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!
