Category: Revolution

Revolution, Chapter 7

Barna’s examines why the congregational church is declining, suggesting that it is a consequence of the specialisation of the church: churches for different generations, different worship styles, outreach to specific parts of the population and so on. (Aren’t these the very things promoted by much church growth literature? It seems rather ironic that Barna is suggesting that these are factors in the decline of congregational church.) He continues by examining newer, focused ‘micro’ models of church.

Back to Barna, after some weeks of travelling!
This chapter is a cursory examination of newer expressions of church, how they affect people’s faith, and why people choose them.
“The congregational model of church … has been the dominant force in people’s spiritual life for hundreds of years. So why is it so rapidly losing ground at this moment in history?”
Barna’s first answer is that it is a consequence of the specialisation of the church: churches for different generations, different worship styles, outreach to specific parts of the population and so on. (Aren’t these the very things promoted by much church growth literature? It seems rather ironic that Barna is suggesting that these are factors in the decline of congregational church.) Continue reading “Revolution, Chapter 7”

Revolution, chapter 6

Barna writes about his observations of where and how God is working in people’s lives, identifying mini-movements as the prime source of transformation, including house churches in his list. In my opinion, most house churches do not share one of the five characteristics he attributes to these mini-movements.

Chapter 6 of Revolution is titled “God is active today”. Barna writes about his observations of where and how God is working in people’s lives. He starts out with the comment “There is nothing more affirming than knowing that God is active in the lives of those who seek His touch, and nothing more exciting than seeing the passion and enthusiasm of those people for the God who has revealed Himself in such personal and restorative ways.”. He searched for examples of such activity in local churches, but he was “stunned – and deeply disappointed – at how rare such instances were.”
He found more evidence of such examples in what he calls mini-movements, which include “simple church fellowships (house churches), biblical worldview groups, various marketplace ministries, several spiritual disciplines networks, the Christian creative arts guilds, and others.”
He describes why these mini-movements go mostly unnoticed, and in doing so starts to touch on the questioning and struggles which I missed in the earlier chapters. He then lists five aspects which make them effective in producing transformed lives: Continue reading “Revolution, chapter 6”

Revolution, chapter 5

Barna describes societal trends which have an impact on how people approach faith and spirituality. In such a short space, his treatment of each trend is naturally rather superficial. He writes very succinctly, though, giving much food for thought.
“The more you can anticipate some of the transitions resulting from these trends, the greater will be your ability to help shape the world in ways that are likely to honor God and advance your spiritual maturity. This will impact your own life and the lives of others with whom you interact.” Let us take that to heart.

Chapter 5 of Revolution is titled “Spiritual transitions in the making”. Barna describes societal trends which have an impact on how people approach faith and spirituality. In such a short space, his treatment of each trend is naturally rather superficial. He writes very succinctly, though, giving much food for thought. Here’s a summary of the trends he has identified: Continue reading “Revolution, chapter 5”

Revolution, part 2

In chapter 4 of ‘Revolution’, George Barna takes a look at how the church fares in fulfilling the seven passions which he has identified in Revolutionaries. According to his research, it is generally doing badly.
The chapter ends with the statement “The Revolution is about recognizing that we are not called to go to church. We are called to be the Church.” (In his terminology, ‘church’ means the local church, ‘Church’ the global body of Christ).

This was a good presentation of the general state of the traditional church, managing to both recognise its achievements in the past and clearly present a rationale for desiring change.

In chapter 4 of ‘Revolution’, George Barna takes a look at how the church fares in fulfilling the seven passions which he has identified in Revolutionaries. According to his research, it is generally doing badly.
“If the local church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, then why are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate?”
“One of the greatest frustrations of my life has been the disconnection between what our research consistently shows about churched Christians and what the Bible calls us to be.”

Having said that, he recognises that the local church has made a valuable contribution throughout its history; to dispute that would be tantamount to claiming that God does not have the power to work even through imperfect channels: Continue reading “Revolution, part 2”

‘Revolution’ part 1

I’ve started reading George Barna’s upcoming book ‘Revolution’, which I picked up at the house church conference last weekend. It’s a light read, but I’ve only had time to get through to chapter 4; so far, it has been mostly introduction to the topic. I think he is painting a rather rosy picture of what is going on, at least at an individual level; he hasn’t mentioned the uncertainty, the questioning, or the weakness, and little of the struggles involved. I consider myself to be one of the Revolutionaries he is talking about, and certainly experience these things. As a statistician, Barna is viewing the picture from a global level, which may well look different.
Some quotes from the book: Continue reading “‘Revolution’ part 1”