Revolution

George Barna's "Revolution" is now almost 5 years old and in writing this review I realize that I am late to the party and further I realize that the discussion has progressed beyond this work in subsequent books published. Nevertheless, it remains an important and seminal work today both because of what it has to say and who is saying it.George Barna is one of the most listened to voices in the organized and institutional church for the past 25 years. This is evidenced by the sale of his many books as well as the multitude of references to his books by other authors. He has been a featured speaker in many venues. His articles have appeared in almost every major contemporary journal and magazine. I know as a young pastor beginning in the late 1980's that it was almost impossible to have a meaningful discussion of the state of the church and the perceived needs and future of the local church without being aware of what George Barna had to say about the demographics and psychographics of North American society. Barna's research and insights combined with the Church Growth movement headed by C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber was foundational for churches and pastors of all bents and persuasions to practically prepare and respond to the emerging trends in society. Many churches used a lot of what Barna had to say to respond with marketing and programming within their local churches and even denominations to attempt to stay ahead of the curves that Barna was identifying as relevant. What is more, many of those efforts succeeded; at least by the measure of "butts in seats" and revenues to the church or organization that are typically cited and sought as practically necessary at an organizational level.George Barna, however, equipped with the ability to observe and assess the changes that were taking place over time, ironically based in part on his input and counsel to churches, saw something that deeply disturbed him. These changes in numbers and revenues while encouraging to the immediate organizations experiencing them, were not in turn having much impact upon society. Measures of things like divorce and a biblical world view were statistically indistinguishable from society at large. Despite that fact that Barna had built a very successful business and presence upon the observations and counsel he had given and could continue to give without interruption, Barna did something that humanly makes little sense. Barna decided to ask the question of himself, if what he was doing was meaningful and right.This lead him on a journey that cost him. His going to the New Testament to ask if the church structure and practice that his work was supporting was Biblical was counter-intuitive to many of his own best interests. Yet in doing so, he came to the conclusion that something was seriously, seriously wrong and what is more he could no longer directly contribute to the success of that system. He took his successful firm of over 100 employees and cut and restructured it to 8 employees and then began speaking out and writing about his observations.Further, Barna became aware that far from being unique in his observations and concerns he was part of a large and growing group of people who felt the same way and were either leaving the institutional church or who had never been a part of it in the first place and were deliberate in their choice not to be, because they saw the institutional church in many regards, not as a neutral factor but one which would actually be negative to their spiritual walk and growth. Further, when Barna applied the measures he had to the typical institutional church in comparison to society it became apparent that these "revolutionaries" were walking in a manner that made a difference in their own lives as well as the lives of those with whom they came in contact.Revolution, is Barna's statement. More than that, it is his declaration of separation from that which had previously defined him. Not only is he speaking of the revolution, he is declaring himself to be a revolutionary.That said about the author, the book itself is remarkably brief and targeted. A natural criticism from this, especially from those threatened by and reacting to what Barna has to say is that it is "too" brief and not documented "enough." However, this book is not simply an academic or theological treatise. It is more of a heart cry and explanation as to why this change has taken place.Themes presented within the book include an examination of revolution as historically observed, as well as the reaction to the establishment. A definition of success by what God expects as opposed to what is humanly or socially feasible lays a foundation for additional interactions with what Barna observes of how the local church is doing, what transitions are taking place and what is taking place outside the context of the local church. Building upon these themes Barna presents the alternatives to traditional institutional churches that are emerging from these trends. Implicit within these observation and then explicitly tied in is strong speculation as to what parallels most strongly with the message and style of ministry that Jesus exemplified. The book then moves quickly to conclude with what the revolution looks like today and gives a good prediction of how some will respond to this message, including those who used to sing Barna's praises so effusively but now see him as a traitor and heretic for abandoning the cause of their institution.However, lest this approach be seen as all negative, Barna makes some strong statements as to how local church can see and respond to these factors and in doing so, Barna reveals that while his heart has been moved in such a way that he has ceased formal association, he has neither abandoned those fellow revolutionaries who still remain and work within and through the local church.Coming late to this party as I mention, I have the benefit as well of being able to see some developments since that time. In particular, the criticisms wielded against Barna as to his qualifications to speak to these issues. Surprisingly, some of those very people who used to sing Barna's praises and invite him to speak and write to their accolades, with the change in opinion have now decided that Barna is "just a market researcher" and not qualified to address these "weighty issues" of ecclesiology and theology. This despite the fact that in addition to Barna's extensive training in this area he is also trained at Dallas Theological Seminary.For those however who have concerns and want to see in plainer language the ecclesiology and theology upon which much of this movement is built. Barna has coupled with Frank Viola in a subsequent book  Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices  and then Viola goes on his own to write  Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity . These stand in response to the charges that Barna is simply seeking to tear down and not build up. Those responding most vehemently appear to have confused the institutional church (little c) with the Church universal (big C) and to have presumed that God's plans and purposes can't be accomplished without their help or their model.In conclusion, whether a reader agrees with all Barna has to say going into the book or coming out, Barna cannot be ignored. Those who listened so hard and so long to what he had to say to build the institution of the local church in the past, owe it to themselves to hear what he has to say now and why.5 Stars. A must read!Bart BreenAdditional books to read in this genre include:  The Cost of Discipleship   Roaring Lambs   Truly the Community: Romans 12 and How to Be the Church   Restoring the early church   A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey   Christ and Culture (Torchbooks)   Megashift: Igniting Spiritual Power   Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling For It  Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God

George Barna, in his latest book, Revolution, challenges us to re-examine our theology of church and ways of doing church in the future. Barna was confident that it is possible to predict trends in the church in the United States. He wrote The Frog in the Kettle (1990) in which he identified possible trends and reforms the churches need to implement in order to maximise the benefits from these trends. Barna claimed in his latest book that "90 percent of the predicted outcomes became reality". With this impressive record, Barna went on to introduce what he believes will be the next major trend and this will involve the very structure and the way we do church itself.Barna identifies a "new breed" of Christians (about 20 million) whom he named "The Revolutionary Christian". In the opening chapter he identified David (not the biblical one) as one. He described David, "...is a Revolutionary Christian. His life reflects the very ideals and principles that characterized the life and purpose of Jesus Christ and that advances the Kingdom of God-despite the fact that David rarely attends church services. He is typical of a new breed of disciples of Jesus Christ. They are not willing to play religious games and aren't interested in being part of a religious community that is not intentionally and aggressively advancing God's Kingdom. They are people who want more of God- much more- in their lives. And they are doing whatever it takes to get it." These revolutionaries have seven major passions1. Intimate Worship2. Faith-based Conversations (evangelistic)3. Intentional Spiritual Growth4. Servanthood5. Resource Investment6. Spiritual FriendshipsWhile there is not much to distinguish between the revolutionaries from any committed born-again Christians, the major distinguishing mark is that revolutionaries are willing to leave the local church and seek their spiritual feeding and experiences elsewhere. While there is the commitment to God, there is no loyalty to tradition and the local church. Barna's research has shown that the local churches have a lot of flaws and churched Christians (about 77 millions) fall short of the standards of these revolutionaries.What are some of the factors that lead to this trend? Barna has identified seven.1. The Changing of the GuardAs the Baby Boomers and Builders begin to make way Baby Busters (1965-1983) and Mosaics (1984-2002), the demographic changes have major influences on culture and societal expectations.2. The Rise of a new View of LifePostmodernism has become the main influence in mainstream American culture. What it means is that relationship is more important than productivity, pluralism and relativism, influence through dialogue and the ends justify the means. The working process is more important than the end product.3. Dismissing the IrrelevantUnlike the Boomers who are famous for demanding excellence, the next generation; "they quickly abandon anything that is not wholly germane to their personal passions ...They have little patience for anything based on tradition, customs, ease, or social responsibility. If they do not immediately sense the relevance of something, they dismiss it out of hand and move on to the next alternative." Hence loyalty is not a strong point of consideration.4. The Impact of Technology5. Genuine RelationshipsThey value relationships and are "people people." Their focus on personal authenticity rather than performance and they like personal stories and experience rather than principles and commands.6. Participation in RealityThey like the hands on approach and enjoy the experiential rather than the cognitive.7. Finding True MeaningThey find true meaning in sacrifice and surrender.What this boils down to is that the next generation will leave any local church or organisation that does not meet their needs. They are not what we consider `backsliders', they are more of spiritual seekers. With more resources within reach (easy communications, travel, Internet etc), they will find their own sources of spirituality that will meet their spiritual needs. They will develop their own network and alternative faith communities.What will the future faith communities be like. Barna offers a glimpse of some possible forms:1. Macro modela. Congregational form of local churchb. House churchesc. Family faith experiencesd. Cyberchurch2. Micro model (distributed models of faiths)a. Independent worship eventsb. Marketplace fellowshipsc. Coaching communitiesd. Narrowcast Internet-based faith groupe. Parachurch ministriesBarna has done the Church a favour by bringing to our attention, a possible trend or movement of people out of the local church to seek their spiritual formation elsewhere. While I do not believe it will be as large a percentage as he predicted, I believe that it is an important trend.If committed Christians find difficulties in being part of an established church and find that they are stagnating, in spite of having make efforts to be part of the community, they should be allowed to explore alternative ways of doing Church. Church to me is not a building or even a local congregation. Church to me is a people of God, the Body of Christ. Many of us has realised that many local churches are no more than fossilized institutions, political conventions, spiritual spas or country clubs.Throughout Church history, the committed Christians are always marginalized. And they have always survived. These revolutionaries may be the 21st Century equivalent of the desert fathers and mothers of the 4th Century. What the local congregations should be doing is not to condemn or drive them off but to connect with them and offer them a place to come back to when their wandering is done. For all we know, the revolutionaries may be God's way of sparking off a revival as He has done it with the Pentecostal/Charismatic in the last century.

An informative and interesting book. The revolution of house churches throughout America wil lprobably resonate with many people in the UK who are struggling with church world here.

Most interesting read!

Quite good

Awesome book, feeling bad because you don't go to a weekly service? Read this and if you recognise yourself in its words then feel bad no more! Revolutionaries rock!!!

I found George Barna statistics rather vague. There was almost nothing about how many folks he surveyed, how the survey was conducted, what the questions where, or how he spent his "year of research". So, I came away with a feeling that "trends" may been just made up .... is there really any research behind this book?The entire book portrays these believers (revolutionaries) separate from the local body as something new, that never happened before in the church. There are many instances down through the ages of believers forming their own little groups separate from any formal official local bodies. This trend isn't new, and never has been. The author thus appears therefore to have little comprehension of Christian History.I don't doubt that there are a lot of people moving away from the local church but most are moving away from Christian faith, not stronger into it. The book seems to drip with a negative view of the local church, how it is poorly performing, its failure to build faith and so on. Like any institution the local church has its problems. When I start meeting these strong Christians that fired up with passionate faith about Jesus, learning Hebrew and Greek on their own, have an active missionary and discipleship groups, and meet regularly with other like minded Christians to pray and fellowship but who are not involved in any local church then I will get excited. Are these folks do it yourself baby boomers, or this some new generation X thing? Are women taking to it more than men? Are these folks former local church members or folks that just picked up on Christianity on its own? Are these folks married and do they have children, and how they treating their children in regard to faith items? Again, lots of questions but it appears no answers. His statistics didn't seem to capture any this kind of information. Again, did he really do a research study? - I don't think so.