This is my second article dealing with what we experienced and learned from the National House  Church Conference in Denver. Last week's letter is now posted on the website in our e-letter archives. This week I want to share what George Barna shared with us during the network leaders' pre-conference workshop on Friday. Barna's talk should soon be available on DVD from House2House via their website (www.house2house.com). If you are using an e-mail program or provider which only accepts "text only" messages then you will miss out on the photo of George Barna and the bullet formatting which I am including this week. You can view this in its entirety by clicking on the following link http://www.parousianetwork.org/Weekly_E-Letter_Home_Page.htm.

 

Blessings,

Maurice

 

Raising Up A Generation Of House Church Revolutionaries (or, "Viva la Revolucion - Again") 

George Barna Speaking At the Recent National House Church Conference In Denver

 

For me & my wife, the highlight of the recent National House Church Conference in Denver over the Labor Day weekend was the opportunity to hear from George Barna, author of the recent book "Revolution." Barna spoke to us for roughly an hour and a half on what could broadly be described as "The State of the House Church Movement In America". He told us that the information which he was sharing with us represented the results of a new survey which he had been given just before coming to the conference, information not shared publicly before. What I hope to do in this article is to summarize Barna's points. He covered a LOT of material very quickly and what you are getting is my notes & reflections. Personally, I'm looking forward to getting the DVD and listening to it all again myself. Barna's presentation really divided into several parts, which I will attempt to distinguish between so you won't get too lost in the flow. Remember, your getting Barna as imperfectly assimilated by Maurice (who was numb from 36 hours of driving!).

 

The State of The House Church Movement In America

 

Barna's overarching theme was that we are in the midst of a "spiritual revolution", and that the House Church movement is representative of the heart and soul of this revolution.

 

Size: According to Barna, the size of the House Church movement in America ranges from between 5 million and 20 million people each week. Roughly 9-11% of the adult population involved in House Church on any given weekend. The figure of 5 million represents a very conservative definition of House Church that can best be summarized as a gathering of people who see themselves as “A complete Church on their own”. At this point Barna noted that "Identity" is a key aspect of any revolution. According to Barna, there is an "identity crisis" among those who are presently doing House Church.

 

Demographics:  Those presently involved in House Church seem to be young & Southern; born again; black African-American; home school; not registered to vote. Barna noted that the involvement of black African-Americans is huge for the black community which traditionally has looked to the senior pastor of the traditional Church as the dominant spokesman for the black community. He also noted that people not registered to vote tend to be people who want to be out on their own,  people who are almost always "out on the edge" (same probably true for home schoolers). 

 

Unique Audience:  According to the survey results, 66-78% of all adults who attend House Church also attend a conventional style church. And 6 out of 10 people who attend House Church consider the conventional church to be their primary church.

 

Longevity:  According to the survey, 53% of current House Church participants have been attending a House Church for less than 3 months. Only 21% of participants have been attending House Church for 1 year or more (Does that speak of phenomenal recent growth, or what!?). 

 

Length of Meeting:  The average length of a House Church gathering is 1-1/2 hours. Only 6% of House Churches meet for 3 hours or more.

 

Day of meeting:  29% Wednesday, 25% Sunday. For most participants, House Church appears to function as an addendum to their Sunday attendance

 

Routine:  60% always follow the same routine (Hmmm, looks like you can take the person out of the box, but its hard to get the box - or the bulletin - out of the person. 

 

Average size: 15 people. 5 Children. One third (32%) have no children involved. 50% separate kids and adults; 19% have separate and combined; 22% always have kids and adults together.

 

Other Activities Expressed As % of House Churches Which Practice

 

Video              41

Offering           43

Communion     53

Music              65

Prophecy         71

Discussion       75

Teaching          80

Share needs     83

Prayer              87

Eat/talk            88

Read Bible        91

Serve                94

 

72%  of house church participants said they were satisfied with the sense of community they were experiencing (what's going on with the other 28%?).

 

Reflections on House Church and Spiritual Revolution

 

Barna observed that the present moment in time represents a huge moment of struggle for House Church in America. People  are not really sure what do with it. He noted that no movement runs itself. Every revolution, including the current spiritual revolution of which House Church is a part, needs great leadership. He went on to note that 4 out of 5 people in America are not leaders. Here are more of Barna's reflections and general comments on leadership.

• If you want to be a leader give up the notion of being popular or accepted (ouch!).
• A leader is called by God, you don’t choose to be a leader (Hmmm, so much for volunteering!).
• A leader’s character must be developed; the passion will be developed. (Hmmm, interesting that my workshop on 5-Fold leadership was primarily about character).
• A leader must have the skills.
• A group (such as your or my house church network) can never go beyond where the leader can take them. The impact of a ministry is influenced by where the leader can take them. I (Maurice, not Barna) can't help but feel that this is why a proper understanding and development of the Ephesians 4 "5-Fold Ministry" is so crucial right now. We MUST learn to function as a TEAM so that our networks benefit from the giftedness of those who can make up for our inadequacies and take our people to higher levels of spiritual equipping and maturity than we alone could ever have taken them.
• Recognize the concept that the environment in which this happens is WAR. Every day we wake up in the midst of a war. Leaders need to set the stage mentally, physically, & spiritually for how that war is fought.
• Leading a war is done by generals. Have you ever heard of a war with no generals. But most of the leadership of the church in this country is done by teachers. How many wars do you know which were fought & won by teachers. (Oopps!)
• Barna on "Leadership":  “Leadership is the act of motivating, mobilizing, resourcing and directing people to pursue and fulfill a vision from God that uniquely, strategically and intentionally advances His kingdom through life transformation.” 
• As leaders we do nothing until God speaks; once He speaks we do nothing but that thing. (Hmmm, focus, focus, focus).
• Everything a leader does comes back to the vision he has.
• Barna on "Vision": “Vision is a compelling mental portrait of a preferable future, communicated by God to His chosen leaders, based upon an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstances, for the purpose of advancing Gods kingdom.”
• Christian leadership is a revolutionary undertaking. A revolution is an overthrow of the prevalent way of living & doing. (Hmmm, you mean we aren't simply re-organizing ourselves into home fellowships?).
• We need to ask ourselves, "What does it take to sustain a revolution of faith?"  

Shared Characteristics of a Revolution. Barna's  “Ten ‘I’s of Revolutionary Leadership”

 

Identity – Great revolutions help people adopt the cause as the core of their identity. They live to facilitate the ends of the revolution. At this point Barna offered the top 6 ways in which people in our churches today identify themselves: 1) Individuals, 2) Family 3) Occupation, 4) Consumer 5) Citizens  6) Followers of Christ. Wow, think about this. How do we lead a spiritual revolution among professing believers for whom being a follower of Christ is number 6 on their priority list?! Barna observed that as leaders of a revolution the first step is to get people’s heads in the right place. We need to set people up for success during the time we are not with them. We do this be giving them a clear sense of identity. 

 

Ideology – People need a way to think about who and what they represent. Great revolutions are not personality driven; they are ideology driven. World View!  Only one out of 10 professing believers have something remotely resembling a biblical world view. Great revolutions motivate their people to be absolutely intolerant of other ideologies. O.K., I don't think Barna was advocating intolerance. Rather, I think he was advocating passion & commitment. How do you build a movement if it is led by people whose ideology is: "Whatever. House church is an option. But I believe in all forms of church." That is not revolutionary leadership. 

 

Intimacy – They create a new community to which people BELONG.  Ask people “Where’s your dominant community?” Their spiritual community pales in comparison to other communities of which they are a part. 

 

Impact – Great revolutions are made up of people who will not sacrifice the key things of their lives for things that don’t matter.  Is this something I am willing to sacrifice and endure hardship for. We need to be able to tell the story of what God is doing through people’s lives. We need to make our case, or it will be made by people who do not represent HC. Leaders get into the marketplace of ideas in order to make the case for the cause.(Now you know why I do this newsletter!). 

 

Intensity - Great revolutions have great intensity in what they do. We need to focus that passion and release it like a jet engine. 

 

Idealism – Great Revolutions are characterized by a “naive idealism”. What kind of idealism do your people have? 

 

Immediacy – Great revolutions have a sense of urgency.  People are going to hell daily. The Lord is coming back soon. What sense of urgency do your people have regarding the charge that has been given to them. They put relentless pressure on the system they were trying to change. 

 

Improvisation – Be able to respond in the moment to whatever the Lord or the enemy throws into your path. We’ve got to be “great on the fly”

 

Inefficiency – People who change the world are very inefficient. You cannot control reality. Inefficiency is less important than progress. 

 

Intentional – You need a strategic plan for where you want to go. Leadership is contradictory. Logical but outside the box. Love your competition while outthinking and out maneuvering them.

 

Characteristics of Strategic Leadership

• Proactive not reactive
• Aggressive not defensive
• Innovative not imitative
• Inspiring not comforting
• Team-oriented not star-centered
• Cooperative not Independent

Barna's Observations on Leadership

• Expect to find leadership partners and work with them. If it’s you against the world, the world will win.
• Expect stiff spiritual opposition from the start; its presence is a sign of significance, it’s absence is a sign of irrelevance.
• In an environment of complexity and rapid change, incremental leadership will not win 
• Leaders cannot create a revolution; but they can foster intense commitment 
• Allow inefficiency that does not undermine the effort 
• A successful revolution demands team-based leadership; no individual superstar can pull this off alone.
• Lasting results demand that children be at the heart of the process. 
• Your notion of success or victory is a critical shaping factor. Define it as transformation.
• The face/voice of the revolution may not be the brains of the revolution
• Timing is critical; when you sense God’s instigation, don’t hesitate.
• You will pay a surprisingly substantial price for leading a revolution; sign on for the right reasons and count the costs

Final Considerations Regarding The House Church Movement

 

First, the current House Church movement is too fragmented; it is competitive rather than collaborative

 

Second, the spirit expressed by many House Church people is sometimes negative toward the conventional church. We should do what God has called us to do and let God judge.

 

Third, Our House Churches are not sufficiently emphasizing the importance of growing children. The war is won or lost by the age of 13.

 

Maurice's Closing Reflections On Barna & Revolution

 

I left the meeting with Barna both energized and challenged. For me he clarified many things which I had felt but had been unable to articulate (Imagine that - me at a loss for words!). Allow me to share just a few reflections on what I heard.

 

First, Barna crystallized for me the reality that we are, indeed, in the midst of a spiritual revolution. Revolutions, by their very nature, are usually violent, passionate and messy affairs, led by people intensely (if not rabidly) committed to a cause that is all consuming. Years ago I read a now-much-neglected book entitled "Dedication And Leadership" by Douglas Hyde. In 1948 Douglas Hyde handed in his resignation as the news editor of the London "Daily Worker," thereby ending a 20 year career as a member of the Communist Party. A week later he announced that he, his wife and his children had converted to Catholicism and joined the Church. In his book, which originated as a series of lectures at (yep) a Catholic missions conference, Hyde attempted to answer a simple but often asked question: "Why are Communists so dedicated and successful as leaders whilst others (e.g. the Church) so often are not?"  I believe it is a question which is just as relevant today with respect to House Church leadership. Could it be that we do not fully appreciate the nature of the Spiritual revolution of which we are a part, and that we have failed to ignite a fire in the minds of men which will motivate and carry them through this season of revolution?

 

Second, the intensity and passion of a revolutionary leader is often mis-construed by others as anger because the existing structure is so devoid of spiritual fire and passion. I've often wondered how many times either Jeremiah or Paul was told that he was obviously wounded and angry. How would the Luke-warm Laodiceans have viewed or responded to a Jeremiah or a Paul in their midst? Is there anger within the House Church movement & its leaders. Yep, been there, seen that. I've even been accused of being "angry" too (I am even spending some time fasting & praying & examining the concept of anger in Scripture and in my own life to see if there is anything I seriously need to deal with). But could it be that the fire, zeal, passion and intensity of many leaders in this spiritual revolution is being seen as anger by people who lost their fire, zeal, passion and intensity long ago?

 

Third, there is a tension within the House Church movement and its leadership between those who understand it as a genuine spiritual revolution and those who are seeking to treat it as a mere re-organization. Is House Church an overturning of the existing religious order and a re-defining of the nature of Church, or is it merely a re-organizing of the existing religious order, a re-shuffling of the way we do church (i.e., "We now offer home groups for those who are interested")? Spiritual revolutions are led by Apostles & prophets. Re-organizations are led by consultants and staff.

 

Fourth, I note Barna's emphasis upon the need for the House Church movement to connect with the youth. My observation, having come out of the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s, and having helped lead a campus awakening at UNC-Chapel Hill in the mid-1970s, youth are attracted to the fire, passion and vision of revolution, not the cold fluorescent light of re-organization. There's a reason why colleges hold pre-game rallies around bonfires. Ever tried to rally a crowd around a fluorescent light bulb? Author Skevington Wood entitled his history of the spiritual revolution of the 1700s (commonly known as The Great Awakening), "The Inextinguishable Blaze."  Why? He took the words from a hymn penned by one of the young leaders of that revolution, named Charles Wesley, who wrote:

 

"Thou who camest from above

The pure celestial fire to impart,

Kindle a flame of sacred love

On the mean altar of my heart!

There let it for thy glory burn

With inextinguishable blaze;

And trembling to its source return,

In humble prayer and fervent praise."

 

Are you part of this spiritual revolution we call house church? Is your heart an altar for this inextinguishable blaze, or are you just re-organizing the long spent coals of yesterdays fires?

A Gathering Of Angels . . . And A Time To Dance