«Alarming but Good Book»
The data divulged in this book should be alarming to the doctrinally sound Christian. Read it and weep at the current thought process of our young adults. Cohabitation condoned? Just look inside. Adultry condoned? Just look inside. Homosexuality condoned? Just look inside.
An alarming view of the late teen\early twenty something crowd. Should wake up the Generation X'ers, and baby boomers (who really wrecked this country).
[Thursday, January 08, 2009]
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«Not Persuaded...»
The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate... Genesis 3:12
It is the very nature of sin to accuse God for the wrongs we commit. This book illustrates a very dangerous trend amongst evangelicals. Taking from the world we have become very comfortable at criticizing the church with the same level of intensity as the media critiques political campaigns. I'd like to offer the minority report: This consumers approach to the church is out of hand.
It is a product of pride and cowardice at it's worst. One of the names given to the church is the Bride of Christ. I sometimes wonder if we remember that. The reason the church is the way it is has more to do with those who would rather write a book than do. Try getting this guy to have a conversation with you and you'll see that none of these insights are free. They all come at a price and getting US to purchase his book only perpetuates this deception. How about learning to listen to the Holy Spirit? Remember Him? Brothers and sisters, I implore you with the utmost urgency and sincerity, I believe that our time would better be served by getting to know your community and ministering from the love of Christ then reading this book and others like it. Remember it's the way that Christ and the Holy Apostles did it.
[Thursday, January 01, 2009]
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«unChristian - unSettling»
unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity...and Why It Matters
David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
ISBN: 978-0-8010-1300-3 ISBN-10: 0-8010-1300-3
unChristian is not your typical Christian book. It did not need to be. Neither should one expect it to be.
unChristian is unSettling.
unChristian will either humble or anger the Christian reader.
Research has shown that Busters and Mosaics (Terms that are used to specify young people aged 16-29) do not have a good opinion of Christians.
That should not really be surprising. I'm a pastor and I know that I don't have a good opinion of Christians in general. Oh, people are nice to me and I enjoy the ministry. I pastor a group of people who treat me as family. My experience has shown me, however, that Christians can be very unChristian. This book tells us that people on the outside of the church see us that way, too. Having read the book, I don't have a very good opinion of myself. I have a long way to go in learning to show grace, mercy, and compassion.
Many of those who were interviewed were not always on the outside of the church. Their experiences on the inside drove them out, however. It is commonly known that the Christian church is the army that shoots its wounded.
As a pastor I have battled legalism. I am all for grace. I did not realize how much legalism was still in me, however. In seeking to stand for righteousness I have been less than gracious and accepting of people who sin. We Christians are unChristian because we are a self-righteous, arrogant group of people who do not listen because we are convinced that we (though we say that the Bible does, we act as if we do) have all the answers. We give advice where it is not requested. We condemn when we should be helping. We complain about the state of the world, but do little to change it. We say that we hate the sin, but love the sinner. Our actions declare that we hate both.
We are unChristian in our attitudes because we are often obnoxious and rude to those who don't believe or live as we do. The unChristian church is characterized by what they are against instead of what they are for. We are negative and hostile to those who don't fit our mold.
While telling us all of these things the authors maintain a very gracious attitude toward the church (after all, they are part of the church), and do not call for moral and theological compromise. They do call for us to seek to understand people. They call for us to seek to empathize and sympathize. They call for us to recognize the fact that all sexual sin is sin; not just homosexual sin. They remind us of the fact that kindness and compassion will do much to help those who commit these sins, but that picketing their funerals and their parades will do little to help them. The research of the authors demonstrates to us the need to hold to traditional Christian beliefs, but to let go of or unChristian attitudes and methodologies. After all, we are not ministering well as we are.
The book is well written, I must say. To me it is gripping. I intended to read it at at leisurely pace and not tie myself to it. I did not do so. I read it every opportunity that I had. I could hardly put it down. The personal anecdotes from those interviewed give authenticity and authority to the message of the book. The message of the book is this: we are behaving in an unChristian manner; we must get over our Pharisaic ways and begin to minister as Jesus Christ did. After all, He was kind and compassionate to the outcasts and sinners. He did not call them names. He loved them.
Now, please excuse me while I go and repent.
[Tuesday, December 23, 2008]
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