October 26th, 2008 by admin

A believer,
an atheist, an unlikely friendship… This statement is on the front cover of the
book Jim  and    Casper go to Church. Jim a believer
travels the countryside visiting churches with Casper an atheist and    then writes a book
about each of their perspectives. It was enticing to read a book on church from
an atheist perspective hoping to gain some advantage on how to reach those that
don’t claim Christ as savior. Around page 98 I realized I was being fed “The
Revolution”. It was like I was duped. Hook line and sinker. The Benadryl pill
inside the warm hotdog! For those of you that have not read the book
“Revolution” by George Barna, it details out how millions of people have
stopped going to church and are now “becoming” the church. These church leavers
are called “Revolutionaries”. They love God but hate the church. Anyway I
should have known since Jim and Casper’s book is published by Barna. When
I looked at Jim and Casper’s comments through the eyes of a
Revolutionary I could predict the outcome of their visits. A believer, an
atheist, an unlikely friendship… Not so unlikely when they have the same
agenda.

I love the
church! Comments throughout the book referring to big congregations and the
“big show”, and celebrity status preachers really get to me. Jesus spoke to
more than 5000 people on more than one occasion and fed them all with no more
than a few fish and some bread. That’s a big show! Pulling money out of a
fish’s mouth, stopping funeral processions in the street and raising their
dead, believers tearing off roofs so that their friends could get to healed by Jesus,
woman crawling and bleeding in the street just to touch Jesus clothes, blind
people screaming in the streets making scenes would all be in the “BIG SHOW” category according to Jim and
Casper

In the
words of ABC News correspondent John Stossel “Give Me A Break” There are 2
billion Christians on earth today which is 33% of the earths population. There
are Christians and churches in all 238 countries in this world. There are 20.7
million new Christians each year and 19.5 million of them end up as new church
members. We are planting 50,000 new churches every year. Church planting is the
premier tool for evangelism today. 

I will end
with this, though I have more to say. DOWNLOAD MY FULL REVIEW HERE. If you believe that
Jesus lives inside of you it will make sense that if you don’t go… Jesus doesn’t
go. I like the effort and thrust Jim and Casper put on going into the world and
leaving your churcheeez language and style in some far away closet.  I am ok with that, and it offers the
“Gauntlet” to every believer. Stop talking about it and do it. I like this and
it challenges me. I have to watch myself sometimes that I don’t spend all my
time strategizing and never running the play. It’s a call to action, a call to
stop writing on the chalkboard and get out on the field. Run the plays, execute
the game plan, get dirty, get in the trenches with folks, let people see you
bleed. All of this is OK. But then again…so is Church!