Excellerating My Leadership What in the World Does This Mean? Posted by Excellerators of the Florida Baptist Convention on Jan 2, 2007, 09:18

What in the World Does This Mean?

George Barna tracked trends from 2006 and one of the more significant findings he offered was as follows….

The growing movement of Christian Revolutionaries in the U.S. distinguished themselves from an already-select group of people – born again Christians – through their deeds, beliefs and self-views. Revolutionaries demonstrated substantially higher levels of community service, financial contributions, daily Bible study, personal quiet times each day, family Bible studies, daily worship experiences, engagement in spiritual mentoring, and evangelistic efforts. They also had a series of beliefs that were much more likely than those of typical born again adults to coincide with biblical teachings. Their self-perceptions were also dramatically different than that of other born again adults. (www.barna.org)

Excellerating My Leadership

Some may be reading the term Christian Revolutionaries and are thinking what is that?

If you are one of them relax, it is a “new” term or “buzzword” for a person who considers himself or herself a true “follower of Jesus Christ.” The reason for the new term is that a distinction is trying to be drawn between those who are known as “born again” because of their ineffectiveness at impacting the culture and the lack of evidence of any significant life altering changes because of their faith in Jesus. Christian Revolutionaries want a different term to describe themselves.

Now before you get upset that this summation is overly harsh…. remember that many have been seeing the lack of impact within the church for a number of years. Also remember that this is a term that Barna himself has marketed based upon his book Revolution. So all in all that explains much about the finding.

Here is what you need to remember and know about this finding….

There are groups of people who are trying in dramatic ways to make their faith a true Biblical faith. The “church” of the past is not meeting their needs and they are longing, if not craving for ways to make their faith work in the real world, in the real life, in real time.

Leaders need not only to recognize this but also provide the resources and environment for these “followers” to connect and grow.

Evaluate what you are doing in ministry. Are you maintaining an institution or are you focusing on changing the lives of those you ministering to? Are you trying to make everyone happy and feel worn out and exhausted-or-are you expending your energy and resources in trying to become a ministry of significant impact in the lives of people as they change and grow?

Ministry in this culture is tough…the message does not change…however methodology is always changing. Great leaders not only know this but they embrace it! We create and minister in unique cultural surroundings, but the message of Jesus is still more effective than ever. We must determine to be effective in letting people discover it. They really do want to know!