The Seven Faith Tribes by George Barna
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Well…I have to be honest. When I received this book in the mail, I dropped all my other reading to devour it. When I finished (July 1st 2009), well — it’s now the end of August and what I want to say about this book required some digestion — almost two months of digestion.
First and foremost, an admission: I am and have been for almost 20 years a consumer of George Barna’s research, writing, public speaking enagagements and his take on the state of the Christian, Christianity and the Church in the U.S. More recently, I have become acquainted with the outstanding published work of Barna’s protege (since 1995 and currently President of The Barna Group), David Kinnaman. Kinnaman’s book – UNchristian – What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters remains, in my opinion, the pre-eminent sysnthesis of reliable research illuminating the challenges for the Christian, Christianity and the Church in the U.S. in the 21st century.
What I observed in The Seven Faith tribes that I had not recognized is Barna’s forty odd other books in print are the following:
1. Patriotism and Nationalism – Heck, the first chapter is entitled, “America Is On A Path To Self-Destruction.” Personally, I share a similar sense of patriotic fervor toward this great nation. Furthermore, I share the author’s hope for a bright future and an emergence from the myriad of ills this nation is currently struggling with. However, I have never witnessed Barna write about these issues as the guiding lenses through which he appears to interpret the implications of body of research he is grappling with. This is not a value judgment – simply an observation.
2. A Call for Inter-faith Cooperation and Understanding – In the following, Barna summarizes the thesis of this book:
“Rather than asking the various faith tribes to accept the unacceptable, I am advocating that they admit they possess significantly different worldviews but within the framework of those worldviews lies a base of values that we can all agree upon. The power of those shared values constitutes the glue that can hold this country together.” (p.111)
Wow! a died-in-the-wool evangelical calling for inter-faith understanding, a consensus on shared values, and an admonition to create “a new narrative together":
The American Narrative is outdated; now is an opportune time to construct a new story about our views, values and vison (p.203) – break down barriers between faith tribes (p.203) – build bridges of trust and respect among the tribes (p.204) and encouraging cross-tribal interactions (p.204).”
Folks like Eboo Patel have got to be jumping for joy reading Barna’s words excerpted above!
3. A Distinct Sense Of Urgency – As Barna States in the final chapter, “A Vision For Restoring America“:
“The future of America is at stake. The future can best be advanced by the efforts of our faith tribes. Play your role in the process to help restore vitality to America. Your life, and that of millions of other people, will be better for it.” (p.205).
As I “digested the above,” I came to several conclusions, after reviewing, re-reading sevral segments of the book again, on more than one occasion. These include the following:
a. Barna’s work has always been prophetic – His observations and calls for action typically precede the awareness of most people. Remember, from a biblical perspective, the vast majority of people ignored prophets. However, for a prophet to be considered prophetic, the prophecies espoused by the prophet would have to be correct. The exhortations of George Barna, recorded in print throughout his career, merit prophetic consideration. The Seven Faith Tribes volume, his most recent, merit perhaps his most heartfelt clarion call.
b. Courage – It takes guts to author a work like this one, particularly when it is laden with issues that include ethnicity, belief systems, value attribution, socio-economic, socio-political, geo-political and terribly personal calls for change…dynamic change…supernatural change — no matter what faith tribe you may deem yourself affiliated with (or not).
As Barna points out, the challenge for this country are not “process problems, as much as they are people problems.” (p. 196). He calls for healing the heart of this nation, envisioning a new America and illuminates the fundamental and indispensible role of America’s seven faith tribes in this process. He shares the words of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, when Senator Kennedy was faced with the task of informing a gathering in Indiannapolis of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King:
“What we need in the United States is not division, what we need in the United States is not hatred, what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.” (p.195).
Barna asks:
“Forty years later, what progress have we made toward the goals the Senator set forth that day?”
Barna’s – The Seven Faith Tribes – Who They Are, What They Believe, And Why They Matter is a present day wake-up call that progress in the United States requires the coming together for people of all different faith persuasions to:
“rise to the occasion during times of crisis. In such perilous moments, a nation’s future demands that it dig deep into its soul and draw on a reservoir of moral and spiritual strength to do what is right.” (p. 197).
Prophetic? Well, that depends upon what you do with what you hear.
Listen to Barna in this book. Act upon what he admonishes each of us to do…individually and collectively.
Surrender is a verb.
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