“Christians believe the primary reason outsiders have
rejected Christ is that they cannot handle the rigorous standards of following
Christ… Only 1/4 of young outsiders are convinced Christianity would limit
their lifestyle and options in life.” (UnChristian
- Pg 51)
As I mentioned in the prior post, I personally have only
encountered five responses to my usual question as to why a person hasn’t gone
to church. The first and most common response is 1. I’ve seen the hypocrisy and
want nothing to do with “those people.” You might be saying, there is no
way that Hypocrisy is the most common reason people don’t go to a church is it!?
85% young outsiders conclude that present-day Christianity
is hypocritical. (UN - Pg 42)
What could
have possibly swayed so many people to having this view of the church? Simple..
Bad experiences, negative associations, and bad perceptions.
–38% claim “bad impression of
present-day Christianity.”
–33% said that Christianity represents
a negative image (hypocrisy) with which they would not want to be associated.
–17% have “very bad” perceptions of the
Christian faith. This group is at least three times larger than it was just
a decade ago. (Pg 24)
So how do I
respond to the reflection of the church’s hypocrisy?
1) I respectfully agree with them!
1) I respectfully agree with them!
Yes I said, I AGREE with them. . . Between
my 6th grade year to my 9th grade year I saw four
ministers fall to adultery. If it were not for my parents’ faith I would have
left the church, like ALL the other kids from that church did.
2) I Tell Them the TRUTH!
I believe the reason there is so much hypocrisy is because preceding generations left behind an unwritten phrase that,"christians don't struggle with sin and other things like the rest of the world." This impossible standard was hardly even kept by the generations who touted such a line. Yet, it is my generation which is feeling the sting more than they did. When telling the truth to whoever i'm speaking with, I'll admit to many of my struggles, and I tell of the Disciples, Early Church fathers and other notable believers who gravely struggled till their death. Further debilitating the un-written phrase, the very Apostle Paul who said "imitate me as I imitate Christ," admitted to a life struggling against sin, as seen in Romans 7. The Gospel of Christ is not one which glorifies a believer upon submission to the Gospel, rather it justifies, then slowly sanctifies and upon death we finally are glorified.
I believe the reason there is so much hypocrisy is because preceding generations left behind an unwritten phrase that,"christians don't struggle with sin and other things like the rest of the world." This impossible standard was hardly even kept by the generations who touted such a line. Yet, it is my generation which is feeling the sting more than they did. When telling the truth to whoever i'm speaking with, I'll admit to many of my struggles, and I tell of the Disciples, Early Church fathers and other notable believers who gravely struggled till their death. Further debilitating the un-written phrase, the very Apostle Paul who said "imitate me as I imitate Christ," admitted to a life struggling against sin, as seen in Romans 7. The Gospel of Christ is not one which glorifies a believer upon submission to the Gospel, rather it justifies, then slowly sanctifies and upon death we finally are glorified.
3) I then invite them to watch my life.
As I reflect upon those “terrible years” in my church life, I remember the lives my parents lived out in front of me daily. Neither the preaching, the ministries, nor the ministers helped my faith. It was the daily Gospel my parents lived which profoundly grew my faith when my friends' were losing theirs. The UnChristian book presents correlating research. “Mass evangelism efforts create three to ten times as much negative response as positive. Mass evangelism efforts are most effective with marginally churched adults; outsiders are usually the ones who respond most negatively.” (Pg 71)
As I reflect upon those “terrible years” in my church life, I remember the lives my parents lived out in front of me daily. Neither the preaching, the ministries, nor the ministers helped my faith. It was the daily Gospel my parents lived which profoundly grew my faith when my friends' were losing theirs. The UnChristian book presents correlating research. “Mass evangelism efforts create three to ten times as much negative response as positive. Mass evangelism efforts are most effective with marginally churched adults; outsiders are usually the ones who respond most negatively.” (Pg 71)
The Biblical concept of evangelism is a concept with genuine
friendships and care for the person’s life, not just the care for church
growth. However the prevailing “cold call” evangelism strategy has badly affected
the non-Christian’s view of the church. “Only 14% of outsiders view Christianity as something
that seems genuine and real. Just one-third believe that Christians show
genuine interest in them.” (Pg. 77) If we are to reach our friends then we must
let them see our lives. Remember it took 3 years of the Disciples walking with
CHRIST to believe that he was who he said he was. Even then, they didn’t
believe till they saw him resurrect. How much longer we should anticipate our
friends needing to understand the Gospel we believe in.
“Even among those who have never made a commitment to Christ, nearly half (45 percent) said they have considered becoming a Christian before, with the other half saying they have never given the notion much thought.” (Pg. 77) While the initial statistic is true that 85% conclude Christians to be hypocritical, half have considered becoming one. Maybe your life and speech will exude Christ so that they understand what we all believe in.
“Even among those who have never made a commitment to Christ, nearly half (45 percent) said they have considered becoming a Christian before, with the other half saying they have never given the notion much thought.” (Pg. 77) While the initial statistic is true that 85% conclude Christians to be hypocritical, half have considered becoming one. Maybe your life and speech will exude Christ so that they understand what we all believe in.
