Filed under: Book Review | Tags: Christianity, Hypocrisy, Missional, Post-Christian, Review, Spirituality
Since one of my resolutions for the New Year was to spend some time reading each day, I expect to finish a few books this year. I figured that this would be a good place to review the books I’m reading as well as hear your thoughts on them. I’m definitely not comfortable as a book critic (in fact I failed that part of English in High School), so please bear with me. I hope these attempts will be of some benefit, but we’ll have to see 
UnChristian (What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…And Why It Matters)
By David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
In the latest study from Barna Research Group, Kinnaman focuses on what 16-29 year olds feel about Christians from both inside and outside the church. I wish I could call the results surprising but they only serve to verify what many of us already feel. Christianity has a major image problem. The people that should have the market cornered on being known for being loving, forgiving, life-giving revolutionaries are in fact best summed up by words like: hypocritical, anti-homosexual, sheltered, judgmental, too political, and too focused on obtaining converts. Only 16% of those surveyed outside of Christianity have a favorable impression of Christians, and 49% have a bad impression of evangelical Christians. Obviously if an entire generation feels this way about Christianity we have seriously failed in representing the real grace-filled gospel of Jesus.
UnChristian is basically two books. Much of the book is spent on discussing the results of the research which while interesting is some times belabored and repetitive. At the end of each chapter various Christian leaders lend their thoughts to the major issues discussed. This is by far the strongest part of the book. The perspectives offered are diverse and insightful and help to reenforce the challenges and opportunities facing Jesus followers who wish to change these perceptions. In my opinion these dialogues speak to the direct issues of the book, and should have made up more of the finished product. I even found a new author to read, Margaret Feinberg. I have no idea who she is, but her insight and wisdom reveal her as someone to be read and respected.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wonders about the perception problems facing Christianity in the future. It would be especially insightful to those who have not realized the gravity of the challenges facing the church, or who have yet to acknowledge that a serious problem exists. On the other hand readers who either come from these age groups or who have been students of the emerging cultures will find little to surprise them. The research will confirm much, but offers few new insights into how to challenge those perceptions. The book is a fairly quick read, and worth reading if you have the time. The commentaries highlight the opportunities ahead and offer hope to those who wish to repaint the image of Jesus to the world He loves.
