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By Jim L. Wilson
The followers of Christ described by George Barna in
his latest book should be every pastor's dream, right?
Maybe--or maybe not!
In Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary, the founder and directing leader of the Barna Group says these radical Christians are obsessed with the notion of honoring God in all they do.
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God is their #1 priority--and
they want even more of God in their
lives, according to Barna, the author of 30
books, including Frog in the Kettle
and User-Friendly Churches. The Christians
he describes are searching and yearning for
the sense of authenticity they see in the
book of Acts. They live lifestyles of worship
as they apply biblical principals to every
decision they make.
But here's the rub. From what Barna's research
team has learned, many of the "Revolutionaries"
Barna describes are serious about living out
their faith, but they are doing so outside
of the local church.1
The local church is not the dominant means
of their spiritual growth.
Revolution is more than a composite
of Barna's current research; it is his call
to arms, a personal manifesto.2
Barna is encouraging his readers to become
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Revolutionaries whether they choose to align themselves
with a local church or not. We'd like your opinions
on four of the more controversial Revolutionary
tenets Barna identifies.
As you read, please take our short survey, stating
your level of agreement or disagreement with those
tenets. Next month in Advance, we will include
the results of reader responses.
Where do you personally stand
in what Barna describes as the most significant
recalibration of the American Christian body
in more than a century? The first question is
about you: I am a follower of Christ who is
(check all that applies):
TENET 1. RELATING TO A LOCAL CHURCH IS
OPTIONAL FOR THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.
Barna's research shows that a growing number
of Christians feel they do not need to associate
with a church as long as they follow biblical
guidelines. They feel it is possible for people
to be devout followers of Jesus Christ who view
every moment of their lives through spiritual
lenses, and follow biblical principles in every
decision they make regardless of the level of
their local church involvement.3
Barna, who seems to personally agree with them,
notes a distinction between "going to church"
and "being the Church." 4
He writes, "I am not called to attend or
join a church. I am called to be the Church."
In my community, I am seeing
an increase in the number of devout followers
of Christ who believe that relating to a local
church is optional.
TENET 2. ATTENDING A WORSHIP SERVICE
IS OPTIONAL FOR THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.
Millions of Americans, according to Barna, are
seeking to replace the established religious
system with new approaches to faith. These Revolutionaries
see themselves as missionaries more than members,
out in the world doing the things of God--and
with loyalty more to the things of God than
to an institution, such as a church-based worship
service.
Barna suggests that the experiences described
in the early chapters of Acts were not "worship
services."6 The participants
worshipped God in the presence of other believers,
but not in a formal worship service. Again,
agreeing with the Revolutionaries, Barna does
not interpret the biblical admonitions for Christians
to gather to imply assembling at "a church
service or congregational event."
7 He writes, "Worship is not an event
I attend or a process I observe; it is the lifestyle
I lead." 8
In my
community, I am seeing an increase in the number
of devout followers of Christ who view worship
more as a lifestyle to live than a gathering
to attend.
TENET 3. ATTENDING A WORSHIP SERVICE
WILL LIKELY BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE FOLLOWER OF
CHRIST.
According to Barna's research, most churched
Christians are "spiritually immature and
desperate." 9 Involvement in
a local church makes one less likely
to be "Spirit-led, faith-focused, scripturally
literate, and biblically obedient."10
In my community, I am seeing
an increase in the number of devout followers
of Christ who view attendance at a worship service
as detrimental to their walk as a follower of
Christ.
TENET 4. LOCAL CHURCHES ARE INEFFECTIVE
NOW AND WILL HAVE LESS INFLUENCE IN THE FUTURE.
Barna writes, "Local churches have virtually
no influence in our culture."11
That's the bad news. The really bad news is
that Barna predicts that this influence level
will diminish even further. According to Barna,
local churches will not have the capacity to
change the world unless their members identify
themselves as revolutionary followers of Jesus
Christ. 12 But when they do, local
churches will have diminished influence in culture,
will receive fewer donations, and will experience
a decline in attendance.13 Further,
he predicts that by the year 2025 there will
be an equal number of Christians experiencing
and expressing their faith in an alternative
faith community (such as a house church, cyber
church, or Bible studies at work). 14
In my community, local churches appear
to have less and less influence on our culture.
Local churches are likely to be less
effective in the future than they are today.
Is there a genuine revolution of faith taking
place in America today? Is a somewhat independent
approach to faith surfacing, as Barna reports?
You tell us. If this article got you thinking,
and you would like to comment, please type it
in the box below. We will share as many responses
as possible when we report the results of the
survey.
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Barna notes that church leaders
can respond in one of four ways: ignore the
"revolution," take a wait-and-see
approach, fight it, or embrace it. The approach
of this article is to understand it as a first
step toward a response.
Thank you for joining this dialogue. We'll report
our findings back to you next month in Advance.
Dr. James L. Wilson
is the Pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church in
Seaside, CA and online editor at www.FreshMinistry.org.
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p. 8 |
| 2 |
p. X |
| 3 |
pp. 8, 29 |
| 4 |
p. 39 |
| 5 |
p. 129 |
| 6 |
p. 22 |
| 7 |
pp. 113-4 |
| 8 |
p. 129 |
| 9 |
p. 30 |
| 10 |
pp. 115-6 |
| 11 |
p. 118 |
| 12 |
p. 87-88 |
| 13 |
pp. 106-7 |
| 14 |
pp. 48-49 |
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