So lately I have been reading this book and it has been very eye opening as it talks about the way that younger demographics view the Christian faith. As I read through this my eyes have been opened to some of the thoughts and opinions of these generations.
Not everything in this book is new to me as I would be included in the generations mentioned. Many of the views mentioned have been brought up to me through conversations in the past but some of the topics covered have shed some light on new things to address in my own life and with the perceptions of the Christian church and faith.
This book addresses six issues that younger non-Christians and Christians have with the current Christian faith. The first three mentioned were that Christians were hypocritical, that they force people to “Get Saved” and that Christians are anti-homosexual. These two chapters have allowed me to gain a better understanding of these issues and what I can do to try to not portray these images.
Now I won’t spoil the book for you (partly because I haven’t finished it) as there are a ton of statistics about younger generations. But I will leave two quotes that I found interesting.
“Every human being struggles with immorality, because at our core is our heart’s rebellion against God.” ~David Kinnaman
“We need to be more concerned about reaching those who need Jesus than ‘proving’ our faith to those who already know him.” ~David Kinnaman
My prayer is that I can portray a genuine Christian faith and love people the way Christ does.
Has anyone read this book? What perceptions have you come across about the church?
2 responses so far ↓
1 J-mo // May 29, 2009 at 10:01 am
Sounds like an interesting book - couldn’t agree more that Christians are hypocritical…”holy are thou” type stuff - although what separates the hypocrite apart from the non hypocrite is a fine line highlighted only by a true desire to follow Gods heart - all sin and fall short but the true Christian should live their life for the Lord and believe in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” - as opposed to using their sin nature as an excuse to sin. To say someone is a hypocrite because they sin is what I feel many non-christians do - but repentance is what many don’t see…on our knees at night asking the Lord to forgive us and work in our lives to give us the strength to stand up under it - the other thing that caught my attention was the homosexuality deal - I think it is often portrayed that Christians ONLY disagree with homosexuality when the truth is we ONLY AGREE with the word of God - the Bible says homosexuality is wrong - the first place that comes to mind is Leviticus 20:13 - just as it says adultery and sex outside of marriage are wrong - I think it is important that we stand our ground and stand on the Word but in a way that acknowledges that we all fall short - a homosexual is no less fallen in the eyes of God than someone who watches porn or any other sexual sin for that matter - and that runs back to the hypocritical nature of Christianity - we have all fallen and all sin so the line that separates the hypocrite from the genuine is a very fine line - hopefully the Lord can help us walk the right side.
Keep servin’ brotha!
2 admin // May 29, 2009 at 11:21 am
@ j-mo thanks for your response, that’s some of the same stuff that the book talks about. As Christians we are not perfect and we are going to fail just like everyone else, that’s the way we are made. But we are labeled hypocrites because the world holds us to a higher standard and because people know Christians that have done this or done that.
In terms of homosexuality, that chapter is very interesting. The whole chapter goes back to kind of the “love the sinner, hate the sin” motto. As you said, the sin of homosexuality is no different than someone who watches porn or who commits adultery. All sins are the same in God’s eyes, and it is a shame that we are Christians have created this hierarchy of sins with homosexuality being at or near the top. At the end of the day people who are homosexuals need the love of Christ just as much as someone who steals from a grocery store or someone who lusts after a woman who is not his wife.
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