Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

After reading more and thinking a lot, I keep wondering what it really means to be a Christian. If you haven't read it, check out the book "UnChristian" by David Kinnaman. It's a must read for those in ministry and for anyone with a heart to reach people who are disconnected. The book is based on research from people who are NOT Christians on their perspectives of the "church." The results are pretty scary, but there isn't anything uncorrectable or fatal there. The things he lists include: judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, too political, sheltered, and focused only on "saving" people. Each of those rebukes is true. Partially because the church isn't a homogeneous group, but mainly because it's true! People are turned off by us not being real or by putting on a persona. To quote DC Talk (yes, I am a child of the 80-90's): "The single biggest cause of atheism today are Christians who confess Jesus at church the...

Have you ever heard people make the statement, "Well, I just have problems with God..."? That statement is typically followed by a critique of the church or of Christianity in general. Some of the critiques are very real, others are lame, some illogical and some plain mean. But, I'll endeavor to show how some of those critiques play out and explain the how's and why's so you'll be equipped to deal with them in this and the next few posts. First is the biggest complaint against the church and Christianity: hypocrisy. How often have you heard someone say, "I don't go to church because of all the hypocrites."? I hear it regularly and am SO tempted to answer in a very mean-spirited way by saying, "Well come anyways, we could always use one more." But, that's just not nice and is plain mean. However, there are reasons and there are answers. The reason is simple: people look in the doors of the church and see people they know acti...