I will start by saying I think every Christian person needs to read this book. I say this at the beginning only because I know that below I may seem to contradict that by how I feel about the book. In spite of all that is to come, I think this is a book every Christian should read, if for no other reason that to know where we come from and how we got to where we are.

In typical Barna fashion, this book is LOADED with research. That is one thing I can respect about The Barna Group. They know how to research and they load it up. Kudos to them for doing so. That makes the 250ish pages seem like nothing since every one of the pages is met with cliff notes (some of them half the page) and more reading / research to drive the audience. Makes for quite the journey afterwards.

Throughout Pagan Christianity, we are taken through the many norms of the Church : building, worship, sermon, pastor, dress code, music, tithing, baptism and the Lord's Supper and christian education. In each of the chapters, we are presented with research that speaks of how much of our "way of life" has been influenced by the ever existing pagan culture. Not only through how we do it, but the very reason behind why we find it necessary. For this reason, I think the book is worth a read to all. For those in ministry, it will challenge you to find what you are really made of and the extent of "the call" we have heard so much about. If you a product of a bible college or seminary training, you will need to rethink who you are. For those who are not, it will encourage you immensely with your place in church [Note : By saying what I just said "in ministry...not in ministry", I am blatently speaking against the content of this book. They are adament about that being a gigantic flaw. But to the Jew I become a Jew. It's the only language you and I know]. For this I am grateful because it causes me to see everything we do within my church and see that we are on our way to something really swell (especially with some things we are implementing in the youth ministry. Woo stinking hoo). However, I find myself coming to a crossroads that causes the book to not sit well with me also.

In a future blog, I am going to speak about how much I think the word organic is overused. It has become the Word of the Year for 2009 already and dominated conversation in 2008. I have heard it more times than I care to speak of. It's catchy, trendy and can give you some cool inspriation for trees, roots, etc. The institutional church has done some damage (most of which is noted in this book) and a common occurence is to see more "house churches" develop. For me, I don't know where that leads. I can understand the desire. I can understand the logic. Heck, sometimes I want to. But what happens when it works? Do we off shoot to more? Do we meet in the backyard? Do we go to a larger building? Doesn't that become like an institutional church then? If we don't, is there direction, instruction or oversight of the new churches established? Do we live in relationship with one another or as seperate entities? Why not just get together and make it one big party? If elders are in the house church, aren't they functioning like pastors but not by the same name? Look at my list.

Semantics are a son of a gun (what does that even mean?). We can repackage and remarket something and in effect do the same thing. Though Frank Viola and George Barna contest that going out and planting a house church does not make you live according to the New Testament, yet inevitably some are going to think so. In striving to keep with the New Testament and the ways of Jesus, I don't know if hanging out, having java and all of that will make us more like Jesus and by saying the above I can find myself becoming defensive about how we do things at Hope. They wrote this book for me. If we are not keeping Christ at the center, then the machine is going to take over and not the God who came to earth to save us. Whether in a house or within an established building, Christ remain at the core of who we are. If not, the religious system will overwhelm us and the motions will become the prevailing force. For that I am thankful for George Barna and Frank Viola for Pagan Christianity. I just don't see myself leaving the organization and planting a house church anytime soon. Here are a couple of quotes to leave you with.

“If the end is considered ‘holy,’ just about any ‘means’ are acceptable.”

“The term ‘laity is one of the worst in the vocabulary of religion and ought to be banished from the Christian conversation.” from Karl Barth, grade A

“The best structure for equipping every Christian is already in place. It predates the seminary and the weekend seminar and will outlast both. In the New Testament church, as in the ministry of Jesus, people learned in the furnace of life, in a relational, living, working and ministering context.”

“A rebel attempts to change the past; a revolutionary attempts to change the future.”

Pagan Christianity : A-
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Now playing: Greg Laswell - Comes And Goes (In Waves)