I’m reading George Barna’s new book Revolution and it’s pretty powerful. He’s raising some tough questions and I’m sure that’s making some folks out there pretty uncomfortable. But that’s the nature of tough questions. They make us uncomfortable because they challenge our presumptions, our ways of looking at things. But that’s also why they’re important to ask.
One question that Barna raises that I find particularly challenging is this:
If the local church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, they why are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate?
Barna hasn’t answered that question completely yet. And I certainly don’t have a complete answer yet either. But it’s a question we need to struggle with.
The French philosopher Blaise Pascal said that we all have a "God shaped hole" inside us that we instinctively try to fill. He went on to say that only a genuine relationship with the living God would be able to satisfy that emptiness. I believe Pascal was right. We’re searching for something to fill that God shaped hole within us. We’re searching because God created us that way – God created us with the desire to know God, love God, serve God.
But that makes Barna’s question even more significant. If the church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, then why are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate? What do you think?
Kim,I think the question carries inside it a good part of the answer. If we’re thinking that the purpose of the church is to provide for the spiritual needs of Christians, and design our systems accordingly, well, we get what we’ve asked for – a need-centered, dependency-creating system that disempowers the very people called "the household of God" and "the body of Christ." If instead, we believe the mission of the church is to worship the Triune God in the name of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, and to be inviting, calling, equipping, loving, and sending disciples of Jesus Christ into ministry in his name (as our own baptismal covenant and communion liturgies clearly say it is – not to mention just about every scripture I can think of!), then the systems we would design and implement would more than adequately deal with spiritual needs – not because it focuses on providing for them, but because it gets and keeps folks focused on the One who does and on the kinds of relationships and activities where we are more than abundantly nourished – as we invest our lives deeply in others. So… shall we be consumer focused – thinking about how "we" or "church" will "meet" needs, or will we really trust in the abundance of God’s power and provision, in what Jesus calls the reality of the "plentiful harvest" and God’s gifting for us to be all we have been called to be and do in the world - and then get about doing, and both systemically and theologically supporting that? Peace in Christ, Taylor Burton-Edwards
If the local church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, then why are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate? I think it’s a combination of "a lack of a genuine relationship with God" for most, and the fact that we don’t totally comprehend just how big our God is. We were brought into church by our parents or grandparents, and our relationship with the church and God becomes "something we have been trained to do", and we fail to grasp the significance of pursuing God on our own. It’s like we inherited our Christianity from whomever brought us to church when we were young.
Kim,I think this book is dangerous for two reasons:1) A churchless Christianity is like sex-less marriage, it will only last one generation. His proposals that since so many people are practicing the "faith" in such a way then the church should adopt the trend. Leading people away from the Body of Christ is not a revolution, it is nothing short of heresy. In the face of post-modernism, let’s recall Augustine and the early church to affirm that "There is no salvation outside the church."2) What makes it even more dangerous is that Christians will buy this market-driven book (like all the others) hook, line, and sinker. Most won’t even notice the poor theology and interpretation of both Scripture and Barna’s own stats. Instead of cutting loose from the church, perhaps the book’s statements like the one you mention above should put a desire in us to purify and sanctify the body instead of cutting ourselves off from it. At least I can hope.
Chris,Maybe I’m responding to your comment prematurely, since I haven’t finished Barna’s book yet. When I do, we might be able to pick this up again. For now I have a few thoughts and even more questions. First, I agree with your metaphor about the sex-less marriage in the sense that faith in Christ involves community – we cannot be Christ followers in isolation. Our faith may be personal, but it is never private. Yet, so far I don’t see Barna trying to lead people away from the church. Again, I’m not finished with the book yet so I’m trying to reserve judgment, but so far I see him offering up a contrast between participating in church (with a small "c") and being the Church (with a big "c"). I think this is a fruitful discussion that really needs to be undertaken, rather than rejected out of hand. I agree with Augustine, but wasn’t he talking about church with a big "c"? Wouldn’t you agree that many of our churches (with a small "c") are not living up to what they should be – that is, being church with a big "c"? And what do you think of Barna’s actual question – If the local church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, they why are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate? If we agree with Augustine, then I believe we urgently need to address why so many churched Christians are so spiritually immature and desperate. So what do you think? What’s our next step? Secondly, I also agree that there’s always the danger that people will buy books like this hook, line and sinker. But I’d like to know more about Barna’s poor theology and poor interpretation of Scripture and statistics. Could you elaborate? It’s a pretty big statement to make without any examples or back up. I’d really like to hear more about your thoughts on this. Finally, I agree once again that we need to ignite a desire in all Christ followers to purify and sanctify the Body of Christ. That’s the reason I offered up the question in the first place. But what are your thoughts on how that can happen? Clearly Barna’s answer doesn’t suit you (and again, I don’t know what his answer is yet). But if we’re going to be agents in that igniting process, we need to talk about how that might happen. So I’d really like to hear more about your thoughts on this as well. Thanks again for your comments. I can tell you’re passionate about this and I’m looking forward to continuing to explore these ideas.