• Revolution or Revolt

    February 2, 2006

    Revolution
    A friend recently told me that after reading “Revolution” by George Barna, he thought that indeed, I might fit the category of a revolutionary. Wanting to know if this was true, I read the book this afternoon. My conclusion, yes and no.
    Main Arguments

    The main premise of George Barna’s book is that a revolution is taking place in which millions of people are finding it more satisfying and more God-honoring to follow Jesus apart from the context of a local church comunity.

    Barna identifies 7 core passions of so-called revolutionaries: Intimate Worship, Faith-based conversations, Intentional spiritual growth, Servanthood, Resource investment, Spiritual friendships, and Family faith.

    On pages 31-36 he describes how the local church is by and large failing to promote these things. He says, “You see, it’s not about church. It’s about The Church – that is, the people who actively participate in the intentional advancement of God’s Kingdom in partnership with the Holy Spirit and other believers.” He goes on to say that “… the revolution is about recognizing that we are not called to go to church. We are called to be the Church.” (38-39) You will note how he differentiates between church (little c) and Church (big C) where the Church is understood as the global (or cosmic, including past, present, and future) collection of true believers.

    Revolutionaries, says Barna, are marked by 7 characteristics: Spiritual Practices, Personal Faith, Perspective on Life, Attitude, Character, Relationships, and Behavior.

    Barna goes on to says that existing local congregations will react in one of 4 ways. They will either choose to ignore this phenomenon, they may choose to fight against it as unbiblical, they may seek to retain their identity and cooperate (Barna sees this option as the least likely), or they may be late adopters who will wait and see if there is any viability to this way of life before hoping on board.Reactions

    For the most part, I appreciated what Barna had to say and resonated with quite a bit of it. I do think a major move of God is in the works, though in my opinion you would have to be blind not to have seen it for the last 10 years or so. Further, I think Barna makes some astute observations about the failings of local congregations to embody what Jesus was about, and that he has good insight into the ways that some have “left the church” in order to discover a more faithful witness.I am nervous, however, that like the rest of his work, this volume represents not an attempt to wrestle with this “revolution” from a theological point of view, but rather from one of facts, figures, and statistics. Of couse, Barna draws on various Scripture passages, but this by no means equates to a thourough biblical reflection on the nature and purpose of the church. Let’s be honest, here’s a guy who has spent the better part of his life writing books which surveyed trends of American Christianity and sought to help equip churches to bring in the crowds. All of a sudden he wants to offer a couple hundred pages on why that whole system and tactic is flawed based on his latest research and we’re supposed to buy in? Come on.

    More than anywhere else, he loses me when he says, “So if you are a Revolutionary, it is becasue you have sensed and responded to God’s calling to be such an imitator of Christ. It is not the church’s responsibility to make you into this mold. You are responsible for who you are…it is a covenant you make with God alone.” (70, bold mine)

    Do you see the individualism still latent in his understanding? It is apparent throughout the book. In several differnt places Barna does note the trend among Revolutionaries to emphasize relationships. He even goes so far as to encourage Revolutionaries to band with other Revolutionaries as an “anchor” and to maximize impact (89-90), but in the process he negates the value of committed communities of believers who covenant together to seek and serve Jesus. He seems quite ok with everybody just getting about the business of seeking Jesus on their own terms and emphasizing relationships. Sorry George, not good enough.

    There was a reason God told Israelite parents to teach their children God’s law, to speak of His mighty deeds, and to fear Him. There is a reason that God sought to make Abraham into a community of people. There is a reason God always saves for himself a remnant. There is a reason that Jesus called 12 disciples. There is a reason that Paul went all over the known world creating communities of the Holy Spirit. The reason is that God intends to be made manifest to the world through covenantal communities endeavoring to share their lives with one another and seeking to be a blessing to the world. This not the task of the Church alone, it is also the task of local expressions of that same family.

    We need new models and expression of what it means to be a church community, but what we don’t need, what God will never allow (at least not in this life and maybe not even in the next?) is a Church without churches.

    Barna says that for so long our goal was to “…draw people into the local church for teaching and other experiences. In this new movement of God, the approach is the opposite: it entails drawing people away from the reliance upon a local church into a depper connection with and reliance upon God.” (127)

    I think I would close in saying that what Barna has seen is better defined as a revolt than a revolution. People have tried the church and found it lacking. Their only recourse has been to leave what is common and seek to find and follow God on their own terms. This is not what we should encourage and not the vision I believe is held out for us in Scripture. What we finally need to be about is asking again what it means to be God’s people. This question should drive us back to the Bible and to a serious engagement with theology. Then, perhaps, we may see God transform an unfortunate but necessary revolt into a fruitful and glorious revolution.

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Recent Comments

  • Dave said...

    1

    Thought I was the only one…

    02/4/06 3:11 AM | Comment Link

  • Bayard Taylor said...

    2

    Hi JR,

    Nice site, and thanks for the review of Barna’s book.

    This may seem a little basic for a seminary student, but I’ve just written a simple, fun beginner’s book on the concept of worldview, the major worldviews, and the biblical worldview.

    I want to reach pre-, mid- and post-college students, along with anybody else who wants to be a more confident, effective public representative of Christian faith in an increasingly pluralistic and postmodern culture.

    It’s called Blah, Blah, Blah: Making Sense of the World’s Spiritual Chatter (Bethany House, releasing May 3). You can read all about it, including downloading the first three chapters, at blahblahbook.com. There you can also find endorsements by Christian leaders, testimonies of kids, study questions, tips on how to teach worldviews, a bio and a blog.

    It would be great to hear what you as a seminary student think of this book. It would be probably be a nice, light, fun diversion from your normal fare of thick, dense theological tomes.

    –Bayard

    04/22/06 3:33 AM | Comment Link

  • gathering in light - Blog Archive » How to Blog for Theology and Religion said...

    3

    [...] Some great book reviews are: A Review of DA Carson’s “Becoming Conversant…” Read this Review On Barna’s Revolution Of course my own on the Emerging Churches [...]

    05/18/06 4:17 AM | Comment Link

  • gathering | inlight.com - » Reading for Revolution - George Barna and the Emerging Church said...

    4

    [...] more indepth reviews check out: Revolution or Revolt Revolution by George Barna From little c to Big C [...]

    04/12/07 9:55 PM | Comment Link

  • Scot McKnight - The Whole Gospel | lifeasmission said...

    5

    [...] beginning of his message he talks about the 20 million or so (says Barna in this book – my review here) believers in the United States who have chosen to live out thir Christian lives as part of house [...]

    07/16/07 9:26 PM | Comment Link

  • sarah christoph said...

    6

    JR, I’m going to read the rest of the book, but before I do, I want to comment on what you just said here: “I think I would close in saying that what Barna has seen is better defined as a revolt than a revolution. People have tried the church and found it lacking. Their only recourse has been to leave what is common and seek to find and follow God on their own terms. This is not what we should encourage and not the vision I believe is held out for us in Scripture.” 
    Ok… I did not go to school for this, and you did, but i want to question what you said here.  I’m not seeing a problem with leaving what is common (if it’s not functioning properly) to figure out a way to discover God and His plan on your own- yes all by yourself on your own terms (you have no one elses ultimately) if need be… and isn’t it true that as one discovers God they simultaniously discover His plan for  relationships, finances, mission, etc… The disciples each met Jesus outside temple walls and followed him, leaving behind what was “common and lacking” to discover Jesus for themselves.  If one is truly seeking God with all their heart they will find Him – with or without a church OR even a community as a buffer between them and God. That’s a biblical promise without exceptions and I’m counting on it because I want to know God, and keep finding Him no matter what happends to my local church…. their is a command to make disciples, but clearly Barna sees being the Church (C) as doing just that- as an overflow or fruit of knowing God.  If I sound a little defensive it is probably because I am… I find myself struggling in church group discussions about God- mainly because it seems everyone holds a degree and everyone knows and quotes scripture and none of this is bad per say, but I sometimes get the impression that in order to truly KNOW my savior, i just need to spend more time with educated church people and get teaching from a “man of God” at the pulpit.  Not that this is out of place, but Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to guide us, and the word (fortunately I am literate at least) but… what if I wasn’t and I lived at the North Pole…. do you see where I’m going with this? Would seeking God with my whole heart not end in finding Him in that scenario? I don’t believe it would change a thing. I am going to finish the book, but what it seems like so far is Christians are waking up to their desperation to have more of God and less of man, especially if they sense a need to revolt (which is the same thing as revolutionize -to me anyways) against the current flow of knowing all “about” God “education” and actually knowing God. Like Daniel, like David, like Moses did. I don’t think ‘people perish for lack of knowledge’… of theology or community, but they perish- truly perish without knowing God himself… right?  The “vision held out for us” is what exactly…? See I am hoping for heaven to be more like a honeymoon (being as close to God as possible) than a family reunion in a bunch of mansios outlined in gold streets, honestly this just doesn’t excite me.

    08/6/08 11:40 PM | Comment Link

  • JR Rozko said...

    7

    This is a pretty complex issue, but I believe the heart of the matter is that inasmuch as God is a relational being and created us to exist in relationship, not just with him, but with others, then there is no way I can ever know God truly and deeply apart from being in relationship with others.  While the Holy Spirit may work with us personally, He is first and foremost the presence of God in a community.  This is precisely why the church is so important.  It is no mere collection of individuals, but something altogether more – a communal expression of Christ’s body.  The picture held out to us in Scripture of heaven is not an eternity of a 1-1 relationship with God, but the perfect restoration of relationships and community in which God dwells fully.

    08/7/08 5:01 PM | Comment Link

  • sarah christoph said...

    8

    I see what you’re saying here- and I’m not a person who is against church or community- heck! I was pretty desperate for it not too long ago- remember! I guess what I’m saying is that I appreciate the prespective of going back to the basics- even the first commandments, that we love God and worship Him above all else- then we love each other. If the churches or community of believers is not coming closer to Christ, there may be a need to step away from that frame and handed-down format to come back to the basics. Look at churches that are flourishing with people (like Joel Olsteen’s church)  but not necessarily being lead or tought the true message of Christ… and how many pastors across America and around the globe preach their own versions of the “popular and accepted sermons”- easy on the ears sermons that people like Joel pop out with.. I mean with every new book- geez! No church is perfect, but there is a differnce between an imperfect church and a dangerous or unsafe church. How many churches are beoming exactly that- and if you lose trust in the local church what else do you do but seek God and community outside it’s walls. Maybe revolutionaries have a point!

    :-)

    08/7/08 7:11 PM | Comment Link

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