My book recommendation today is the book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity by David Kinnaman. Kinnaman is president of the Barna Group. Barna is a well respected market and opinion research firm. Their research is focused on Christianity and the Church. I picked up the book at the airport on my way to the west coast earlier this week for a mainline denominational assembly meeting where I was an “observer.” I think the denominational leaders should have read the book before they assembled. I came away from the experience with a better understanding of why mainline denominations are in a steep decline in membership and significance for the Kingdom of God.
I hate to be critical but it was like I was at a political convention. The talk from up front was loving but all around it was really about power, influence and control. My bias on this comes out because I thought that more of the quest for power, influence and control seemed to come from the left leaning folks yet some was evident on the right as well. It was good to talk to individuals, some on both sides of some of the “apocalyptic” issues. Each and everyone a “nice” person but many more concerned about their particular agenda rather than behaving as Christ would behave. One older saint used a redeeming phrase during one of these conversations. He said that a “gentle spirit” was his preferred approach. I agree with him.
There was very little “gentle spirit” in evidence. As I mentioned above, all of the issues were apocalyptic, on the right and on the left. I thought that the only thing we should be apocalyptic about was Jesus, the risen Jesus. I am not sure anyone had invited Jesus though. Their guest of honor was some guy named Robert and he came with lots of rules. Yet, those rules probably are necessary to manage the UNgentle spirit that prevailed. I went away saddened by the experience and saddened that this is what those outside the Church see as the Church. The bride of Christ is indeed sometimes a whore.
Why should we be concerned about this or any of the other discourse that the Church of Jesus engages in. Kinnaman tells us that our (the Church’s) image in the world is one of insignificance. Those between the ages of eighteen and thirty drive by us everyday and hardly know that we are there or care whether we are there or not. His findings and his commentary are disturbing, or at least they should be to those who care about being the Kingdom of God, being in the world but not of the world.
Thank God that He is not a quitter and that He pursues us even when we are headed down a dead end. The newspapers will cover the empty rhetoric and mostly insignificant decisions that come from our meetings and assemblies but what is truly noteworthy is the work that God Himself continues to do in shaping His Church. This goes on behind the scenes and with no media attention or votes. Thank God!
Categories: Christ · Christianity · Church · Faith · God · Jesus · Religion
Tagged: Christ, Church, denomination, Jesus, mainline, Religion
The title of this post is the title of a book by Dave Burchett. The subtitle is “Where we have failed each other and how to reverse the damage.” This is such an apt description of what goes on in the church and within Christian organizations repeatedly and often.
I have a few fresh examples of this dysfunctional style of “living out our faith.” This past weekend my daughter graduated from a college that prides itself on its faith and freedom. That term “faith and freedom” is a post in and of itself for another day. At most church related and/or Christian colleges (I draw a distinction) it is still common to hold baccalaureate services; a religious service to commemorate the occasion of commencement. Friday evening hundreds of parents and grandparents, soon-to-be graduates and faculty filed into the large arena for this service of celebration (at least that is what I think a baccalaureate service should be—a celebration). You probably know the drill, a few opening comments, some prayers and a preacher delivering a a celebratory, marginally didactic sermon to the graduates.
Well, we got beyond the opening welcome and one of the senior students who had been selected to deliver the opening prayer stood up. Eight long minutes later with his eyes clenched tightly this student ended his prayer. Unfortunately, someone had not taught him that it is RUDE to hold people hostage to your sermon when it was only meant to be a prayer. Literally, he assumed that God needed some help in bringing the “unsaved” to saving knowledge by quoting each of the “key” salvation verses and walking them through the steps to salvation through Jesus Christ. I guess he assumed that this was an opportunity to pray some of the “invited guests” into the kingdom. OK, I chalked that one up to immaturity as did my graduating daughter and my invited guests/family, three of whom are ordained pastors.
Then the preacher was introduced. Let it be noted that in the introduction it was made clear that the speaker’s brother is on the “short list” for vice president on the McCain ticket (that is the “freedom” side of “faith and freedom”….btw, can anyone tell me who decides what the “short list” is??). This preacher, pastor of a 3,000 plus member church from an affluent part of the country, proceeded to lay an evangelistic sermon on the audience. Mind you, I have nothing against evangelism. Yet, this was not the time nor the place for a sermon that should have been followed by three or four rounds of Just As I Am and an alter call. Twenty or so minutes later my family and invited guests scurried out of the arena feeling like the victims of a religious or maybe it was a political cult. There was nothing celebratory about that experience and once again bad Christians had happened to a lot of good people.
How do we reverse the damage? I am honestly not sure how to reverse this type of damage. Maybe it goes back to listening and trying to understand what Jesus was telling us about God and about loving others as you love yourself. What kind of masochist would do this to him/herself? Maybe it is about celebrating others and not being so concerned with our agenda. Maybe it is about acknowledging that God is OK with us celebrating an occasion and does not want us to use the good news of the gospel as a weapon to literally beat people over the head with our “good news.” Maybe it is about not being so concerned about who God wants to be the next vice president and recognizing that, like Rome, we too shall pass.
Oh well, it was good for a laugh and reflection on how badly we (I include myself in this category) often use our faith on good people. Let’s pour our effort on following Jesus and doing what He would have us do rather than playing Jesus and using Him for our own pathetic purposes.
Categories: Christ · Christianity · Faith · God · Jesus · Religion
