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{"id":1559,"date":"2009-02-09T06:01:11","date_gmt":"2009-02-09T11:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=1559"},"modified":"2009-02-09T06:01:11","modified_gmt":"2009-02-09T11:01:11","slug":"facing-the-unchristian-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2009\/02\/facing-the-unchristian-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Facing the unChristian reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Times were hard for the single mother and her 4-year-old son, so she did what hurting people often do \u2014 she joined a church seeking solace and support.<\/p>\n

But there was a problem, one that drove her right back out of the pews.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone told me what to do as a parent,\u201d she told pollster David Kinnaman, \u201cbut no one bothered to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

This blunt encounter wasn\u2019t one of the formal interviews that led Kinnaman and social activist Gabe Lyons to write their book, \u201cunChristian: What a new generation really thinks about Christianity<\/a> \u2026 and why it matters.\u201d But what the young mother said was painfully consistent with what they heard time after time during three years of research, as they focused on the concerns of Americans between the ages of 16 and 29.<\/p>\n

The problem wasn\u2019t that she was turned off by the Christian faith or that she was an outsider who had never stepped inside a set of church doors, said Kinnaman, leader of the Barna Group in Ventura, Calif., where he has led nearly 500 research projects for both secular and religious clients. <\/p>\n

From this woman\u2019s perspective, it was crucial that her anger and disappointment were rooted, not in ignorance or nasty media stereotypes, but in her own close encounters with Christians. She believed that real, live Christians had failed to treat her in a Christian manner \u2014 leaving her burned and bitter.<\/p>\n

Growing numbers of young \u201coutsiders\u201d say they know exactly how she feels.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost Mosaics and Busters \u2026 have an enormous amount of firsthand experience with Christians and the Christian faith,\u201d wrote Kinnaman and Lyons, referring to Americans born after the massive Baby Boom. \u201cThe vast majority of outsiders within the Mosaic and Buster generations have been to church before; most have attended at least one church for several months; and nearly nine out of every 10 say they know Christians personally, having about five friends who are believers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the bottom line, according to their research: \u201cChristians are primarily perceived for what they stand against. We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than what we are for.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be blunt, young \u201coutsiders\u201d think that modern Christians are hypocritical, judgmental, clueless fanatics who choose to live in protective bubbles, except when they venture out to attack homosexuals, run right-wing political campaigns and proselytize innocent people who would rather be left alone. Things are getting so bad that many young Christians \u2014 especially evangelicals \u2014 say they are embarrassed to discuss faith issues with their friends.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to tap into this kind of hostility and get angry or scared or both, said Kinnaman, speaking at the annual Presidents Conference of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. Some religious leaders may even be tempted to rush into changes that compromise essential doctrines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that we don\u2019t want to do is take a poll, figure out what kind of faith people want, and then just create Christianity in that sort of image,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I am not saying is that we change this, that we somehow lose touch with the biblical reasons why these perceptions exist. <\/p>\n

\u201cJesus talks about sin. The Bible is clear about our brokenness. This is going to lead to the perception, sometimes, that we are judgmental.\u201d<\/p>\n

But pastors, educators and other religious leaders must realize, Kinnaman insisted, that attitudes among young Americans have truly changed. The culture has moved light years past the skeptical attitudes that believers faced in earlier generations, when many young people rebelled and then, as they grew older, returned to traditional forms of faith.<\/p>\n

At some point, he stressed, church leaders must find ways to listen to their critics and take their concerns seriously. <\/p>\n

This will lead to hard questions. Can Americans listen to Christians in other parts of the world? Can religious leaders tune in signals from mass media? Can older Christians hear the voices of young people who struggle with pornography, who express their fears by cutting their own bodies, who struggle with issues of sexual identity?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been the party in power for several hundred years,\u201d said Kinnaman. \u201cThat gives us a different kind of challenge, a different set of opportunities. \u2026 We have been so busy trying to be a Christian nation that I think we may have forgotten what it means to follow Christ.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"