Churches Questioned in "The Gathering" - Review

Churches Questioned in "The Gathering"
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lauren_S._Smith]Lauren S. Smith

The Gathering - http://raybarnettbooks.com/

Church used to be where people turned during times of strife and trouble. Now, many people are repulsed by the church and all that it represents. Going to church has become a frustrating experience and people are turning away at alarming rates. Why? Ray Barnett's first book, The Gathering: The simplicity, power and effectiveness of God's first-century pattern for the church, explores why churches have become an ineffective means of turning people to God and making lives and communities better and more enjoyable.

Barnett contends that this exodus has been caused by a lie - a lie telling us that the clergy, Sunday meetings and leadership hierarchies are straight from the scripture. In The Gathering, Barnett attempts to explain what the Bible really does say about how the foundation of a church should be structured and offers a recommendation about how we can move toward a truer way to worship.

In The Gathering, you'll learn how we've left the roots of what the church once was and digressed into a format where clerics give oratorical addresses to a silent audience. We've become a gathering of passive listening and coming to be entertained rather than worship God. Architecture is also an important part of the church attracting new members. Greater and more expensive churches are being built at an alarming rate - all funded by the indulgent members.

The Gathering systematically explores what an early church meeting might have looked like and what the Bible teaches about meetings, goals, leadership issues and women's roles in the church. After reading The Gathering you'll wonder how we could have strayed so far from what Jesus intended the church to be - and the example He set when He walked the earth.

The Gathering lays out a step by step plan about what our church is supposed to encompass - according to the Bible. Barnett believes that the Bible is a book that instructs us about life in the church, where we're supposed to meet and how leadership should be structured. Rather than simply criticizing the church, The Gathering draws on anecdotes and life's experiences to compare our western churches to those in emerging and persecuted countries.

There are many books that take on the task of projecting an opinion about what's happened to the church and criticizing the leadership, but none before The Gathering have managed to return to the Bible teachings and explain how God intended it.

Ray Barnett reveals the traditional church in The Gathering: The simplicity, power and effectiveness of God's first-century pattern for the church, and shows how people who are frustrated with the church can find their voices again and develop an understanding of how God wants the church to look and be. Many of these issues have never before been discussed, but as more is uncovered and conversations begin, Barnett's hope is that reformation can begin and worshipers can return to their roots.

Lauren Smith is editor for the Virtual Book Review Network - [http://www.virtualbookreviewnetwork.com]reviews books by well known bestselling authors and books by soon to be recognized names. This review covers The Gathering by Ray Barnett.

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