Posts Tagged ‘Catholic Church’

A brief review of Revolution, by George Barna

Posted: March 1, 2013 in Book Review, Catholic Church, Church Growth, Church Planting, House Church, Missions
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Barna, George. Revolution. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005. 145 pp.

Dr. Barna looked at what he calls a “hidden revolution” of Christ followers who no longer go to church on Sunday mornings, but remain devout believers and attempt to be the Church, rather than simply go to church. He compares the state of the Church (chapter 4 “How is the local church doing?”) with a biblical picture of the Church (chapter 3 “What does God expect?) From that biblical picture, he extrapolates the “seven passions” of revolutionaries.

In my opinion, these were the three most insightful ideas:

The seven passions of revolutionaries (chapter 3)

The seven trends leading to the “New Church” (chapter 5)

The Secret of Transformation in mini-movement (pp. 57-58, chapter 6)

In addition, the “affirmations of a revolutionary” (pp. 128-130) would resonate with many of us who have frustrations with the church as an institution, but love Jesus with all our heart.

  1. The seven passions of revolutionaries:
    1. Intimate worship
    2. Faith-based conversions
    3. Intentional spiritual growth
    4. Servanthood
    5. Resource investment
    6. Spiritual friendships
    7. Family faith
  2. Seven trends leading to the New Church:
    1. Changing of the guard
    2. Rise of a new view of life
    3. Dismissing the irrelevant
    4. Impact of technology
    5. Genuine relationships
    6. Participation in reality
    7. Finding true meaning
  3. Secret of Transformation in mini-movement:
    1. Generally working with people who are predisposed to focusing their faith on God.
    2. Mini-movement becomes an individual’s primary source of relationships.
    3. Intimacy experienced facilitates a sense of exhilaration over the transformation.
    4. Clear group goals

Each mini-movement has a very narrow focus.

The seven passions serve as an excellent guideline for our Polish faith communities. We are easily sidetracked by other things, and think those other things should be the checklist of success for our churches. But when we, in community with one another, can focus on these passions, we are much closer to what Christians should be focusing on.

I would like to use the seven trends as a springboard to look at Polish culture, and see how it has changed in the past 22 years. There are Revolutionaries in Poland, usually in house churches, or Catholic renewal groups (or both), and I am curious to see what trends have led to the rise of these groups.

The final point – the secret of transformation – helps me to narrow our focus as we seek to see transformation in people’s lives. We don’t need to change everyone, in every way, right now.

Revolution! at Amazon

Abdication: Christ’s Vicar says “I’m Done”

Posted: February 28, 2013 in Catholic Church, Poland, Pope
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Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Last time was 600 years ago – as pretty much everyone in the Western world has now heard many times. Popes don’t resign – how can the representative of Christ, who speaks on doctrine ex cathedra, who was chosen by the Holy Spirit through the cardinals, give up his office? One Polish blogger compared the Pope’s resignation to the denial of Christ by Peter, the “first pope.” The same blogger indicated that since the Pope is abdicating, this casts doubt on all of the claims that the Church makes about the Pope anyway.

Now, like many Western Protestants, I don’t mind at all that the Pope, who is 85, is stepping down. It makes sense, he’s earned it – if only by nature of the unbelievable stress it must be to be Pope – and the Pope’s abdication has absolutely no effect on my faith, or my perception of the Roman Catholic Church. But I live and minister in Poland, one of the last real bastions of the Church. The abdication of the Pope is topic number 1 the last few days. And this is in spite of a growing resentment among many Catholics towards the Church. I think most Poles have a positive image of Benedict XVI. The cynic may say the Church has done a good job “selling” his image, but in Poland, that would have been a pretty tough sell, without some very impressive quality to go along with the image. He replaced the greatest Pole in modern history, the savior of the Polish nation from communism, Karol Wojtyła. And Ratzinger is German! But Benedict XVI has been erudite, sincere, and seemed committed to cleaning up some of the problems in the Church. Sure, he probably hasn’t been as popular as John Paul II was, certainly not in Poland – but then, who could have been?

The question really is, of course – who’s next? Who will be the next “Vicar of Christ?” And what effect will he have on the Roman Catholic Church, or even the world at large? Already Polish commentators are writing about the potential changes in the Church, if only as a result of new bishops appointed. Benedict XVI worked hard to reintroduce academia and rationalism into the Church, to reinforce Catholicism as a viable, intellectual framework. Will the new Pope continue that trend?

Or will he usher in the end of the world? Many people understand the medieval prophecies of Nostradamus and Malachy to indicate that the last Pope, Petrus Romanus, will be black, and will usher in the end of the world. Before I quote my dad, and say “hogwash”, I think many Poles would see an African Pope as just about the end of the world.

Paddypower.com lists the betting odds for the new Pope. The current front runner is from Ghana. Hmm. Cool! End of the world, here we come! Now, on the one hand, I don’t really care who becomes the next Pope. I’m not Catholic, and I’m not planning on betting on the race. However, the next Pope will have an effect on Poles – Catholic and non – and I do care deeply about that. So, this might sound strange to my fellow evangelicals in Poland, but – I’m praying for this process. Praying that God would use the choice to bring people to Himself.

Oh – one last thing – maybe I am pulling for one candidate. Currently listed as 80 to 1 odds – I always did like an underdog. Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, famous for refusing to give John Kerry communion, because of Kerry’s stance on abortion. Burke comes from Richland Center, WI, and is my step-grandfather’s nephew. We saw each other only once, at Grandpa Theron’s funeral, when he was still bishop of LaCrosse.  But – wouldn’t it be cool to be related to the Pope??

Raymond Leo Burke

Raymond Leo Burke

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