Okay...so again...full disclosure: I was given this book as a gift. By Patricia Heaton, no less. See, she happens to lurve her birthday nearly as much as I do, and we share a birthday month (best friends, already!), March. Well, in March, she offered to place this book into the hands of anyone who responded to her Facebook invitation and sent a SASE. Evidently, she attends this church, has read this book, and is such a believer in Barnett's cause that she wanted to give as many signed (oh, yes, she did) copies away as she could during the month of March. Well, I've been Heaton's Twitter fan, an "Everyone Loves Raymond" fan and a "Middle" (my son should be called Braxel) fan, so when Patricia Heaton, who is also a follower of Jesus, tells me to do something...I pretty much do it. :)
And I'm so glad I did. Barnett and Barna give an extraordinary look at not only a man who finds his own cause under God's direction and power, but how his cause (through God's power and providence) ignites others to learn to focus on the cause they were created for--by an incredibly multifaceted-though-never-changing God. In fact, after reading this, essentially, I find myself looking at my cause and The Cause as part and parcel of one another. Because I am a part of the Body (or cause) of Christ, then my individual cause and contributions/personality are not simply my own, but His. I hope that makes sense.
In short, Barnett talks about how he began to build the Dream Center in inner city Los Angeles. Initially, and surprisingly to him, his church has very few people, and even declines to zero in attendance. Zero! He tries hard to prove that he is a leader worthy of growing a church. He was raised under the tutelage of his father, Tommy Barnett, leader of the mega Phoenix First Assembly of God church in AZ. Surely, Barnett thinks he can be a great pastor for God, and draw many people to church in Los Angeles.
Once he's forced by God's kind, but sure discipline and pruning, he realizes his erroneous thinking. God doesn't care about numbers in a church as much as He cares about His flock. He cares for the wounded, the lost, and the unbelieving. He cares about the hope given through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He cares about whether we love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He cares that we love our neighbors as ourselves. And He cares about paying His love forward in the form of winning believers to Christ by loving them to Him.
And we're not talking Charlie Sheen "winning". We're talking about humble, simple, persevering love. As Barnett describes, his team of fellow believers loved the people of Los Angeles by showing up in a neighborhood e.v.e.r.y. w.e.e.k.e.n.d. to offer kind words, listening ears, and service. Often, they received verbal abuse and people didn't know how to take the overt kindness shown them. By the grace of God, they were able to return again and again to build trust relationships with the forgotten people of this world: The poor. The drug addicted. The mentally ill/unstable. The elderly.
I said in a tweet recently that it's a shame that this book and a few others recently (e.g. Radical, Crazy Love) are seen as such revolutionary works. These books, though uncomfortable to read, are exactly the point of God's greatest two commandments and His Great Commission. It's time to listen. And to do. Our cause, based on our wiring, personality, and passions, will help us to be part of the Body of Christ in a living, breathing, tangible way to our neighbors...and ourselves.
Rating: Excellent! 5 of 5 pages.
Highly recommend to church leaders/pastors, as well as regular peeps. Very relatable and powerfully relevant.
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