Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches
Robert Webber, Editor
The Big Idea
Dave Ferguson
the blogging church
Brian Bailey
I'm OK - You're Not
John Shore
Abba's Child
Brennan Manning
Christianity Today
Imprimis
Leadership Journal
MacWorld
World Magazine
Bridging the Gaps
05/16/07 05:44 PM
I recently listened to a really good message by Scott Hodge. He's
the pastor who put together the video where people were asked
their opinion of "Jesus" and then of
"Christians." He showed that video in the
message and then explored why there is such a
disconnect between the perceptions that people
have of Jesus and the perceptions those same
people have of those who claim to be followers
of Jesus.
In the message he shared some sobering stats he had picked up from David Kinnaman about the most prevalent misconceptions many people have about Christianity. Some of them include the perceptions that:
In the message he shared some sobering stats he had picked up from David Kinnaman about the most prevalent misconceptions many people have about Christianity. Some of them include the perceptions that:
- Christians are judgmental. 87% of those interviewed claimed that we are not honest about our attitudes and our perspectives about other people. They doubt that we really love people like we say we do.
- Christians are hypocritical. 85% believe that Christians are guilty of saying one thing and doing another. Their perspective is that we pretend to be something that is unreal and that we present a very polished image that is not accurate. They see the church as a place for only virtuous and morally pure people.
- Christians are too involved in politics. More than three-fifths of those interviewed had this perception, as well as the perceptions that we are old fashioned, out of touch with reality, and insensitive to others. In fact, only 9% described Christians as people they can actually trust.
Scott made the point that while these perceptions may
not be accurate, they are REAL to the ones who are
holding them, and they have some very important
implications for the way we approach evangelism. In
our postmodern culture, untold numbers of "outsiders"
(to the faith) are mentally and emotionally
disengaging from Christianity without ever even
hearing the truth.
He acknowledged the passage in I Corinthians that talks about the message of the cross being a stumbling block, but insists that the problem is not that people are stumbling over the message of the cross, the problem is that they are stumbling over the attitude of a lot Christians. They are stumbling over their perceptions of things associated with the "Christian sub-culture" that we've created. In some instances, we have unintentionally put things in their way before they've even been able to get to the message of the cross.
Scott shared an insightful illustration he
picked up from Dan Kimball's book, They Like Jesus but Not the
Church. If you've been around
Christianity for any length of time, you're
probably familiar with the bridge illustration.
It paints a picture of the separation between humanity and God because of sin. The only solution to our sin problem is Jesus. He's the only solution. Scott acknowledged that this illustration has been very helpful through the years of helping people understand why we need Jesus.
But he went on to point out that in our
postmodern culture, many people face an additional
chasm. This chasm is the perception and belief that
many in our culture have of Christians and our
Christian subculture. This second chasm reflects all
of our Christian rhetoric and traditions and
attitudes, which, whether intentional or not, have
unfortunately caused a lot of people to harbor some
seriously negative perceptions of both Christians and
Christianity.
Most important of all, this new chasm is preventing people from even being aware of the real issue which is their sin and need for a Savior. In addition, the church in general has become more and more secluded, and we've lost the understanding that Jesus has called us to be missionaries in our culture – salt and light – thus, this new chasm is just getting bigger and bigger.
The big question is, What do we do about it? How do we bridge this chasm? How do we close the gap between how people view Jesus and how they view Christians? If only 9% of those outside the faith trust Christians, then that's probably a good place to start.
We've got to become more intentional about
building relationships. That requires trust. . . and
trust takes time. It's goes way beyond merely handing
someone a tract or popping the "Kennedy questions."
Jesus was known as the friend of sinners. And if we're truly following Jesus, we will earn that description as well. As we do, outsiders will learn, first hand, that not all Christians are hypocritical; not all Christians are judgmental. And out of those redemptive relationships, we can be begin to speak the truth in love, address what we need to address, allowing the Holy Spirit to draw and bring conviction about what the Scripture says about sin, salvation, Jesus, and our need for a Savior.
He acknowledged the passage in I Corinthians that talks about the message of the cross being a stumbling block, but insists that the problem is not that people are stumbling over the message of the cross, the problem is that they are stumbling over the attitude of a lot Christians. They are stumbling over their perceptions of things associated with the "Christian sub-culture" that we've created. In some instances, we have unintentionally put things in their way before they've even been able to get to the message of the cross.
It paints a picture of the separation between humanity and God because of sin. The only solution to our sin problem is Jesus. He's the only solution. Scott acknowledged that this illustration has been very helpful through the years of helping people understand why we need Jesus.
Most important of all, this new chasm is preventing people from even being aware of the real issue which is their sin and need for a Savior. In addition, the church in general has become more and more secluded, and we've lost the understanding that Jesus has called us to be missionaries in our culture – salt and light – thus, this new chasm is just getting bigger and bigger.
The big question is, What do we do about it? How do we bridge this chasm? How do we close the gap between how people view Jesus and how they view Christians? If only 9% of those outside the faith trust Christians, then that's probably a good place to start.
Jesus was known as the friend of sinners. And if we're truly following Jesus, we will earn that description as well. As we do, outsiders will learn, first hand, that not all Christians are hypocritical; not all Christians are judgmental. And out of those redemptive relationships, we can be begin to speak the truth in love, address what we need to address, allowing the Holy Spirit to draw and bring conviction about what the Scripture says about sin, salvation, Jesus, and our need for a Savior.