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CITIZENS OF THE BUBBLE:
When people criticize Christianity unfairly, I get defensive. That means I get defensive a lot lately.
Not everything that non-Christians say about us is wrong. Much of it is. Dan Kimball, author of, “They Like Jesus But Not the Church,” thinks it is good for Christians to listen those criticisms, like it or not.
Is your church bursting with young people from their teens to their thirties? Mine’s not, and not many are. Kimball knows what our younger critics are saying about Christians and Christianity and, in his book, passes on many of those perspectives to us. Here are a few comments Kimball shared to get our attention:
“I probably would not like Christians if I weren’t one.” (title of Kimball’s first chapter).
“No ##$% way you’re a pastor… Pastors are creepy.” (a subtitle).
Kimball defends pastors against this last stereotype, but also challenges them to re-think what it means to live in a post-Christian culture and still love people. He sees many of us living as “citizens of the bubble” (in Christian subcultures) and missing what young people outside the church are saying about us. We get excited about mission trips overseas, but avoid the non-Christians in our backyard.
THOUGHTFUL THEOLOGIANS:
Part two consists of six chapters explaining what emerging generations think about the church. Here are the chapter headings:
- The church is an organized religion with a political agenda.
- The church is judgmental and negative.
- The church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
- The church is homophobic.
- The church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
- The church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.
Kimball acknowledges that these are often misperceptions. In each chapter above, he includes a subtitle that asks; “What Can We Learn From This Misperception?” He often won this defensive minister over with his focus on learning from non-Christians rather than mounting a defense or contradicting them. I needed that message.
We are called to do all we can to show our love to these critics. Kimball also challenges us to tool our minds and hearts for constructive conversations. He wants church people to be better prepared to explain our positions thoughtfully and in a spirit of love. He wants a church that, in his words, “holds beliefs with humility and strives to be thoughtful theologians.” His emphasis on learning rather than reacting impressed me.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
Kimball wants to make Christians like me uncomfortable. He does, and that’s not new to me. It’s not easy to read stereotypical criticisms about the bride of Christ by unbelievers. It’s not easy to be patient with our critics. When the church is tolerant toward sinners, she is often criticized for all the sinners we have let into our ranks. When the church takes a stand against sin and calls for moral behavior, she is frequently disparaged as puritanical and judgmental. Either way, she is criticized. Still, none of this justifies an angry or knee-jerk reaction from us.
Chapter eleven turned from complaints to wishes. Kimball asked many young non-Christians what they wished the church was like and he listened. To be brutally brief, they wished for more dialogue, more respect, less emphasis on buildings, more focus on the arts, more love, more care for the poor, more mentoring, more diversity, and more teaching about Jesus. Fair or not, it’s good to hear this.
Some non-Christians want spirituality without repentance. They will never get that from genuine Christianity. But they should still get lots of love from us. As we build relationships with non-Christians, the call to repent should be issued, but with wisdom and sensitive timing. Listen first; love continually; and wait for the Holy Spirit. Repentance only takes root when the Holy Spirit pricks the human heart.
Yes, many young people say they like Jesus but not the church. Fair or not, this is an open door. If they like Jesus, build on that! Would they still like Jesus if they studied his teachings? Who knows? But the point is to find out.
Joel Mark Solliday, B.A., M.Div., is the editor of Campus CrossWalk and the pulpit minister of the Northern Light Church of Christ in Minnesota . He earned his M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary and has worked at Pepperdine and ACU. His wife Katie is a junior high school teacher.
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