Posted on 01/04/2008 7:58:36 AM PST by Mr. Silverback
As I discovered in Watergate, we humans have an infinite capacity for self-justification—which is why it is pretty good to get a reality check and find out how others see us. After all, only your closest friends tell you if you have bad breath.
That is a service David Kinnaman, president of Barna polling, and Gabe Lyons, one of our Centurions, have performed for us with their new book, unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity . . . And Why It Matters.
Kinnaman and Lyons spent three years polling young, unchurched Americans to find out what they thought about Christianity. Millions of young people, they discovered, see us as judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, too political, insensitive—and boring. Ouch!
Your immediate reaction—like mine—is that this characterization is grossly unfair. Why don’t these folks recognize all the good things we do, like helping prisoners and Africans with AIDS?
The answer is that, fairly or not, hostile press characterizations of us as judgmental, homophobic bigots have stuck. But this is only half the answer. A shocking 50 percent of respondents said they base their negative views on personal contacts with Christians.
As the authors write, “Many of those outside of Christianity . . . reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians.”
Let’s be honest: Sometimes we do come across as judgmental, anti-homosexual, and excessively politicized. And all too often, when others misrepresent Christianity, we do not know enough about our own doctrines to explain the truth. Yes, we draw millions into our churches on Sunday, but let’s face it: We draw them in by offering therapeutic services that make them feel better, but not be better.
This truth was dramatically acknowledged last month by Bill Hybels, founder of the successful Willow Creek Church movement, when he announced the results of a survey conducted of his own members: Heavy involvement in church programs did not translate into spiritual growth and maturity. To his everlasting credit, Hybels had the integrity to announce the findings and repent.
Hybels clearly understands the problem: What the Church needs to do is to make disciples, to grow people in the faith, not be spectators. We must teach them what Christians believe and how to live out these doctrines in all of life. Like Hybels, church leaders need to examine whether they are making disciples and encouraging holy living.
This is exactly why Prison Fellowship recently revised its mission. We recognize that we must not just get prisoners into Bible studies; we’ve got to work with them toward a transformed life and help train them when they get out—a much tougher job, but it is what Jesus demands.
And this is why I have written a new book, The Faith, Given Once, for All, being released next month. It explains what all true Christians believe, why we believe it—and why it matters. We need to know what we believe so we can live changed lives—and defend Christianity against its detractors.
unChristian providentially challenges us at the very moment many are waking up to the need to clean up our own house. Once we do this, we will be able to reach out to those outside the faith and—in a loving, non-judgmental way—offer them the glorious Truth.
If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!
If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
Thanks for the post and the ping.
And so of course, we live our lives as a witness to what Christ is really all about.
susie
This isn't shocking to me in the least. I have been a Christian for 32 years, and in those years I have seen a blurring of the distinctions between Christian and non-Christian, particularly where it pertains to social behavior. I see just as many cars with fish stickers cutting off other drivers and acting like fools on the road as I see non-marked cars. Personal speech is barely distinguishable sometimes, and let's not even get into immodest dress.
Then there are those who claim to be Christian and still hold to Darwinism, when the Bible clearly states that there was no death in the world until the fall. I'm opening up a can of worms with this one, but I don't care.
Sure I am not perfect. I have to ask God for forgiveness continually throughout the day, but come on people. God called us to be in the world, but not of it. It's past time that we all examined our walks and get it straight with the way we know that God wants us to be.
/ soapbox off.
This isn’t the least bit surprising. Most young people have been brainwashed to think that the worst evil in the world is “intolerance”, by which they mean maintaining the moral standards that are necessary for a free nation to survive.
I have to say that polling, as it relys on fickle opinion, is a poor way to analyze, change or run a church.
If you had polled pagan Romans in AD 100 and asked them about Christians, they would say they were: Cannibals, Had secret orgies, drank blood, Caused riots, were Legalistic, were heretic Jews, and Atheists.
Surely, many thought, they would destroy the social order—and should therefore be purged from society.
Always a bad idea to look to the Lost for ideas on how to please God. Instead of taking polls on how to do Church, maybe Barna & Hybels et al. should study the bible more...
Discipline is lacking everywhere in America. Among Christians, too, sadly.
That's it, right there. Standing up for right is unpopular with people who don't want to do right to begin with.
"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:18-19)
"For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" (II Corinthians 2:15-16)
There is a world full of people who positively love their sin, and don't want to be reminded that it will earn them damnation one day. Even if someone isn't a homosexual, condemning homosexuality will still rankle them since, they know that they - a drunkard, or an adulterer, or a liar, or whatever it may be they do - are jsut as guilty before God and in just as great a need of the Saviour as the homosexual is.
The problem is we are supposed to be judgmental.
Homosexuality may be popular to some, but it is not a healthy loving lifestyle. We can condemn the lifestyle without condemning individuals. We try to help them, not through changing our beliefs, but by educating them.
God is the only one that can pass judgment on them, and us.
Colson will be a speaker at this new-age conference:
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58409
Willow Creek and Bill Hybels heading towards mysticism:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=878&more=1&c=1
Beware the Emerging Church, Contemplative Spiritality, and anything Purpose Driven!
At least there’s some hope that these kids will grow out of some of their nihilistic attitudes once they marry and have kids. A few days ago I ran into a former student worker of mine. She’s now in her thirties and has three kids. Back in 1992, she was constantly asking me questions about politics. She was a total left-winger, anti-military, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual....a big Clinton supporter who said it didn’t make any difference if he was an adulterer.
Anyway, I hadn’t seen her since she graduated nearly fifteen years ago. But when I saw her this week, she told me that I’d be glad to know that she’s a conservative Republican and she doesn’t want liberals to get anywhere near her children. Her husband listens daily to conservative talk radio.
So some of these kids grow out of their liberalism when they start having responsibilities.
This does not, however, relieve Christians from duty to witness for Jesus particularly with their actions as well as their words. Every Christian should realize that the way they live their life is the only Bible many people will ever read. Accordingly, we should live in a manner which glorifies our Savior, we owe him at least that much.
"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (John 3:18-20)
She is now a firm believer. She does not judge homosexuals, but she does condemn the lifestyle. For her, there was a unique moment when she realized that being Christian is hard -- in part because we don't always get to act the way we "feel" we ought to. God says homoexuality is wrong. The fact that someone may "feel" that it's really not so bad doesn't matter. It's His will that should be done, not ours. So, although we may not always feel comfortable being "judgemental" we are called upon to condemn the homosexual lifestyle.
It can (and should) be done out of love.
Kinnaman is speaking at a local congregation (which I just left this past month) in a few weeks. I do not believe it should be an overriding concern of Church administration to ‘fill the pews’. The purpose of the Church is to effectively preach Christ and His message, no matter who accepts or rejects Him. That matter is entirely within the authority of the Holy Spirit and the individual’s free will.
Sin should never be acceptable, no matter how ‘small’ or politically correct. It should be renounced and the perpetrators (myself included above all) lovingly corrected. Christian socialism is nothing more than Liberation Theology relabeled for protestantism, and is, collectively, just another of communism’s useful idiots.
Amen. If we walked our talk more, we would truly be light in the dark world we’re in. There is way too much judgement and not nearly enough servanthood.
God admonishes us to SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE and often we just bash people with truth in a judgemental way. It’s not our job to judge the sinner. It’s God’s. We’re to judge our own hearts and those of our brothers and sisters in Christ, also with love. Humility is a real plus when dealing with sin.
God says homoexuality is wrong. The fact that someone may “feel” that it’s really not so bad doesn’t matter. It’s His will that should be done, not ours. So, although we may not always feel comfortable being “judgemental” we are called upon to condemn the homosexual lifestyle.
It can (and should) be done out of love.”
_______________________
Well stated.
Gives them pause, but after they look surprised, I follow it up with "Look, everybody's a sinner, and if we weren't, God wouldn't see fit to come down himself to save us. HE was perfect. We aren't."
I also make the point that if my salvation was left up to me, I'd never make it, and if we really got what we deserved, we'd probably wouldn't like it. We all fall short, but that's not an excuse not to keep trying to be better and to obey the Lord.
Howard Storm wrote in his book My Descent into Death that the Christian life is almost, but not quite, beyond human capacity. In a way, I find that comforting!
I’m very wary of the emerging church and all heresies, but the idea that Lee strobel and Chuck Colson are New Agers is nothing but baloney.
Great post, Joe.
Great post! “There’s always room for one more” is my favorite response to that, too.
I think it was a good friend of mine who forever killed any affiliation I would have with conservative evangelicals. He was constantly bashing Catholics, evolution, and anything that was to him ungodly. He also did a lot of good and helped a lot of people.
The way I see it, God doesn't care if I believe in Adam and Eve, evolution, listen to Christian music, was baptized with partial or full immersion, or whatever. He cares that I treat my fellow man well and that I live my life with a desire to do good in this world.
We all should be loathe to criticize anyone's faith or standing in the eye of God. Comment on bad/immoral behavior, sure, but saying someone "claims to be a Christian" is preachy and just plain wrong because you're going after the person and saying your view of Christianity is the only possible view. How will God judge those who though their intolerance turn away the non-Christians in disgust?
Judging beliefs and lifestyles is certain to cause a clash. In a discussion group many years back, I made a comment that I thought that homosexual behavior is wrong. A gay man was really offended and threw bile, vitriol, and some F bombs at me. I politely explained that it was my position, but I had no hatred or dislike for gay people and that as far as I was concerned, they could do as they pleased as long as they didn’t demand I change my view. He was surprised and apologized for his behavior. I am certain that this was a positive brush with Christianity for him. I didn’t act like I was more moral than he was or that I disrespected him. I returned his anger with a pleasant attitude. I don’t always act so nicely, but I keep this experience in my head because it worked.
We should be inviting — and uncompromising.
We should attract — and confront.
I have not researched Contemplative Spirituality but I do know lots of God-fearing Bible-believing wonderful Christians who attend emergent or purpose driven churches.
One issue is the issue of Faith based introspection...it is not encouraged!
Dictates and rules are often preached out but there is no teaching as to the personal in depth application of faith.
We say “Jesus come into my heart” but what is this “heart” thing any way?
How do we “break up the fallow” ground of our stubborn sin natures?
We can feel the Spirit of God at times while we listen to a sermon but then we get no teaching as to the stubborn pull of our flesh co-existing with our spirit and as to handling the conflict with-out giving into temptations of the flesh!
These issues will take daily prayer, meditation, introspection,fasting and times of crying out to God....how many of us,me included, really are ready to go into our own gardens of Gethsemane!
Paul makes it clear that Christians have Mount Zion, not Mount Sinai(where there was gloom and dark and smoke and thunder....)as a resource! So who wants to go up the mountain first!?
“I’m very wary of the emerging church and all heresies, but the idea that Lee strobel and Chuck Colson are New Agers is nothing but baloney.”
I wish it weren’t so, believe me! Did you read the links I posted? I just read this article last night:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=939&more=1&c=1
A snippet:
Roger Oakland, author of Faith Undone, the hard-hitting expose on the emerging church, just spent the morning at the Crystal Cathedral listening to speakers share their hopes for the rethinking of Christianity. Oakland shared some of what he witnessed with Lighthouse Trails. He heard Bishop Charles Blake share his hopes of transforming the world and Chuck Colson say that the emerging church is energizing Christianity.
And another snippet:
In addition to McManus, the Rethink Conference has several other Christian leaders speaking as well: Gary Smalley, Henry Cloud, Chuck Colson, and Kay Warren, to name a few. While the speaker list includes several names outside the Christian camp, a majority of the speakers, both Christian and non-Christian, are proponents of contemplative spirituality (i.e., eastern-style mysticism). The reason this is important to know is because the vision of an all-inclusive global religious body that Schuller describes cannot happen without mysticism. It is in fact the vehicle through which Schuller’s dream will occur.
Schuller discloses a little more of his vision in his book:
“I met once more with the Grand Mufti (a Muslim), truly one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith. ... I’m dreaming a bold impossible dream: that positive-thinking believers in God will rise above the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on the world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise above doctrinal idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive dogmas to work together to bring peace and prosperity and hope to the world....” (p. 502).
“I have not researched Contemplative Spirituality but I do know lots of God-fearing Bible-believing wonderful Christians who attend emergent or purpose driven churches.”
I would urge you to educate yourself about contemplative spirituality, the emerging church, and the purpose driven movement. You can start here: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/index.html
Many very sincere, God-fearing, Bible-believing Christians are being misled and deceived! Honestly, it is astounding to me what is happening in the church today! I too was “asleep” until I started reading up on these heresies. The Bible says there will be a great falling away in the last days. Well, it’s happening now, right before our very eyes! Let’s all be watchful and discerning.
Note that Colson's site hosts regular articles from T.M. Moore. Though Moore doesn't call the emerging types apostates, he does have a tendency to contrast their views with what Jesus actually did in His ministry, and they come out looking bad. His overall theme is that Church trends and ideas about optimal operations are mainly fads, and the only way to energize the Church is to follow Christ's ministry model in every way. He may not be Colson, but a guy who wants one world religion is not going to post that stuff on his website.
Touching, Teaching, Torching (notice the attack on "seeker churches" in the section on "Torching.")
Let's also note (this is not an attack on your integrity) that you would not be the first person who posted links to me that supposedly prove Colson is in bed with one-worlders or other heretics, and the author of the linked piece was making the claim using the filter "If a person disagrees with me, that makes him a total apostate." For example, search4truth tried to convince me last year that Colson shared Shelby Spong's "Christianity isn't real, but let's do it anyway" theological views. His evidence? Some preacher in his denomination had put up a website quoting Spong's works and then just basically added that Colson and other evangelicals who'd work with Catholics on anything were the same as Spong.
Here's an example of how that sort of thing happens:
In this commentary Colson includes the following:
Like Eastern faiths, Christianity has an emotional and contemplative component.
I can see somebody seeing that and saying, "See, Colson is pushing contemplative spirituality!" But then, he goes on:
Throughout the centuries Christians have retreated to quiet places in obedience to God's command to "be still and know that I am God." ... But being a Christian isn't about an experience or an emotion. It's about affirming or confessing certain things to be true about what God has actually done in Jesus Christ and in history.Almost uniquely among the world's religions, Christianity has used creeds and confessions drawn from scripture to define who is inside and outside of the fold. There is nothing subjective about Christianity's great statements of the faith, like the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Nor is there anything warm and fuzzy about the Westminster and Augsburg Confessions.
That's anything but one-worlderism, and certainly no promotion of sitting around saying "ohm."
I'm not saying I'm close-minded on this, but I've seen Colson defend core doctrine for too many years to believe that he switched sides just because he attended one conference. Also, the WND article you first posted a link to mentioned Larry King speaking to the group. Well, King also spoke at the Media Prayer Breakfast that Mastermedia held last year. He noted that he's not a Christian, but then told them that their work is wonderful and he wishes them all success. Despite all evidence to the contrary, should I assume that MasterMedia now takes its theologicaal cues from Larry King, or that he is now on board with their Christian beliefs?
Thank you for your very detailed and thoughtful response! I am certainly not out to discredit Colson or any other leader. But I did want to share the information I came across.
I have to ask a few very simple questions. Why would these leaders be speaking at a conference like Schuller’s “Rethink” Conference? Schuller is a known new-age proponent. He is cohosting the conference with Erwin McManus. Are you familiar with him? In the article I linked to, you will read that he says, “I build my life not on the Word of God, but the voice of God.” When you understand what contemplative and the new age is about, you understand the significance of this statement.
It would appear that people who are asked to speak at the conference are in agreement with the goals of the conference. What exactly are they calling people to “rethink” at this conference? Could it be that they are asking people to join a “new reformation,” to become “a new kind of Christian,” to embrace a huge “paradigm shift”? If you read up on this stuff, the big picture becomes quite clear.
God bless you, and stay vigilant!
Here’s a summary of the “plan”:
To put this all in plain terms, there is a three step process in making this new vision become a reality. First, reeducation: convince Christians that the Christianity of today has to be thrown out and replaced by a whole new way of thinking. Second, get these new thinking Christians to incorporate mysticism into their lives and hear the voice of a new kind of God, not one that is described in the Bible but one that is found through altered states of consciousness. McManus put it this way: “I build my life not on the Word of God, but the voice of God.” The voice of this mystical god will direct people to the final step of the process, and that will be to bring about a supposed kingdom of God where all will be one, and where man finally realizes his own divinity. Unfortunately, it will be a kingdom built, not on the truth of the Word of God, thus not on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
My problem is that what Colson says about traditional orthodoxy and the inerrancy of God's Word is 180 degrees out from the goal of tearing down Christianity and erecting an idol in its place. It's like saying Billy Graham doesn't really want anyone to be born again, or saying Fulton Sheen was really operating against the Catholic Church. One needs a lot of evidence to make such a case believable.
I’ll take this stuff under advisement. And I certainly aspire to be like the Bereans!
Thanks for your civil, caring and well-thought out responses.
You are welcome! (I have actually seen video of Billy Graham saying things that really surprised me, so I guess anything is possible in these crazy times.)
Um, OK, thanks.
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