Perception: Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others.
For this book report I thought I would pick out some of the quotes from this chapter that most resonated with me. This chapter really hit home for me. I have always felt that we sell short who Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are when we make Christianity only about a ticket to heaven. There is so much more depth, richness, and fullness to Jesus Christ and the gospel than to reduce it to only this. Enjoy the quotes, and please leave comments and join the conversation.
“Christians want you to pay attention to their message about Jesus, yet somehow I don’t think Jesus would be happy about being turned into a gimmick” - a nonbeliever interviewed for the study (pg.70)
“Obeying the command to make disciples does not give us license to offend people, especially when those offenses are actually inhibiting us from actually fulfilling that very commandment” - pg. 71
“It is easy to embrace a costless form of Christianity in America today, and we have probably contributed to that by giving people a superficial understanding of the gospel and focusing only on their decision to convert.” - pg. 75
“We will not be effective with Busters and Mosaics (people between the ages of 16 and 29) if we do not address the problem of superficial faith. . . Our enthusiasm for evangelism in not matched by our passion for and patience with discipleship and faith formation” - pg. 76,77
“We have to embrace a more holistic idea of what it means to be a Christ follower.” - pg. 79
“It is sobering to realize that most born-again Christians have very little understanding of what their priorities or passions should be as a Christ follower. Perhaps outsiders (non-christians) would realize that we’re not just about conversion if our faith provided a more well-rounded and holistic picture of following Christ.” - pg. 80
“By reducing the gospel to a what’s-in-it-for-me message, people feel Jesus exists for their benefit.” - Rick McKinley – pastor,Imago Dei, Portland (pg.89)
“Just because someone prayed a prayer does not mean they put their faith in Jesus, were regenerated by the Spirit of God, and became a new creation in Christ. It may be a helpful tool for some, but it could be a point of departure and confusion for others” - Rick McKinley – pastor,Imago Dei, Portland (pg.89)
“I just think that asking someone to commit to a major way of life like following Jesus Christ deserves much more respect than simple formulas” - Rick McKinley – pastor,Imago Dei, Portland (pg.89)
Derrak
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October 28, 2008 at 2:59 pm
GPs
I think this chapter omitted a substantial underlying cause of the perceived insincerety of Christians. Christians, especially those who have been comitted to following Christ for much of their lives, tend to miss conveying to others that following Christ is a journey that does not end. By missing this and the humility that would be required by this approach, Christians come off as know-it-alls who hold themselves above those who are yet to be “saved”.
I think Kinneman misses the link between the perceptions of being insincere and of being judgmental. These perceptions work together to create a barrier allowing people to shrug off the message of Jesus as being “not for them”.