George Barna - The Second Coming of the Church

THE SECOND COMING OF THE CHURCH

THE SECOND COMING OF THE CHURCH
1998 by George Barna.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a
registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in
printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

All Scripture quotations in this book, except those noted otherwise,
are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted NKJV are from
THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION.
Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982,
Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Published in association with Sealy M. Yates,
Literary Agent, Orange, California.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barna, George.
The second coming of the church : a blueprint for survival / George Barna
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8499-1490-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-8499-4270-5 (paperback)
1. Church renewalUnited States. I. Title.
BV600.2.B344 1998
262'.001'7dc21

Printed in the United States of America
8 9 0 1 2 3 4 BVG 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

[CONTENTS]

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ONE OF THE MOST TROUBLING PASSAGES of Scripture to me is Ecclesiastes 12:12: Of making many books there is no end. Of the two dozen books I have written, all of them seemed important enough to write. In retrospect, though, a few clearly stand out in my mind as crucial messages for the Church.

A decade ago The Frog in the Kettle was meant to be a wake-up call to the Church as it struggled with the concepts of relevance and cultural change. A couple of years later, in The Power of Vision, I was privileged to write about the need for every Christian, and especially church leaders, to devote time to understanding the unique mandate God has for each of us who wish to serve Him. In writing such books I distinctly felt that God was using me to communicate a very timely and significant body of information to His Church.

The Second Coming of the Church stands in that same tradition. The first coming of the Church was of course at Pentecost, when the Spirit of God moved among believers and empowered them to pursue the Great Commission, as Jesus commanded. In the New Testament we read of the activities of the early Church and marvel at how quickly the message of the Gospel swept that culture.

In the two thousand years since that time, many great movements of the Spirit have demonstrated Gods great faithfulness to His people. And yet, as the second millennium draws to a close, and the Church takes stock of how well we have handled the legacy that was passed down to us, we cant help but wonder... and sometimes, to weep.

The last four years of my life have especially been devoted to agonized reflection on the state of the Church, the desires of God for His people, and the growing gap between those two. The result of all that effort is this letter to the Church. It is more personal, more strategic, and more intense than any message I have previously writtenand with good reason.

This book is about more than the interplay between the Church and the culture. It is an urgent plea for the people of God to stop dabbling in religion and to grow in spiritual maturity. It is a challenge to ignite and sustain a moral and spiritual revolution in America today, the likes of which we have never seen in our lifetime. This is a call for us to stop playing church and start being the Church by demonstrating the transformation that has occurred within us as a result of an absolute, paramount commitment to Jesus Christ.

This is a book that goes beyond the debate about the need for change; it is a strategic plan for the rebirthing of the Christian faith in America, drawing from scriptural mandates to determine Gods vision for the true Church and what our role is to be in Gods kingdom on earth.

America is at a turning point in its history. The decisions we make in the next few years regarding who we are and the values we stand for will seal the moral and spiritual fate of America for decades to come. The decadence and darkness of our nation are more profound than since the founding of this nation more than two centuries ago. The only power that can cleanse and restore this nation is the power of Christ. And the primary way in which that power is to be manifested is by Christs followers serving God and humanity by being the Churchthat is, the true representation of Jesus Christ.

This is our time of testing. We must prove that we are what we claim to be, or we will certainly lose the platform to influence the world for Christ. That privileged position is already slipping from our grasp. Given the moral and spiritual demise of our culture, maintaining that position is not an insignificant challenge. And the sad truth is that the Christian Church, as we now know it, is not geared up to meet that challenge.

Our situation is not hopeless, but it is urgent. Time is of the essence. Godly, strategic leadership, dedicated to the fulfillment of Gods vision for America and His Church, is demanded.

If you care about the Church of Christ, please read on, reflect on the content, and act upon it in whatever ways Gods Holy Spirit would cause you to respond. Some day God will ask you for an account of how you used the gifts and resources He entrusted to you for His purposes. Use the information outlined within this volume as a tool to become a more effective change

May the next few, precious years find us laboring together toward the fulfillment of a common vision that will glorify and honor our Savior.

I wish to gratefully acknowledge the input and support of a myriad of family, friends, and colleagues who sacrificed and contributed so that this book might emerge. My deepest thanks go to my wife (Nancy) and daughters (Samantha and Corban). I am also indebted to Thom Black, Chuck Colson, Leighton Ford, Lee Gessner, Tom Greanias, Bill Greig III, Barry Hawes, Charlie Hedges, Bill Hybels, Kip Jordon, David Kinnaman, Jill Kinnaman, Larry Osborne, Steve Russo, Jim Scott, Molly Scott, Tom Thompson, Pam Tucker, Jim VanYperen, Luder Whitlock, and Sealy Yates for their ideas and encouragement.

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LETS CUT TO THE CHASE. After nearly two decades of studying Christian churches in America, Im convinced that the typical church as we know it today has a rapidly expiring shelf life.

Our cultural norms, our personal expectations, and the condition of the Christian community at large have produced a dizzying array of challenges to churches. Across the nation, ministries of all sizes and shapes have responded with a frenzy of religious activity, producing more programs, buildings, events, and resources than would have been imaginable at the turn of the century. Yet, as we prepare to enter into a new century of ministry, we must address one inescapable conclusion: Despite the activity and chutzpah emanating from thousands of congregations, the Church in America is losing influence and adherents faster than any other major institution in the nation. Unless a radical solution for the revival of the Christian Church in the United States is adopted and implemented soon, the spiritual hunger of Americans will either go unmet or be satisfied by other faith groups.