thoughts on "unchristian" - 2

Hypocritical...

that's how the majority of young people perceive the average Christian on the street. If you're like me, you might get occasionally irritated by the "Christians are hypocrites" jab when folks are talking about why they are not Christians, why they stopped being Christians. Sometimes, I want to say, "If the shoe fits, where it." I mean, how many folks of other faiths, or no faith, actually live out the principles and values they claim to espouse without a good bit of hypocrisy?

On the other hand, responses like this don't help us give a reason for our hope, or to speak wisely without outsiders, as Peter exhorts us to. We do well to investigate the root of this common complaint.

unchristian exposes some of the hypocrisy latent in the wider culture, but Kinnaman reminds us that followers of Jesus are held to a higher standard - not just by God, but by the wider culture. And, "Young outsiders believe that...followers of Christ are playing the very same mind games they are. They perceive us as employing the same tactics as everyone else to preserve an appearance of strength (pp 44-5)."

This is shown true in the research. Kinnaman works with the Barna research group whose intensive investigations have shown that, in America, those who hold beliefs in line with Evangelical or 'born-again' Christianity (ie, a personal commitment to Jesus as Savior) are just as likely (in the past 30 days) to gamble, look at porn online, steal, consult a medium or psychic, physically fight or abuse, get drunk, used narcotics, lie, slander another person, or practice vengeance as 'non-born-agains'. In our culture, those who believe what Christians are supposed to believe live virtually the same lives as their unbelieving neighbors (47)!

There are some minor differences, especially when it comes to public sins, like using profanity in public. And, Christians are a bit more likely to help the poor and homeless. But, all in all, we're not doing so hot in the whole "do not be conformed to the pattern of this world" command Paul articulated to us.

Now, I'm big on grace, and believe that it's silly to pretend we're not sinning if we are. "Christians are not perfect, just forgiven," is a truism we see on bumper stickers. However, these statistics are mind-blowing to me. We fail, we blow-it, we are forgiven. But, we ought to be progressing in godliness, throwing off the sin that so easily entagles us. How is it that our average month consists of all the same garbage as the world?

I hope these statistics will spur us toward some soul searching, and some thinking about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And, I plan to delve into these questions in my next post. Let me conclude today with the cruel twist Kinnaman exposes on pages 48 and 49:

It's not just our lifestyles that have gotten us in trouble; it's the very way in which we convey the priorities of being a Christian. The most common message people hear from us is that Christianity is a religion of rules and regulations. They think of us as hypocritcal because they are measuring us by our own standards.

The most compelling research we did on this is a recent study in which we asked Christian adults to identify the priorities Christians pursue in terms of their personal faith. We did not prompt any answers; respondents were able to mention anything that came to mind.

What do you imagine was the most common response?

It was lifestyle--being good, doing the right thing, not sinning.

No wonder the world considers us hypocrites: we have convinced them and ourselves that Jesus died on the Cross so that we would sin less, and we don't! I've heard a quote that might be from CS Lewis that goes something like this: Jesus did not come to make bad men good, but to make dead men alive!

thoughts on "unchristian"

In reading Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity...and Why it Matters, I have encountered some stunning numbers to corroborate some things I have considered to be true for a while through experience, observation, and intuition. I would like to take some space on my blog to work through some of these statistics and ideas in hopes of helping all of us reconsider some of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and a witness to his atoning death and resurrection.
The authors and pollsters, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, present their basic findings on pp 27 & 28. Here they tell us that the young people outside the Christian faith (ages 16-29) have an unfavorable image of Christianity. That image is based on several perceptions. The top three negative perceptions listed are that Christians are antihomosexual (91% say “a lot” or “some”), judgmental (87%), and hypocritical (85%). These numbers tell us what nonChristians think of when they think about Christianity.
There are some favorable images in the minds of these young people. Unfortunately, the top favorable image they have of Christianity is that it “teaches same basic idea as other religions” (82% “a lot” or “some”). In general, outsiders consider Christianity to have good values and principles (76%), and friendly people (71%). However, only 55% think that Christianity “consistently shows love for other people”, and 54% believe Christianity “offers hope for the future”. These ‘favorable’ images are more dismal as we look at the percentage of young outsiders that consider Christians trustworthy (9 % say “alot”), or Christianity to be genuine and real (11%), “something that makes sense” (9%), or “relevant to your life” (10%).
These numbers are pretty depressing by themselves. The authors do a great job of pursuing what these numbers mean for the Christian community in America, and I plan to trace out some of that, along with my own thoughts throughout the next few weeks. For today, I’ll just let these numbers sit with you. I hope they will inspire you to prayer.
This is our mission field.

Fire Insurance: part One

When I was 14, I attended a small youth group of about half a dozen kids. At the time, we were meeting at the pastor's house of a small church plant that only survived about 4 more years. The youth leaders, Ryan and Tracey Westphal, had a profound influence on my life over the next couple of years. One Wednesday night they asked a question to our small group that has stuck with me more than a decade. That question, I believe, put a seed in my heart that would bear much fruit later on...it still bears fruit today.

The question was a simple one: "Why do you believe in Jesus Christ?" or "Why are you a Christian?"

At the time, I thought this was a silly, and simple question. My answer seemed obvious, "I don't want to go to hell." D'uh, why wouldn't I believe in Jesus? Who wants to roast in an oven of wrath and anguish for eternity?

The Westphals responded: "Is that it? Jesus is just fire insurance for you?"

I kinda mumbled a reply, but I can't remember what I said. I was confused, honestly. I remember thinking to myself, "what more is there?"

That's my question to you today, readers. What more is there to trusting in Jesus? Or, is there anything more to it than a ticket to heaven?

Please post some comments. I'd like to make this a real discussion. I have a direction, I want to go with this, but am hoping to learn more along the way.

ps: Please pray for Jen's MawMaw (paternal Grandmother). She is very ill in a hospital in St. Louis.