UnChristian

From time to time I receive offers for free books and I gladly take advantage of them. The most recent offer involved a book called UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. I was excited to receive this book offer because it is a title I've been watching in the reviews in the newsletters and professional journals I read.

The subtitle of the book is "What a New Generation Really thinks about Christianity...and Why it Matters."

The author is very candid that many readers won't like some of the reports they will read in this text, but nevertheless it is essential that we read the research despite our personal reactions. For instance, it could hardly please any of us to learn that "The research shows that Christians are best known for what they are against. They are perceived as being judgmental, antihomosexual,. and too political. And young people are quick to point out they believe that Christianity is no longer as Jesus intended. It is unChristian."

Here's an extensive quote (p 15) that I believe captures the essence of why it would do all of us good to read this book.

After thousands of interviews and countless hours studying non-Christians, I believe outsiders would want this book titled UnChristian. Young people today are incredibly candid. They do not hold back their opinions. I want to capture outsiders' expressions and views in these pages.l I don't agree with everything they say. Yet if I am going to be your guide to the hearts and minds of people outside Christianity--if you are going to really understand them--I feel compelled to represent their viewpoint fairly and candidly, even if it is uncomfortable for those of us who are Christians. To engage nonChristians and point them to Jesus, we have to understand and approach them based on what they really think, not what we assume about them. We can't overcome their hostility by ignoring it. We need to understand their unvarnished views of us. Therefore, this book reflects outsiders' unfiltered reactions to Christianity.....

Even though some of the realities are uncomfortable, I have no intention of picking on Christ followers. Far from it. My purpose is not to berate Christians. You won't find here the names of any Christian leaders who have done wrong things. From time to time, I will use an anonymous illustration to show why some of the negative perceptions exist. Yet the point is not to pick on any particular person. Every Christ follower bears some degree of responsibility for the image problem; it is not helpful to assign blame to those who have made mistakes.

Still for the things we can influence--our lives, our churches, the way we express Christianity to others--I hope that by helping you better understand people's skepticism, your capacity to love people will increase, offering them genuine hope and real compassion through Jesus Christ. Paul, the most prominent writer of the New Testament, says, "While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church (I Corinthians 8:1).

So, I'm on my way into the depths of this text, and I hope that I have whetted your appetites enough that you might purchase the book and begin your own journey into its wisdom. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Let me know if you're going to read the book, ok?

Thanks for the "chat!"

Reverend Donna