I finally procured my own copy of George Barna's Revolution yesterday. I got turned on to this book by my brother in law, Ben, during our family trip to West Virginia last weekend. (You can see his review of the book.)

So far, I've pretty much only re-read the two chapters that I read last weekend. But I think this book is going to have so much in it that I'm going to want to talk about, that I'm going to review it "as I go."

To lay the groundwork, Barna relies on the "revolution" terminology very heavily. Those who are participating in this "Revolution" are called, quite simply, "Revolutionaries." The first definition he gives of a Revolutionary is that they "have chosen to live in concert with core biblical principles... returning to a first-century lifestyle based on faith, goodness, love, generosity, kindness, simplicity, and other values deemed 'quaint' by today's frenetic and morally untethered standards."

But perhaps the best definition is this one (emphases mine):

They have no use for churches that play religious games, whether those games are worship services that drone on without the presence of God or ministry programs that bear no spiritual fruit. Revolutionaries eschew ministries that compromise or soft sell our sinful nature to expand organizational turf. They refuse to follow people in ministry leadership positions who cast a personal vision rather than God's, who seek popularity rather than the proclamation of truth in their public statements, or who are more concerned about their own legacy than that of Jesus Christ. They refuse to donate one more dollar to man-made monuments that mark their own achievements and guarantee their place in history. They are unimpressed by accredited degrees and endowed chairs in Christian colleges and seminaries that produce young people incapable of defending the Bible or unwilling to devote their lives to serving others. And Revolutionaries are embarrassed by language that promises Christian love and holiness but turns out to be all sizzle and no substance.

In fact, many Revolutionaries have been active in good churches that have biblical preaching, people coming ot Christ and being baptized, a full roster of interesting classes and programs, and a congregation packed with nice people. There is nothing overtly wrong with anything taking place at such churches. But Revolutionaries innately realize that it is not just enough to go with the flow. The experience provded through their church, although better than average, still seems flat. They are seeking a faith experience that is more robust and awe inspiring, a spiritual journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn, something worthy of the Creator whom their faith reflects. They are seeking the spark provided by a commitment to a true revolution in thinking, behavior, and experience, where settling for what is merely good and above average is defeat.

When I read this today, it just stunned me, because it is the best description I've seen yet of how I've been feeling over the past couple of years.

To connect this with something that Pastor Pat shared on Sunday:

The church should be a symbol of risk, of creativity, or cultural engagement, of the willingness to change, and do whatever it takes to connect to the world around us with the power of the gospel. But somewhere along the way, instead the church has become a symbol of stability. Of changelessness. A symbol of holding on to the traditions of the past. And the world around us is changing. The church has become the wrong symbol. Jesus Christ constantly challenged the status quo, so that people would be willing to risk, to reach disconnected people with the power of the gospel. And we're in a changing culture today, where we need to learn to risk again, that we might reach disconnected people.

I would definitely sum this up by saying that Revolutionaries would be the ones willing to take the risks.

More to come as I go through the book. Stay tuned.

Labels: books, emerging