Is there a Revolution on the Horizon?

I have been reading a book called Revolution by George Barna. He is the founder of The Barna Group which is a Christian research company which does polls and research concerning spiritual things. www.barna.org In this book he has been researching a movement that has been going on for about 20+ years under the radar, that he calls the Revolution and the participants of that revolution which he calls revolutionaries. These revolutionaries are leaving “traditional churches” in the millions in search for a lifestyle faith that transforms them and other people. He believes that this will result in the third Great Awakening in America. Most of these statements are not my thoughts; and even some parts are direct quotes, even though they are not quoted, it’s to much work to quote it all. I am just summarizing this book so to speak. It is kind of long, but it is an interesting look at what could be going on now and might happen in the future, so if you don’t want to read it that’s fine, if you do read it respond on what you think about it, your ideas, things you want to happen or be apart of. Do you agree with George Barna’s conclusions? Does that possibility excite and inspire you to be apart of something different and meaningful? Do you feel that you fit the description of a revolutionary? I definitely encourage you to read the book to get the whole gist of what he is saying.

There have been many ages of the Church in the past. The Apostolic Age, Time of the Martyrs, the era of the Desert Fathers, the Period of the Mystics, the Reformation, the Great Awakening, and the Missionary Age, to name a few. He goes on to say that his research indicates we are on the brink of a new age that he calls the Revolutionary Age. It is going on right now and the media, scholars, the government are clueless about it. Christian Churches are vaguely aware that something is different, but they have little idea what it is all about.

We live in a culture where everything is supersized, global, mega-this and biggest-ever-that. This even happens in churches. The pinnacle of church success is to become a mega church. The ultimate in presentations is to have big screen projection systems; evangelism has traded in tent revivals for stadium crusades. Televangelists have moved from local network broadcasting to satellite feeds that reach every nation. Local Christian book stores are closing because of Wal-mart, Barnes and Nobel, and so on. The term revolution is everywhere and has lost its meaning, Chevrolets advertisement slogan “revolution”, the Green Revolution, Nintendo Revolution.

Webster defines a revolution as “an overthrow or repudiation and thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed, and may be a radical and pervasive change in society or social structure.”

Barna describes the Revolution as along these lines. Millions of devout followers of Jesus are repudiating tepid systems and practices of the Christian faith, and introducing a whole new shift in how faith is understood, integrated, and influencing the world. This revolution is a Faith Revolution, where revolutionaries are no longer content with the stuffy, formulaic religiosity and even the feel good invent-your-own spirituality. These revolutionaries are set on Being the Church (capital C) rather than going to church (lower case c). This revolution is a return to the 1^st century view of the Church and its lifestyle and values.

Barna says this is a swiftly growing sub nation, already 20 million strong, who have no use for religious games, whether those games are worship services that drone on without the presence of God or programs that bear no spiritual fruit. They shun organizations that soft sell our sinful nature to expand numbers. They refuse to follow ministry leaders who cast a personal vision rather than God’s, who seek popularity, and are more concerned about their own legacy that that of Jesus Christ. Many revolutionaries are apart of Churches already that have biblical preaching, people coming to Christ and being baptized, fruitful programs, and nice people. There is nothing wrong with anything taking place at such churches. But Revolutionaries realize is not enough just to go with the flow, even though the experience at their church is better than average, it still seems flat. They are seeking a faith experience that prioritizes transformation at every turn, and that is worthy of their Creator. They recognize that settling for what is merely good and above average is defeat. To a revolutionary it is simple, you either stand for Jesus or you stand for all He died to repudiate, there is no such thing as “going along to get along”. They realize they may be going against the flow and might be ridiculed by people, but those people are not whom they will someday give an account to; God is the only person they live to honor and please.

Next, he goes on to talk about the state of the “traditional church” as we know it today. If the local church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, they why are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate? If the local church were the answer to our deep spiritual need we would see two things. First, people who were the most heavily involved in Christian congregations would be more spiritually developed than others. Second, churched Christians would increasingly reflect the principles and character of Jesus. Sadly, this is not the case. Placing all your hope in the local Church is a misplaced hope. Jesus alone is the hope of the world. If the local Church is the hope of the world, then the world has no hope. Barna recognizes that many will label this view as “blasphemy”, but that we should know that the Bible neither describes nor promotes the local church as we know it today. It does not say it is unbiblical either. It is abiblical meaning such an organization is not addressed in the Bible. He points out that being a member of a congregation does not make you spiritually righteous, just as being in Yankee Stadium doesn’t make you a pro baseball player. Being in a right relationship with God and his people is what matters. A “tradition” local church may or may not facilitate that. The Bible does not describe a specific form or type of religious organization. Revolutionaries believe that for years Christians have been inventing church but neglecting to be the Church that Christ commissioned.

The Revolution is not about eliminating or dismissing the local church. Revolutionaries still are active in local churches and even fill leadership positions of the Church, such as pastors or lay leaders. Some are heavily involved even though they do not have a leadership position. Some other revolutionaries realize that the core issue is not whether or not you are involved in a “traditional” local church. They harbor no ill will toward churches, but some out of extreme frustration, and trying to envoke change in local churches only to realize their efforts were in vain have developed alternative means of growing and serving that are distinct from local church efforts. Their mind-set is simple. Do whatever is necessary to get closer to God and to help others do the same.

There are 7 trends happening in our culture, with these seven trends and the emerging Revolution, the spiritual landscape of the future will be dramatically different from the way it is now.

1. The Changing of the Guard: Baby boomers and the Builders are slowly losing their grip on power in society. They younger generations are ascending into positions of power and influence.

2. The Rise of Postmodernism: A new type of thinking and philosophy has come about. Postmodernism claims there are not moral absolutes, which mean truth is whatever you believe it to be. Relationships are becoming the most important element in life. The first point is at odds with Christianity and may cause problems, but the second actually plays to our advantage because it is an important aspect of Christianity also, and is why alternative forms of church are making an impact.

3. Dismissing the Irrelevant: The younger generations dismiss anything that is not relevant and have little patience for anything based on tradition, customs, ease, or social acceptability.

4. The impact of Technology: Everything has changed because of technology. Education, farming, athletics, music and the church. We have access to projection systems for worship and teaching. Internet to get and share information, creating online and global communities such as this one.

5. Genuine Relationships: The younger generation is more likely to want and to develop and pursue meaningful relationships rather than acquaintances.

6. Participation in Reality: People want to be apart of reality and apart of efforts that have results and make a difference. There is more enthusiasm for personal dialogue with non-christian friends rather that just bringing them to a big evangelistic event. Small groups have grown consistently because people like to be apart of a non judgmental atmosphere where their contribution matters. Short-term missions have grown. People want to be apart of the solution rather than just fund it.

7. Finding True Meaning: People are searching desperately for meaning to their life. Barna’s research shows that Americans are more open to understand themselves through two components that have been ignored for many decades: sacrifice and surrender. This is not a widespread view yet, but it is a growing number of people who are considering sacrifice and surrender as the possible missing link in their life.

He gives some facts and numbers on the spiritual landscape now and the spiritual landscape in the year 2025.

In the year 2000, 70% of Americans relied on some local congregation to be their dominant source of spiritual input and output. 5% were engaged in and Alternative Faith based community (small groups, cell churches, house churches, cyber-church, and various market place ministries). 5% identified their family as the primary faith pod. 20% of Americans turned to various cultural sources such as the media, the arts, and other institutions to satisfy their faith needs. His research concludes that by the year 2025, 30% of Americans will rely on a local congregation, the alternative faith based communities will jump to 30-35%, the media will increase to 30-35% and the family will remain around 5%.

This Revolution has gone unnoticed because right now the numbers are relatively small compared to the overall population. Also, the groups or alternative church is usually disorganized and led by individuals that don’t have a doctorate degree from seminary, and are poorly structured, inadequately led and lacking in any strategic framework, but have a lifestyle faith that demands perfection and change. This is proof that that the life changing movement is God-driven and not man made. Also, there is a mindset that all legitimate spiritual activity must flow through a local church. Even large parachurch ministries that communicate with millions of people, and raise lots of money, and impact lost of lives are often cast as second fiddle to the local church. There efforts are deemed sub par because they did not originate from a congregational context. In spite of all those things, these groups of revolutionaries are growing and making lasting impacts on the lives of many. They know that God is no respecter of persons, or the false boundaries they create. But God is making incredible transformations and progress in these revolutionaries because these people have made faith and integral part of their life. They want more of God in their lives and it is their intense focus on God, and quest for purity that enables the Lord to use them to do amazing things.

The new revolution differs from the past revolutions or Awakenings in the past, in that its primary objective is not salvation among the unrepentant but the personal commitment of believers to take their faith seriously. The revolutionaries believe that it is not the job of the church to produce change, but that it is their own responsibility. No more waiting on others to do the job, each person handles his duty to be the Church. Each person’s gifts are used and everyone does their part no matter the cost. There is no infighting, competition between believers or churches, or fighting for positions or power and authority like in local churches, because there are no such positions to bed had. Each person is valuable, has gifts, the ministry exploits those gifts and it results in faith that transforms the person as well as the ministry.

This probably won’t sit well with some people. It may be criticized as being unbiblical or from Satan. That it is wrong to become a Christian and leave the local church. When the church appears in the Bible, it refers to people who are “called out” from society to be the full expression of Jesus on Earth. The Bible teaches us to not neglect meeting together, but it doesn’t imply that it should be a church service or congregational event. Such a meeting could be a small group in Starbucks, or dinner and bible study in fellow believers home, or a worship service in a theater or gym, or a chat room. God is more concerned about our hearts than about mindless observance of meaningless routines to impose regulations and religious practices. He wants us to use our creative abilities to glorify Him.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'^[b] 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:7)

I guess I should stop writing; most of you probably stopped reading back when I mentioned it was long, lol. But it is interesting to see what might be happening in the future, so we are able to adapt to the needs of believers and non-believers alike. Some additional passages that are worth reading are Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:31-35, and Acts 5:17-18, 27-29, 40-42. Let me know what you think.