, if I was personally going to survive as a believer. I also did not want to spend my next twenty years watching things remain the same, watching politics define religion, watching moral values take precedence in a Pharisaical sense over the dynamic teachings of Jesus and a relationship with Him. (Good morals are important, but you can be a "good person" and know nothing of God.)

Barna has encapsulated so much of my thinking. He does so with excitement and grace. He stumbles a little, however, by showing too much restraint in his evaluation of the Revolution. He fails to go deeper into the hurts on both sides of this divide. He tries to validate Revolutionaries, while failing to deal directly with some of our potential pitfalls. For example, the one concern that continues to jump out at me in the Emergent Church is the somewhat lackadaisical approach toward the Word of God. This must be strengthened for this movement to continue healthily.

Thank you, Mr. Barna, for putting your reputation on the line and pointing out the vibrancy of this movement that some consider heresy. I am glad to be a part of the Revolution. I have grown personally, gained new interest in God's Word, and found more accountability through the deeper relationships of the Church on the street level. On the other hand, we need the gentle but firm reminders of the Foundation upon which we are built. Don't be afraid to help keep us in line. That, too, is a form of accountability and discipleship we often need.

Barna hits a home run with this very insightful look into the Church today. His description of a "Revolutionary" is right on, and his understanding of the struggle and suggestions for the future are very encouraging. There are, in fact, many of us who yearn to "be the Church and not just go to church". This book is a great manifesto that articulates deep seeded passions to follow Jesus Christ in a way sorely lacking in the church today. Be prepared to either have your world turned upside down, or to let out a resounding cheer as you see him as either a heretic or a prophet. This revolution will change the world.

this book is drastically different fromt the typical statistal research analysis presentations Barna provides. Nevertheless, it is his most awesome and inspiring work. After many years of research, Barna now draws his own conclusion. There have been so many reviews written, that I wish not to be repetitive.
I consider myself to be a revolutionary inside and out. I pastor a 'traditonal' church. I believe that Barna may have been somewhat inaccurate in his depiction of the drastic decline in church attendance.
On the one hand, if one observes what is going on in the church, the shift and decline in traditional church membership is occuring rapidly.
But I also see the church as going through a 'Walmart' phase - when the mom and pop stores were forced to close down because of the one stop shop Walmarts. The same thing appears to be happening right now, smaller traditional churches are very quickly losing ground to mega church models and television produced ministries and conferences.
I am sure some mega churches will decline, but I don't see much let up in their growth. Celebrities, TV, personality, youth programs, dynamic music, and prosperity promises will always attract in large #s.. I believe that some of the small group modeled churches may help in the development of revolutionaries.
In his next book, Pagan Christianity, Barna tries to persuade us that loosely organized house churches are the legitimate model for real Christianity. He argues against the modern tradional church. Pagan christianity by George Barna is one of the worst, unbiblically balanced books I have read. Shame on George Barna for producing such an awful product. From one who considers myself to be a 'Revolutionary' and truly enjoyed the book 'Revolutionary', I must say that 'Pagan Christianity' was awful. It was so controversial that the publisher has put a 'disclaimer' on the first page. I have never seen anything like it. If it were not for the name George Barna, no one else would have riked publishing such a book.