Outreach Post #2: A thought on unChristian by Kinnaman and Lyons

You know, if you're staying tuned with the series, good for you. It's only been, say...six months between posts. Now, granted, my wife had an unbearably difficult and medically mind-numbing third trimester. Between massive placenta separation bleeding and hospital bed rest, my wife and I were at some very difficult and stressful times. God is great, though; Josh is ALREADY two months old. He's healthy, strong, and LOUD (particularly when crying and grunting), and Grace has no lingering health issues. I hope to get back to blogging more regularly, however.

Well, quickly I just wanted to discuss outreach in a bit different context. I've been reading a bit a book put out by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons through research by the Barna Group called unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity...and why it Matters. In the book, the authors point out that essentially the main difficulty people have with Christianity is, well, Christians. The perception of Christians is really bad outside of the church. It's really kinda scary. We're simply not being great ambassadors for the Kingdom, according to the thoughts of those who are on the other side of things.

Some of the main points Kinnaman brings up are political (you have to be conservative or liberal [yes, I've heard that, too] to be Christian), judgmental (we don't want you if you can't look the part), hypocritical (do as He says, not as I do); just to name a few. Even being a Christian, I have come across people in my past where I can look back and say that I've seen these same things play out. It's kind of maddening to know these perceptions exist...we are all still human. Yes, I do believe every Christian needs to be striving for Christ's example and allow the Holy Spirit to guide each one to the same goal; however, we all have our hang ups. This isn't heaven. We're not perfected. We never will be on earth. I think, though, that God works best when we are united in our front spiritually.

John 13:34 says, from Christ Himself, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Stupid hang ups like the ones stated above will melt away before an unbeliever's eyes when they see this being displayed. Guys, He commanded it. There is not a whole lot more we can or have to do when we do this. People will wonder. They will look at us like we're weird. But ultimately, many will ask questions; if not to us (in which case we can give them the answer), then at least in their heart and recognize they're missing something in their lives. Hopefully, one of us could be there to help them pick up the pieces to find what they're looking for.