Maximum Faith

by George Barna

Everyone is on a journey in life. From a Christian perspective the purpose of that journey is to become the person God conceived you to be. That maturation requires you to undergo transforming experiences. But how does the journey progress? Where is God leading you? What options do you have en route to the final destination? In this groundbreaking book, bestselling author and researcher George Barna distills the findings from thousands of personal interviews to identify the path that God leads us on toward becoming the holy, loving servants that He envisions. How far you go on the journey to wholeness is up to you. To help chart your future, Barna explains the ten stops on that journey to describe where you're headed, what it takes to move forward, and the evidence of growth along the way.

Genres: Christian

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

George Barna was raised and educated on the East Coast before moving to California in the early 1980s. He held executive positions in advertising, public policy, political campaigns, and media/marketing research before beginning his own company, the Barna Research Group (now The Barna Group), in 1984. The firm analyzes American culture and creates resources and experiences designed to facilitate moral and spiritual transformation. Located in Ventura, California, The Barna Group provides primary research as well as developmental resources and analytic diagnostics. The company has served several hundred parachurch ministries and thousands of Christian churches throughout the country. It has also supplied research to for-profit corporations such as Ford Motor Company, The Walt Disney Company, Visa USA, and Prudential, and has assisted the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as well.

To date, George Barna has written more than 40 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health. Included among them are bestsellers such as Revolution, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, and Pagan Christianity? Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bimonthly research report, The Barna Update, which is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm's Web site (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today" and is counted among its most influential leaders. In 2009, George initiated Metaformation, a new organization designed to help people maximize their potential. More information about his current projects is available from www.georgebarna.com.

Barna is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large multiethnic church, has been involved in several church plants, and currently leads an organic church. He has served on the board of directors of various organizations. After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two master's degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife and their three daughters in Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading novels, playing and listening to guitar, relaxing on the beach, visiting bookstores, and eating pizza.

Reviews

[Ryne Isaac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was told before reading it that the value of this book was in the first third (it's divided into three sections), and this proved to be true. Barna lays out the 10 stops on our faith journey. This is great for both personal development and especially for church leaders, but beyond that I felt like the book lacked substance. I had a hard time relating to the second section which tells the fictional journey of a girl going through each of these stops. The final section of the book seemed rushed and didn't have the time or space to crack the surface level.

I'm glad I read it for the first third, but felt let down by the rest.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging book for those serious about growing closer to Christ. It is composed of 3 sections: research, fictional composite, application.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenging to Christians who have been coasting along with the crowd. A call to be serious about following Jesus and obeying His call to live honest and obedient lives.

[Steve Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on understanding our journey of Faith based on the actual research by the Barna Group. Enjoyed the format of the book that was set in three sections. First,the results of the clinical research data. Second, a pseudo, fictional account of someone walking through the ten stops the research revealed in our Faith journey. Third, practical application of how to understand the Faith Journey, where we may be on the continuum, and understanding the continued steps forward to Step 10, our intimate love relationship with God, and our loving outreach in love to those around us. Barna states, and I would emphasize, that his proposed 10 stops are not written in stone. People's lives and journey's are as different as our lives. The thing is, many of us do not understand the journey very well, and we don't understand where it leads. Maximum Faith helps us understand in manageable terms where we are and where we are going. Great Read!!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The format of the book takes a little away from the message of the book. If it would have stopped after the first third, I would have given it 5-stars. The ten steps of spiritual growth are HUGE... I cannot state that more emphatically. I honestly believe the first third is a must read for any Christian serious about their maturity. It also explains the frustration so many Christians experience when they encounter shallow faith and shallow churches.

[Chelsey Jolliff]

This is a thought provoking book about the different steps one takes in their spiritual life and a good reminder not to stay stagnant. It is broken into three different parts, and the first one is where it hit for me.

[Shirley Conley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of this book was better than the last. I think you need a personal guide or small group to get the message.

[Paul Bruggink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided into three sections. Section 1 is an overview of the challenges we face in our life's journey with God, a summary of the stops anong the way, and an introduction to what each stop entails. Section 2 is the story of a journey through the stops as told through the eyes of a composite person drawn from case studies. Section 3 provides pragmatic hands-on action steps to facilitate transformation in partnership with God in the form of detailed descriptions of the attitude shifts, behavioral shifts, and fruit (evidence of growth) at each stop. The book is based on a significant amount of research, including over 15,000 interviews.

Barna describes transformation as a series of ten stops: (1) ignorance of the concept or existence of sin, (2) aware of and indifferent to sin, (3) concerned about the implications of personal sin, (4) confession of and forgiveness for sin, (5) commitment to faith activities, (6) experiencing a prolonged period of spiritual discontent, (7) experiencing personal brokenness, (8) choosing to surrender and submit fully to God, (9) enjoying a profound intimacy with and love for God, and (10) experiencing a profound compassion and love for humanity. His interviews indicate that only 11% of adults get past stop 5, and only 2% get past stop 7.

In a chapter on considerations for church leaders, Barna proposes an alternative set of metrics, since you get what you measure. Instead of the currently popular metrics of worship service and class attendance, small group involvement, tithing, reading the Bible, praying regularly, knowing core biblical content, and engaging in some form of service, he proposes brokenness, surrender, submission, God-love, other-love, dependence on God, intimate prayer, waiting on God, lifestyle worship, Spirit-formed character, intentional silence and producing spiritual fruit. Barna did not describe how one would go about measuring these.

The book contains a number of helpful lists of appropriate behaviors along the way (hey, Jonathan Edwards had a list of Resolutions). This book can be fruitfully read by anyone wanting to experience God more fully, particularly those of us stuck at stop 5 or 6.

[Chuck Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was somewhat distracted by the unusual structure and the poor editing. (A good editor would have convinced Barna that the structure didn't work.) I also had some concerns about some of the conclusions (for example, as much as he said he was not providing a formula, that's exactly what he did. Also, some conclusions were based on what I found to be questionable (i.e. Arminian) theology.) However, there were some good snippets and soundbites. Unfortunately, a series of snippets and soundbites, no matter how useful, does not make for a great read. If you are interested in the topic, this might make a nice secondary resource.

[David Flowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed several of Barna's past books, but I was in a different place then. The same old evangelical boxes are beginning to wear thin and the language feels stilted and strained. Plus, from reading reviews others have written I can see it wasn't just me, that the book itself wasn't especially well written or edited. Not sure which, but not good overall.

The ten steps are somewhat interesting but beyond that, this book had little to offer.

[Mark Barth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

George Barna has provided a deeper understanding of the needs of church leadership and responsibility in this book. What would happen if we truly lead our people to live as a community fully devoted to changing our world through a profound love for God and a profound love for people.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who want to move beyond good enough, spiritual discontent, or brokenness, to something more profound. Barna sketches a road map for the faith journey, guiding us to press beyond some common resting points to reach for fulfillment.

[Nicolette · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have grown up in the church and are stuck going thru the motions of what we think Christians should do or look like, then this book will challenge you to move beyond that by being broken and submitting your will to the Lord.

[Parcsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know how spiritually mature you are, you should read this book. George Barna is a Christian researcher and his analysis are based on facts. This book is the result of a six-year research on American Christianity.

[Tessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how this book was uniquely set up. I also found it very insightful to pegging where I am at on my journey. It was a great book when your assessing where you are at and where you want to be.

[Milan Homola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting structure to the book. Most important element is this concept of 10 stops on the journey of Christian faith. Definitely a different way to look at growth. It’s George Barna so it’s based on survey research.