TheMinistryCafe

I’m back from vacation now (at least my body is), and I find myself pre-occupied with the book I finished while away; unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity….and Why it Matters, by David Kinnaman (Barna Research Group president) and Gabe Lyons. This should be required reading for every American church leader that cares about reaching the next generation. I won’t try to write a review here (there are many good review posts on other sites / see Thinking Christian for one), but I do hope to interest a few others enough to read it too. This book has confirmed many things that I have felt for a few years now; how we “Evangelicals” have failed, becoming in many ways like the Pharisees Jesus rebuked. This work is incriminating of the American church in general and of me in particular.

I have long embraced Bill Hybel’s declaration: “the local church is the hope of the world”. Younger generations, however, view us as those who stand in judgment of the world. Instead of grace-givers and friends-of-sinners, we are viewed as moralistic and hypocritical. Have we forgotten the grace that saves us and become like the ‘foolish Galations’, preaching works? We have put a greater emphasis on fighting the sins of the world (like homosexuality) than we have on the love of the One who bore those sins in His body. I hate to admit it, but even in my home, as my children grew up they heard me criticize the immorality of our society with a self-righteous and arrogant attitude. What is more, past political connections to my faith served to obscure from them the Jesus of my faith. The perspectives shared in the book do not belong only to those of the younger generation that are outside the faith; they are largely shared by our children, those raised inside the faith. Apparently, they feel a certain sense of shame about their association with us.

I believe that at the heart of our failure is the desire to have the benefits of heaven here and now. What I mean is that we want an environment, a society that is free of sin and corruption, of bad influence on our children, where all of our materials needs are met and we can live comfortable lives with the freedom to worship. This is not a bad desire, for we are told to pray for our government that we might “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness”. But this desire has been an idol of sorts; at least for me it has. I have not been as concerned about the world that He died for and the establishment of His Kingdom as I have been about my own little kingdom of peace and happiness. I do not routinely embrace the cross for the sake of others, but tend to avoid it when possible. This is the Christian life my children have observed in me and other church-folk.  

We can do better. We must do better; our Lord is worthy of more than we have lived for. But we will not get there by striving in our strength. We need to learn to live grace and to repent of our selfishness, our self-centered Christianity. Some may read the book and think that the problem is primarily the perspective of the younger generation rather than our lack of saltiness. From my point of view, I’d say it is more than just their perspective; it is a reality that the church must change. We must learn anew what it means to be salt and light.