“unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…and Why it Matters” by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons

Kinnaman and Lyons developed six broad themes from their research. Our mission strategies must take these prevailing attitudes into account! (29-30):

· “Hypocritical. Outsiders consider us hypocritical-saying one thing and doing another-and they are skeptical of our morally superior attitudes.”
· “Too focused on getting converts. Outsiders wonder if we genuinely care about them. They feel like targets rather than people. They question our motives when we try to help them “get saved,” despite the fact that many of them have already “tried” Jesus and experienced church before.”
· “Antihomosexual. Outsiders say that Christians are bigoted and show disdain for gays and lesbians. They say Christians are fixated on curing homosexuals and on leveraging political solutions.”
· “Sheltered. Christians are thought of as old-fashioned, boring, and out of touch with reality. Outsiders say we do not respond to reality in appropriately complex ways, preferring simplistic solutions and answers. We are not willing to deal with the grit and grime of people’s lives.”
· “Too political. Another common perception of Christians is that we are overly motivated by a political agenda, that we promote and represent politically conservative interests and issues. Conservative Christians are often thought of as right-wingers.”
· "Judgmental. Outsiders think of Christians as quick to judge others. They say we are not honest about our attitudes and perspectives about other people. The doubt that we really love people as we say we do.”

Fortunately, the authors address that as we attempt to change negative perspectives, “we need to avoid an opposite and equally dangerous extreme” (32):

· Promoting a less offensive faith where “….Christian teachings are omitted or deemphasized. They hijack the image of Jesus by portraying him as an open-minded, big-hearted, and never-offended-anyone moral teacher.” (33) We must always teach truths.

And they address the question of whether we should care what outsiders perceive and think.
They answer why perceptions matter (37-38):

· “What people think about Christians influences how they respond to us.”
· “What people think about Christians should help us to be objective.”
· “What people think of Christians can change.”
· “What people think about Christians reflects person stories.”

The authors push us, asking us to consider how we will respond to a young generation of outsiders raising criticisms of the Christian faith and its people. “What will we do to address the unchristian perception of our faith?” (204)They suggest insights to how we can respond with the right perspective on our missional journey, keeping our motivations on defending God’s fame and off our own image:

· “The first insight is that Jesus had the right perspective when facing criticism. He did not seem to be bothered by critics the way we are. Scripture emphasizes that believers will not be popular and that the message of the cross doesn’t make sense to outsiders.” (206)
· Secondly, “he was not willing to be defined by his enemies.” (207)
· “A third insight is that when Jesus responded to critics, he seemed to consider the below-the-surface motives. He could distinguish between hostility and hurt. And he always addressed the core of people’s spiritual condition.” (207)
· “It comes down to this: we must become Christlike again.” (224)

And my hope is that we will become known more for what we are for….caring for the poor, living for peace, modeling personal integrity, and loving everyone who crosses are paths.