Tag Archives: unChristian

They Like Jesus But Not the Church

16 Wednesday Jan 2008

Posted by in Book Review

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I picked up a copy today of Dan Kimball‘s book They Like Jesus But Not the Church. I have only read about half of the introduction, but it is off to an excellent start! He shares the story of speaking at an evangelism conference and the people there just not getting his approach of just trying to get to know people and actually befriending them. One of the pastors asked if he “sealed the deal” (meaning prayed the sinners’ prayer). When Kimball said that he had not and that he was trying to get to know people and befriend them the pastor responded, “Well, then you’re wasting your time, brother, and I will pray for you that you seal the deal with them.”

If that story starts to get you fired up a little bit about how much that pastor is missing the point, I bet this would be a book that would speak to you (though I can’t fully endorse it, as I have not actually read it yet). I found myself thinking, and I bet that guy didn’t even actually pray for you…

Having recently read and posted about Kinnaman and Lyon’s book UnChristian, I was struck by some obvious similarities between the insights that Kimball draws out about how the church is perceived. Here is a comparison of what Kinnaman and Lyon note that people dislike about Christians and what Kimball discusses in They Like Jesus But Not the Church:

UnChristian traits according to Kinnaman and Lyon’s research:

Outsiders see Christians as:

  • Hypocritical
  • Only concerned with conversion (getting you to pray the sinners’ prayer)
  • antihomosexual
  • sheltered
  • too political
  • judgmental

Here is what Kimball says Emerging generations think about the Church:

  • an organized religion with a political agenda
  • judgmental and negative
  • dominated by males and oppresses females
  • homophobic
  • arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong
  • full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally

The similarities are remarkable and suggest that these two books really have profoundly grasped the way Christians are viewed by non-Christians. It is a wake up call.

In a previous post Dan Kimball actually noticed a comment I made about thinking it would be cool to have lunch with him and he replied. So, in case you find this post too, Dan – I have a question. Have you read UnChristian and if so how do you think it meshes with They Like Jesus But Not the Church? Oh, and will you be in the northern Oklahoma area anytime soon to grab some lunch? I know of a great Mexican place in Blackwell, OK!

Finally, here is a link on Dan Kimball’s blog where he discusses They Like Jesus But Not the Church.

I Am Sorry

10 Thursday Jan 2008

Posted by in Book Review, Ministry

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The book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christians… and Why it Matters has really stuck with me these past few days as is evident by this post and this post. I have found myself thinking about all of the people who are represented in the survey data that is presented in unChristian and I have found myself wishing that there were some way to let them all know that Christians are supposed to do better. I have found myself wanting to say that there are Christians who do truly love you where you are at. And I think this is true. I at least know that my faith tells me that Jesus loves you.

But in my anger and frustration at other Christians who have not loved people different than them well, I started to become uncomfortable and realized that I also have failed to love my neighbor as myself. Sometimes I ignore or don’t see others who are hurting. Sometimes it is hard for me to know how to love someone who is living a very different life than I think God would want them to live. But I agree with my friend Joseph’s comment in one of my previous posts that God has never asked me to show more love or grace to anyone else than God has already shown to me.

So, I want to say that I am sorry. I am sorry for my failure to love my neighbor as myself. If you have ever felt unloved by my actions or inactions I am sorry. I am without excuse, because my faith tells me to love my neighbor as much as I love myself.

I remember reading in one of Donald Miller’s books (I can’t remember which one it was… Blue Like Jazz?) that several Christians set up a booth on a college campus to confess their sins to others on campus. It was a powerful story and to me represents the kind of humility that Christians need to risk showing to others. This gave me an idea – If you have felt unloved or hurt by something a Christian has done to you, I would like to apologize to you. I want to tell you that I am sorry for the pain that you have felt. If you want to leave a comment with a specific way that you have been hurt or wronged, I would like to specifically apologize to you.

What We Can Learn from unChristian

09 Wednesday Jan 2008

Posted by in Ministry

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Yesterday I posted some brief thoughts about unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why it Matters by Kinnaman and Lyons. I had a light bulb moment this morning where it occurred to me that what the survey results that Kinnaman and Lyons report shows is that a very important question, maybe the most important question to young adults when they are interacting with others is: “Do you love me?”

A quick look at the list of negative attributes that are attributed to Christians (hypocritical, too focused on gaining converts, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental) shows that a unifying theme is that young adults feel like Christians do not love people who are different than they are. The question they are asking the church is: “Do you love me?” And the answer they are telling us that they are hearing is a resounding “No!” For me this is a powerful realization for two reasons:

  • Because I think there is a lot of truth to it. Christians often are not good at really loving people who are different than they are. We often aren’t even good at loving other Christians from different backgrounds. (One of the most harsh and unloving reactions I have ever had came from a conversation I tried to start with a Christian from another tradition where I was trying to learn more about the differences between us. I am not saying that I was perfect and blameless, but I felt ridiculed, disrespected, and unloved.)
  • The second reason this is a powerful realization is because Jesus commanded us to Love God and love our neighbor. And I think he actually meant it. Jesus did not say love God and people who think and live just like you do. He said love God and love the other people I created in my image.

I think that coming to actually love people who are different than us is one of the biggest challenges facing the church. If we do not love other people, no matter how they are living, we are disobeying the commands of Christ and we are not living out our faith. If that is the case, no wonder people aren’t bursting through our doors wanting what we have. Why would anyone want to join a group that they feel hates, despises, or looks down on them?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

My those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ go and do this.

unChristian

08 Tuesday Jan 2008

Posted by in Book Review

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One of the books I got for Christmas was David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons’ unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why it Matters. Kinnaman and Lyons take a hard look at the way Christians are perceived by 16-29 year old Americans. The feedback they get is not flattering and it is tough to swallow. The main value in this book is simply the recognition that young adults do not find a whole lot to like about contemporary Christians. The point of the book is not whether these perceptions are fair or accurate, but that this is the way Christians are perceived. The research in this book was done by the folks at the Barna group and they found that 16-29 year olds think that Christians are:

  • Hypocritical
  • Too focused on getting converts
  • Antihomosexual
  • Sheltered
  • Too Political
  • Judgmental

I appreciate the way that the author’s take these perceptions seriously even though they stick to their evangelical worldview. They discuss the perception that young folks have of Christians acting unChristianly and they offer a way to engage with that perception. For example one chapter addresses the perception that “Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians.” They argue for the new perception “Christians show compassion and love to all people, regardless of their lifestyle.”

The major strength of this book is that it takes a serious look at how other people see Christians and it resists the temptation to a defensive reaction. This is a helpful model that it seems to me that all Christians can learn from.

Have you read this book? What are your reactions?