Doing Church versus Being Church

I started reading George Barna's Revolution yesterday. While I'm not sure that he is tuned into all of the theolgy in the emerging conversation, one thing is for certain: Barna has done a remarkable job of putting his finger on the pulse of a massive, coming change in the way American Christians think about and practice spirituality.

Here, in short is what the "Revolution" is about: People are tired of "doing" church. It all seems pointless, disconnected from the vibrant realities of the gospels, irrelavent to postmodern culture, and stagnant. As a result, folks are leaving churches in droves, especially younger people, and many of them are simultaneously abandoning the practice of Christianity altogether. A few, however, are opting to be part of a Revolution.

Here is the idea behind the "Revolution" that Barna discusses:

Its time to stop "doing" church, and start being the Church.

I could spend hours unpacking that statement, and I won't even bother to start that process here. Suffice it to say: I feel like I'm one of the people that Barna is identifying in this book. The "doing" versus "being" concept resonates at the very heart of most of the issues I'm struggling with right now, and - if you're a regular reader here - you've probably seen that struggle reflected in a lot of my posts.

Is anyone else starting to think in revolutionary terms?

Technorati Tags: George Barna, Revolution, Emerging Church