Tishri1
12th October 2005, 03:39 PM
I got this email today...It blessed me!
Subject: FW: 10.10.05 A Faith Revolution Is Redefining "Church,"
According to New Study
Be encouraged!
The newest book by mainstream Christian pollster George Barna
affirms the notion that something big is happening in the
church.and moving "Revolutionaries" out of it. I know that many
of us grow weary of the state of the greater body of Messiah.we
are NOT alone, and it will only continue to grow according to
his perspective.
I've highlighted some interesting passages below.
Blessings,
Hope
A Faith Revolution Is Redefining "Church," According to New
Study
October 10, 2005
(Ventura, CA) - For decades the primary way that Americans have
experienced and expressed their faith has been through a local
church. That reality is rapidly changing, according to
researcher George Barna, whose new book on the transitioning
nature of America's spirituality, entitled Revolution, describes
what he believes will be the most massive reshaping of the
nation's faith community in more than a century.
Growth of A New Church
Relying upon national research conducted over the past several
years, Barna profiles a group of more than 20 million adults
throughout the nation labeled "revolutionaries." He noted that
although measures of traditional church participation in
activities such as worship attendance, Sunday school, prayer,
and Bible reading have remained relatively unchanged during the
past twenty years, the Revolutionary faith movement is growing
rapidly.
"These are people who are less interested in attending church
than in being the church," he explained. "We found that there
is a significant distinction in the minds of many people between
the local church - with a small 'c' - and the universal Church -
with a capital 'C'. Revolutionaries tend to be more focused on
being the Church, capital C, whether they participate in a
congregational church or not."
"A common misconception about revolutionaries," he continued,
"is that they are disengaging from God when they leave a local
church. We found that while some people leave the local church
and fall away from God altogether, there is a much larger
segment of Americans who are currently leaving churches
precisely because they want more of God in their life but
cannot get what they need from a local church. They have decided
to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more
robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have
chosen to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the
Church detailed in the Book of Acts."
Big Changes In the Making
One of the most eye-opening portions of the research contained
in the book describes what the faith community may look like
twenty years from now. Using survey data and other cultural
indicators he has been measuring for more than two decades,
Barna estimates that the local church is presently the primary
form of faith experience and expression for about two-thirds of
the nation's adults. He projects that by 2025 the local church
will lose roughly half of its current "market share" and that
alternative forms of faith experience and expression will pick
up the slack. Importantly, Barna's studies do not suggest that
most people will drop out of a local church to simply ignore
spirituality or be freed up from the demands of church life.
Although there will be millions of people who abandon the entire
faith community for the usual reasons - hurtful experiences in
churches, lack of interest in spiritual matters, prioritizing
other dimensions of their life - a growing percentage of church
dropouts will be those who leave a local church in order to
intentionally increase their focus on faith and to relate to God
through different means.
That growth is fueling alternative forms of organized
spirituality, as well as individualized faith experience and
expression. Examples of these new approaches include involvement
in a house church, participation in marketplace ministries, use
of the Internet to satisfy various faith-related needs or
interests, and the development of unique and intense connections
with other people who are deeply committed to their pursuit of
God.
Seven Passions of the Revolutionary
In the effort to increase their obedience and faithfulness to
God, Barna discovered that Revolutionaries are characterized by
what he identified as a set of spiritual passions - seven
specific emphases that drive their quest for God and a biblical
lifestyle. Although these are areas of spiritual development
that most local churches address, millions of adults who are the
most serious about their faith in God were the ones least likely
to be satisfied by what their local church was delivering in
terms of resources, opportunities, evaluation and developmental
possibilities. The consequence is that millions of committed
born again Christians are choosing to advance their relationship
with God by finding avenues of growth and service apart from a
local church.
Asked if this meant that the Revolution he describes is simply a
negative reaction to the local church, he suggested that most
Revolutionaries go through predictable phases in their spiritual
journey in which they initially become dissatisfied with their
local church experience, then attempt to change things so their
faith walk can be more fruitful. The result is that they undergo
heightened frustration over the inability to introduce positive
change, which leads them to drop out of the local church
altogether, often in anger. But because this entire adventure
was instigated by their love for God and their desire to honor
Him more fully, they finally transcend their frustration and
anger by creating a series of connections that allow them to
stay close to God and other believers without involvement in a
local church.
One of the hallmarks of the Revolution of faith is how different
it is for each person. "It would be wrong to assume that all
Revolutionaries have completely turned their back on the local
church," the researcher stated. "Millions of Revolutionaries are
active in a local church, although most of them supplement that
relationship with participation in a variety of faith-related
efforts that have nothing to do with their local church. The
defining attribute of a Revolutionary is not whether they attend
church, but whether they place God first in their lives and are
willing to do whatever it takes to facilitate a deeper and
growing relationship with Him and other believers. Our studies
persuasively indicate that the vast majority of American
churches are populated by people who are lukewarm spiritually.
Emerging from those churches are people dedicated to becoming
Christ-like through the guidance of a congregational form of the
church, but who will leave that faith center if it does not
further such a commitment to God. They then find or create
alternatives that allow that commitment to flourish."
How do most Revolutionaries justify calling themselves devoted
disciples of Christ while distancing themselves from a local
church? "Many of them realize that someday they will stand
before a holy God who will examine their devotion to Him. They
could take the safe and easy route of staying in a local church
and doing the expected programs and practices, but they also
recognize that they will not be able to use a lackluster church
experience as an excuse for a mediocre or unfulfilled spiritual
life. Their spiritual depth is not the responsibility of a local
church; it is their own responsibility. As a result, they decide
to either get into a local church that enhances their zeal for
God or else they create alternatives that ignite such a life of
obedience and service. In essence, these are people who have
stopped going to church so they can be the Church."
Challenges and Opportunities
While the Revolution brings with it some very promising
qualities - an intense pursuit of godliness, new networks of
believers supporting each other, heightened financial giving to
ministry endeavors, greater sensitivity to the presence of God
in the world, a greater sense of freedom to be a genuine
disciple in the midst of a secular society - Barna also pointed
out that the Revolution brings great challenges to those who
choose that pathway.
"There is the danger of exposure to unbiblical or heretical
teaching. There is the possibility of experiencing isolation
from a true community of believers and the accountability and
support that can provide. It could become easier to hoard one's
treasures rather than giving generously. Some might find it more
difficult to sustain a life of worship without a place or means
of expressing that praise to God."
Barna contends that these are very serious challenges faced by
Revolutionaries - but that they are no more serious than the
threats to the spiritual health of regular church-goers.
"Objectively speaking, these are the very same problems that we
identify among people who rely upon the efforts of a local
church to facilitate their growth. We find plentiful evidence of
unbiblical teaching in small groups, Sunday school classes and
other local church venues. We know that few churched Christians
give 4% of their income back to God, much less 10%. We recognize
that most people attending worship services in a church
sanctuary leave feeling that God was not present and that they
did not personally connect with the living God through that
experience. We have identified the relative absence of
accountability within most congregations. So even though
Revolutionaries face serious challenges in blossoming into the
fervent God-follower they hope to become, perhaps the main
difference is simply that they have a wider range of options for
achieving their faith goals than do people who are solely
focused on faith delivered through a local church. In either
case, it is ultimately up to the individual to make sure that
they have their spiritual priorities right, that they are
investing themselves in activities that draw them closer to God,
and that they stay focused on pleasing God more than themselves
or other people."
The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises
new challenges for people involved in ministry. "This new
movement of God demands that there be new forms of leadership to
appropriately guide people in their faith journey," Barna said.
"It requires new ways of measuring how well the Church at-large
is doing, getting beyond attendance figures as the indicator of
health. And it demands that new tools and resources be
accessible to a growing contingent of people who are seeking to
introduce their faith into every dimension of their life."
An Introduction to the Revolution
Having written three-dozen previous books about faith and
culture, Barna feels that this book may ultimately wind up being
the most significant volume he has written. In the course of
doing his customary national research studies, he stumbled onto
the Revolution. "Having been personally frustrated by the local
church, I initiated several research projects to better
understand what other frustrated followers of Christ were doing
to maintain their spiritual edge. What emerged was a realization
that there is a large and rapidly-growing population of
Christ-followers who are truly want to be like the church we
read about in the book of Acts. We began tracking their
spiritual activity and found that it is much more robust and
significant than we ever imagined - and, frankly, more
defensible than what emerges from the average Christian church.
But, because the Revolution is neither organized nor designed to
create an institutional presence, it typically goes undetected."
Revolution, published by Tyndale House, is what the author calls
"a brief introduction to the most important spiritual movement
of our age." He believes that fifty years from now historians
will look back at this period and label it one of the most
significant periods in American Church history. "I would not be
surprised," the California-based researcher noted, "if at some
point this becomes known as the Third Great Awakening in our
nation's history. This spiritual renaissance is very different
from the prior two religious awakenings in America, but it may
well become the most profound."
Source of This Material
The Barna Group, Ltd. (which includes its research division, The
Barna Research Group) is a privately held, for-profit
corporation that conducts primary research, produces audio,
visual and print media, and facilitates the healthy development
of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located
in Ventura, California, Barna has been conducting and analyzing
primary research to understand cultural trends related to
values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you
would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of
each new, bi-weekly update on the latest research findings from
The Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the
Barna web site (www.barna.org).
© The Barna Group, Ltd, 2005.
Subject: FW: 10.10.05 A Faith Revolution Is Redefining "Church,"
According to New Study
Be encouraged!
The newest book by mainstream Christian pollster George Barna
affirms the notion that something big is happening in the
church.and moving "Revolutionaries" out of it. I know that many
of us grow weary of the state of the greater body of Messiah.we
are NOT alone, and it will only continue to grow according to
his perspective.
I've highlighted some interesting passages below.
Blessings,
Hope
A Faith Revolution Is Redefining "Church," According to New
Study
October 10, 2005
(Ventura, CA) - For decades the primary way that Americans have
experienced and expressed their faith has been through a local
church. That reality is rapidly changing, according to
researcher George Barna, whose new book on the transitioning
nature of America's spirituality, entitled Revolution, describes
what he believes will be the most massive reshaping of the
nation's faith community in more than a century.
Growth of A New Church
Relying upon national research conducted over the past several
years, Barna profiles a group of more than 20 million adults
throughout the nation labeled "revolutionaries." He noted that
although measures of traditional church participation in
activities such as worship attendance, Sunday school, prayer,
and Bible reading have remained relatively unchanged during the
past twenty years, the Revolutionary faith movement is growing
rapidly.
"These are people who are less interested in attending church
than in being the church," he explained. "We found that there
is a significant distinction in the minds of many people between
the local church - with a small 'c' - and the universal Church -
with a capital 'C'. Revolutionaries tend to be more focused on
being the Church, capital C, whether they participate in a
congregational church or not."
"A common misconception about revolutionaries," he continued,
"is that they are disengaging from God when they leave a local
church. We found that while some people leave the local church
and fall away from God altogether, there is a much larger
segment of Americans who are currently leaving churches
precisely because they want more of God in their life but
cannot get what they need from a local church. They have decided
to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more
robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have
chosen to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the
Church detailed in the Book of Acts."
Big Changes In the Making
One of the most eye-opening portions of the research contained
in the book describes what the faith community may look like
twenty years from now. Using survey data and other cultural
indicators he has been measuring for more than two decades,
Barna estimates that the local church is presently the primary
form of faith experience and expression for about two-thirds of
the nation's adults. He projects that by 2025 the local church
will lose roughly half of its current "market share" and that
alternative forms of faith experience and expression will pick
up the slack. Importantly, Barna's studies do not suggest that
most people will drop out of a local church to simply ignore
spirituality or be freed up from the demands of church life.
Although there will be millions of people who abandon the entire
faith community for the usual reasons - hurtful experiences in
churches, lack of interest in spiritual matters, prioritizing
other dimensions of their life - a growing percentage of church
dropouts will be those who leave a local church in order to
intentionally increase their focus on faith and to relate to God
through different means.
That growth is fueling alternative forms of organized
spirituality, as well as individualized faith experience and
expression. Examples of these new approaches include involvement
in a house church, participation in marketplace ministries, use
of the Internet to satisfy various faith-related needs or
interests, and the development of unique and intense connections
with other people who are deeply committed to their pursuit of
God.
Seven Passions of the Revolutionary
In the effort to increase their obedience and faithfulness to
God, Barna discovered that Revolutionaries are characterized by
what he identified as a set of spiritual passions - seven
specific emphases that drive their quest for God and a biblical
lifestyle. Although these are areas of spiritual development
that most local churches address, millions of adults who are the
most serious about their faith in God were the ones least likely
to be satisfied by what their local church was delivering in
terms of resources, opportunities, evaluation and developmental
possibilities. The consequence is that millions of committed
born again Christians are choosing to advance their relationship
with God by finding avenues of growth and service apart from a
local church.
Asked if this meant that the Revolution he describes is simply a
negative reaction to the local church, he suggested that most
Revolutionaries go through predictable phases in their spiritual
journey in which they initially become dissatisfied with their
local church experience, then attempt to change things so their
faith walk can be more fruitful. The result is that they undergo
heightened frustration over the inability to introduce positive
change, which leads them to drop out of the local church
altogether, often in anger. But because this entire adventure
was instigated by their love for God and their desire to honor
Him more fully, they finally transcend their frustration and
anger by creating a series of connections that allow them to
stay close to God and other believers without involvement in a
local church.
One of the hallmarks of the Revolution of faith is how different
it is for each person. "It would be wrong to assume that all
Revolutionaries have completely turned their back on the local
church," the researcher stated. "Millions of Revolutionaries are
active in a local church, although most of them supplement that
relationship with participation in a variety of faith-related
efforts that have nothing to do with their local church. The
defining attribute of a Revolutionary is not whether they attend
church, but whether they place God first in their lives and are
willing to do whatever it takes to facilitate a deeper and
growing relationship with Him and other believers. Our studies
persuasively indicate that the vast majority of American
churches are populated by people who are lukewarm spiritually.
Emerging from those churches are people dedicated to becoming
Christ-like through the guidance of a congregational form of the
church, but who will leave that faith center if it does not
further such a commitment to God. They then find or create
alternatives that allow that commitment to flourish."
How do most Revolutionaries justify calling themselves devoted
disciples of Christ while distancing themselves from a local
church? "Many of them realize that someday they will stand
before a holy God who will examine their devotion to Him. They
could take the safe and easy route of staying in a local church
and doing the expected programs and practices, but they also
recognize that they will not be able to use a lackluster church
experience as an excuse for a mediocre or unfulfilled spiritual
life. Their spiritual depth is not the responsibility of a local
church; it is their own responsibility. As a result, they decide
to either get into a local church that enhances their zeal for
God or else they create alternatives that ignite such a life of
obedience and service. In essence, these are people who have
stopped going to church so they can be the Church."
Challenges and Opportunities
While the Revolution brings with it some very promising
qualities - an intense pursuit of godliness, new networks of
believers supporting each other, heightened financial giving to
ministry endeavors, greater sensitivity to the presence of God
in the world, a greater sense of freedom to be a genuine
disciple in the midst of a secular society - Barna also pointed
out that the Revolution brings great challenges to those who
choose that pathway.
"There is the danger of exposure to unbiblical or heretical
teaching. There is the possibility of experiencing isolation
from a true community of believers and the accountability and
support that can provide. It could become easier to hoard one's
treasures rather than giving generously. Some might find it more
difficult to sustain a life of worship without a place or means
of expressing that praise to God."
Barna contends that these are very serious challenges faced by
Revolutionaries - but that they are no more serious than the
threats to the spiritual health of regular church-goers.
"Objectively speaking, these are the very same problems that we
identify among people who rely upon the efforts of a local
church to facilitate their growth. We find plentiful evidence of
unbiblical teaching in small groups, Sunday school classes and
other local church venues. We know that few churched Christians
give 4% of their income back to God, much less 10%. We recognize
that most people attending worship services in a church
sanctuary leave feeling that God was not present and that they
did not personally connect with the living God through that
experience. We have identified the relative absence of
accountability within most congregations. So even though
Revolutionaries face serious challenges in blossoming into the
fervent God-follower they hope to become, perhaps the main
difference is simply that they have a wider range of options for
achieving their faith goals than do people who are solely
focused on faith delivered through a local church. In either
case, it is ultimately up to the individual to make sure that
they have their spiritual priorities right, that they are
investing themselves in activities that draw them closer to God,
and that they stay focused on pleasing God more than themselves
or other people."
The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises
new challenges for people involved in ministry. "This new
movement of God demands that there be new forms of leadership to
appropriately guide people in their faith journey," Barna said.
"It requires new ways of measuring how well the Church at-large
is doing, getting beyond attendance figures as the indicator of
health. And it demands that new tools and resources be
accessible to a growing contingent of people who are seeking to
introduce their faith into every dimension of their life."
An Introduction to the Revolution
Having written three-dozen previous books about faith and
culture, Barna feels that this book may ultimately wind up being
the most significant volume he has written. In the course of
doing his customary national research studies, he stumbled onto
the Revolution. "Having been personally frustrated by the local
church, I initiated several research projects to better
understand what other frustrated followers of Christ were doing
to maintain their spiritual edge. What emerged was a realization
that there is a large and rapidly-growing population of
Christ-followers who are truly want to be like the church we
read about in the book of Acts. We began tracking their
spiritual activity and found that it is much more robust and
significant than we ever imagined - and, frankly, more
defensible than what emerges from the average Christian church.
But, because the Revolution is neither organized nor designed to
create an institutional presence, it typically goes undetected."
Revolution, published by Tyndale House, is what the author calls
"a brief introduction to the most important spiritual movement
of our age." He believes that fifty years from now historians
will look back at this period and label it one of the most
significant periods in American Church history. "I would not be
surprised," the California-based researcher noted, "if at some
point this becomes known as the Third Great Awakening in our
nation's history. This spiritual renaissance is very different
from the prior two religious awakenings in America, but it may
well become the most profound."
Source of This Material
The Barna Group, Ltd. (which includes its research division, The
Barna Research Group) is a privately held, for-profit
corporation that conducts primary research, produces audio,
visual and print media, and facilitates the healthy development
of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located
in Ventura, California, Barna has been conducting and analyzing
primary research to understand cultural trends related to
values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you
would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of
each new, bi-weekly update on the latest research findings from
The Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the
Barna web site (www.barna.org).
© The Barna Group, Ltd, 2005.