The Next Christians

I am reading a very interesting book entitled, "The Next Christians", by Gabe Lyons.  It's a great read - I encourage everyone to pick it up.

I thought I might blog about it for a few days.....

His thesis is that we are living in a post Christian society and culture.

That the once dominant faith of Christianity in America is on its last legs. 

Signs of this are:

Declining church attendance
Waning political influence
Abysmal public perception of Christians

However, Gabe Lyons is optimistic about the future of Christianity in America.

The next generation of Christians, Lyons argues, embodies six revolutionary characteristics.

He writes: 

"When Christians incorporate these characteristics throughout the fabric of their lives, a fresh yet orthodox way of being Christian springs forth.  The death of yesterday becomes the birth of a great tomorrow.  The end of an era becomes a beautiful new beginning.  In this way, the end of Christian America becomes good news for Christians."

Characteristic number one:

We are to be provoked but not offended.

We don't run away from situations where people are hurting, but we actually run to them in an effort to show and exhibit God's love.

We are to seek out brokenness and offer hope.

The question becomes, "how are we as Christians to react when we are placed in an environment that celebrates sin, overlooks injustice, or tolerates immorality?"

Michale Metzger has said, "When confronted with the corruption of our world - Christians ought to be provoked to engage, not offended and withdrawn."

How refreshing.

That's in contrast to Christians who "tend to remove themselves from potentially harmful situations - citing their disgust of immorality or their pursuit of holiness as the reason", as Gabe Lyons writes.

These Christians condemn, withdraw and boycott.  Lyons writes, "they play the paradoxical role of antagonist instead of other sacrificial pursuer."

He further writes, "when a community is provoked, they assume a proactive posture; when a community is offended, they assume a reactive posture."

And...the reactive posture was not the pattern of Jesus.

What about Zacchaeus (the Bernie Madoff of his day)?  Jesus was drawn to him and even invited himself over to Zacchaeus's house for dinner.

What about the woman at the well?  Jesus proactively stopped and engaged her in conversation.

The Roman Centurion?  The Syrian-Phoenician woman?  The man with Leprosy?  The woman caught in adultery? 

Jesus didn't care how the "religious" people of his day thought about these people, he showed up anyway.

Think about it in this way - the sinners of Jesus day loved Jesus.  They literally followed him everywhere.  They genuinely loved him.

This ticked the Pharisees off.  They couldn't or didn't want to understand how Jesus could associate with such immoral people. 

So do we need a new mindset in the faith today?  Instead of withdrawing, do we need to do just the opposite and seek out ways to reach, interact and minister with those who are lost and dying in our culture and society?

Do we need a new mindset of reaching out to the lost without condemnation, but prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to provide conviction?

Do we need a new mindset of not fearing exposure to culture's ideas, products, and marketing campaigns, but learning instead to discern good from bad, truth from falsehood?

John writes, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."  John 3:17

What does this practically mean?

It means giving grace instead of judgement.

It means having courage (the courage to reach out) over resting in our own comfort.

It means being faithful to God's call rather than being obsessed with our own reputation.

More to come.....