Mark Shea has a great comment from Sherry Weddell (no surprise there) regarding George Barna’s new identification of "the Revolutionaries" as

Relying upon national research conducted over the past several years, Barna profiles a group of more than 20 million adults throughout the nation labeled “revolutionaries.” He noted that although measures of traditional church participation in activities such as worship attendance, Sunday school, prayer, and Bible reading have remained relatively unchanged during the past twenty years, the Revolutionary faith movement is growing rapidly.

“These are people who are less interested in attending church than in being   the church,” he explained. “We found that there is a significant distinction in the minds of many people between the local church – with a small ‘c’ – and the universal Church – with a capital ‘C’. Revolutionaries tend to be more focused on being the Church, capital C, whether they participate in a congregational church or not.”

“A common misconception about revolutionaries,” he continued, “is that they are disengaging from God when they leave a local church. We found that while some people leave the local church and fall away from God altogether, there is a much larger segment of Americans who are currently leaving churches precisely because they want more   of God in their life but cannot get what they need from a local church. They have decided to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have chosen to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the Church detailed in the Book of Acts.”

Sherry writes…

Re: Barna. He’s just picking up on a phenomena that evangelicals have been writing about for 10 years now and which Catholic have ignored: the world-wide rise of post-denominational, independent, "apostolic" Christianity which right now constitutes about 20% of all the Christians in the world and 30% of North American Christians. And yes, millions of Catholics are full or part-time members of these movement.
It’s been off our radar because this movement positively repudiates many of the signs that Catholics consider essential to a "Church".

There are movements within the movement – like "simple church", "apostolic networks", and "emergent" church (for Gen Xers) but they all are trying to passionately think outside the old denominational box which they regard as an old "wineskin". Most (75%) are Pentecostal in their assumptions and/or worship – that is very open to the charisms and the present work of the Holy Spirit. They are intensely relational, evangelistic and missions-oriented.
[snip]
Yes, there is a real movement of young orthodox Catholics who love traditional devotions but simultaneously there is a movement of Catholics toward this very different understanding of Christianity. Both are true and neither recognizes the existence of the other because their worldviews and spiritual imaginations are so at odds with one another.

The 30-something pastor of Seattle’s burgeoning Mars Hill Church – focused on 20 and 30 somethings – is a very good example and an ex-Catholic as are many of the leaders of this movement.

There is also the phenomena that I encounter all the time on the road but hardly even hear discussed – the huge number of serious Catholics who move in and out of these evangelical-derived movements and receive their primary formation from them while still attending Mass. My educated guess at this point: for every Catholic who watches EWTN, there are 2 or 3 who are getting their primary spiritual nuture from an evangelical/Pentecostal source.

I agree with Sherry – do go read that entire post at Mark’s. I think the common point between the two groups of young, seeking Catholics is in passion and depth…neither of which are found in your "average parish" at first glance, but which are found at more intentional communities..whether that be enthusiastic group of like-minded devotees of resourcessement or those who hook up with the Vineyard, etc., with its determination to dig into Scripture, engage with God deeply and fully.

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