becoming a barbarian

Around the time I started reading The Barbarian Way, my life started changing. First, I found out that my sister might be moving, which began a big change for my whole family. But, the other change began to happen within me. Because of my decision to go to a secular school next year, I have found a new passion to discover, love, and minister God. A few weeks later I began The Barbarian Way. Throughout the book I feel a message of frustration with the church was relayed due to watered down practices and a “civilized faith”. Immediately I fell in love with the subject because I have dealt with the same frustrations. I have a passion to go into the world, yet have seen the church sit back and watch or ineffectively judge peoples’ hearts. However, I had tried to put all of that aside a couple weeks before reading this book because I felt called to rediscover and respect the value of the church. While a strong message was given to Christians in how to step out of the church and become a barbarian, I heard a different message. I was taught how to become a Christian within the church. The first thing for me to always remember is, “His purpose was to save us not from pain and suffering, but from meaninglessness” (page 31). And because of that I’ve had to repent because I strongly connected to the words on page 109 that read, “we choose political and secular vehicles to try to advance our cultural values, strangely attempting to make unbelieving people act like civilized believers.” So many times I’ve been the person I despise the most. God has called me to be a member of the church so I can reach out. If I’m not within the body of Christ, I have no place to reach out of. My heart has been re-cultivated. I still have a passion for the lost and I feel God has called me to be an active member in evangelizing to a secular crowd. The Barbarian Way has without a doubt called me out of my comfort zone, but instead of being called into the world, I have been called into the church. I want to be a barbaric Christian connected with the barbarians around me.

..just a few thoughts I had. As a challenge to your faith, heart, and mind, I recommend Erwin McManus' The Barbarian Way