Unchristian: Change the Perception

by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons

Christianity has an image problem.

If you’ve lived in America for very long, I doubt this surprises you. But it brings up important questions. Just what exactly do people think about Christians and Christianity? Why do these perceptions exist? Obviously, people believe their views are accurate (otherwise they would disavow them), but do their perceptions reflect reality? And why do people’s perceptions matter — should they matter — to Christ followers?

I have spent the last three years studying these questions through extensive interviews and research. You may be astonished to learn just how significant the dilemma is — and how the negative perceptions that your friends, neighbors, and colleagues have of Christianity will shape your life and our culture in the years to come. Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders. They admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians. I will describe how and why this is happening later in this book, but for the moment think about what this means. It changes the tenor of people’s discussions about Christianity. It alters their willingness to commit their lives to Jesus.

If you are interested in communicating and expressing Christ to new generations, you must understand the intensity with which they hold these views. As Christians, we cannot just throw up our hands in disgust or defensiveness. We have a responsibility to our friends and neighbors to have a sober, reasonable understanding of their perspectives.

How can people hold both positive and negative images at the same time? On balance, young people possess deeply ambivalent feelings about Christians and Christianity. Their reactions to the faith are widely divergent. What people say about Christianity depends on their experiences and when and where you talk with them. Their aversion is punctuated as often by indifference as it is by hostility. While some young adults are openly hostile to Christians, an equally common reaction is to blow us off.

When outsiders claim that we are unChristian, it is a reflection of this jumbled (and predominantly negative) set of perceptions. When they see Christians not acting like Jesus, they quickly Editor | Gabe Lyons conclude that the group deserves an unChristian label. Like a corrupted computer file or a bad photocopy, Christianity, they say, is no longer in pure form, and so they reject it. One-quarter of outsiders say that their foremost perception of Christianity is that the faith has changed for the worse. It has gotten off track and is not what Christ intended. Modern-day Christianity no longer seems Christian.

THE PERCEPTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY

Perception	Outsiders, 16-29

Antihomosexual	91%
Judgmental	87%
Hypocritical	85%
Sheltered (old-fashioned, out of touch with reality)	78%
Too political	75%
Proselytizers (insensitive to others, not genuine)	70%

DO PERCEPTIONS MATTER?

Gabe and I frequently encounter the idea that Christians should not care what outsiders think about us. After all, Jesus warned that the “world” would hate us. Scripture even promises persecution for those who follow Christ. However, before you dismiss the unChristian perception as “just Christians doing their duty,” realize that the challenge runs much deeper.

The real problem comes when we recognize God’s holiness but fail to articulate the other side of his character: grace. Jesus represents truth plus grace (see John 1:14). Embracing truth without holding grace in tension leads to harsh legalism, just as grace without truth devolves to compromise. Still, the important insight based on our research is that Mosaics and Busters rarely see Christians who embody service, compassion, humility, forgiveness, patience, kindness, peace, joy, goodness, and love.

Should we care what people think? Gabe and I began to realize that the more important question was What if young outsiders are right about us? What is missing in our portrayal of the Christian faith to new generations? If we have failed to represent the grace that Jesus offers — if we have been poor representatives of a holy and loving God — then, absolutely, what they think about us matters. If we have been unChristian, then we bear responsibility for the problem — and the solution.

In trying to understand people’s reactions to Christianity, there are four reasons why perceptions matter.

1. What people think about Christians influences how they respond to us. Young outsiders are choosing to avoid churches and reject allegiance to Christianity because the faith seems at odds with the type of people they want to associate with.

2. What people think about Christians should help us be objective. Outsiders kept telling us that Christians are not realistic or transparent about themselves. An important perspective we should embrace is “You are what you are, not what you tell people you are.” As Christians, however, we need to make continual, honest evaluations of ourselves so that we can uncover the ways in which our lives do not accurately reflect what we profess.

3. What people think of Christians can change. People’s attitudes are constantly in flux, particularly in a society that is as fluid and dynamic as ours. Just a decade ago the Christian faith was not generating the intense hostility it is today. If the Christian faith has image problems today, the ever-changing environment means we will have opportunities tomorrow to change those perceptions.

This won’t happen if we try simply to make ourselves look good. The reputation of the Christian faith should never be managed or spindoctored, but we can change how we’re known by becoming more Christ-like.

4. What people think about Christians reflects personal stories. The unChristian faith affects your life, perhaps more than you realize. As you interact with your friends, the labels “hypocritical,” “conversion-happy,” “antihomosexual,” “sheltered,” “too political,” and “judgmental” are welded to what many people think about you. You do not have to like this, but it’s a fact of our complex world.

If you are a pastor, your church has to deal with the image of Christianity each time you send a mailing, in each instance of interacting with city officials, and every time you invite unchurched individuals to your church. If you are a professional working in other industries, such as science, education, the media, and so on, your job and your witnessare affected by the image that people conjure up when they hear you are a Christian. This is important because, as much as I want to help you understand the national patterns, it is ultimately your task to interpret those trends for your context and for the decisions you make each day about how you represent Christianity to others. Is there an appropriate balance between grace and truth in your life? Jesus was concerned about the reputation of his Father in heaven. Are you? Your life shows other people what God is like.

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Comments

daniel

while I choose reason and tangible perceptions and experiences to guide me instead of magical sky Gods, I FULLY support your interpretation of Christianity as opposed to the views of tired, established, hateful, hypocritical goons out there. Currently, we as a nation are lagging behind in every aspect of education, and more and more people (read: christian tea-partiers) want to teach creationism, reject science, and stop funding education. I don't believe things can get more crazy or, I hate to use this hyperbole, but, dangerous. Lead your flock to enlightenment, reason, and betterment of ALL, not just heterosexual, protestant white males.

WE ARE *SICK* OF CHRISTIANS DOMINATING OTHERS' LIVES AND STRANGLING ANY KIND OF PROGRESS WE AS A NATION COULD HAVE.

Portable Pastor

To Daniel,

Your comments are rife with the things that you say you are against. The Bible clearly teaches exnihilo Creation and real science supports this (which is why Creationists win debates almost every time with evolutionists). Second, education is the responsibility of the parents and never should be the function of the government, since the government can only deal in control and power, which it always seeks to extend over anything it funds. Third, ad homonyms are a betrayal of reason and intellegent arguments. If you would have a cogent discussion of these issues you need to engage rather than confront by name calling and untruths.

Marty Elmer

Just found you..was recommended by a sisster whose sstufy group is doing "The Next

Christians"...have a feeling that we will be doing likewise soon. Thank You!

Sen

Portable Pastor,

So it is science or church, is that the only option?

And discount Jesus' words for cherry picked Leviticus rules?

You have actually made the point of this article.

Way to fill the pews.

Dave Butler

Good stuff here.

My only concern is that we often become reactive rather than proactive over these issues.

True. Christianity has gathered this unchristian image you've described above, but also the negativity has been enhanced and promoted by the secular media and some anti-Christian element in e.g. the science community in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I agree with Daniel's comment above, as I am a convert from Theistic Evolutionism due to the overwhelming scientific and theological evidence (rarely published). Nonetheless, I think these arguments should be presented respectfully but assertively. We've been intimidated by these voices for too long, but neither should we cram it down people's throats and make the image problem worse.

I've seen many sincere and compassionate Christians doing their best to throw out everything that even smells of Fighting Fundamentalism. I can understand it in a way, but then we can so easily throw out the baby with the bath water. I like Jesus' approach where He said to the woman caught in adultery: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more." In our culture, I would use different words to say the same thing, however. Don't forget, too, that in spite of Jesus' compassion, He suffered from an (imposed) image problem. We will get it imposed on us whether we like it or not, but there's no point in making it worse.

If anything, Christians should be the most balanced, logical, compassionate, gracious, wholesome and healthily-living people on this planet. Jesus was.

reg cole

I read the piece on abortion. Too bad those women hadn't listened to why the young lady wanted an abortion. She felt totally alone! Why wouldn't they try to befriend and provide the support she needed? We give money to "Pregnancy Reource Centres" and pontificate on "The right to life", but are we willing to invest ourselves in helping people like the young preganant woman? Support and encouragement is what she needed, not a sermon.

Jim Tuininga

Most of our church communities have an abysmal record in dealing lovingly, fairly, graciously with those struggling with homosexuality. Listening to them and HEARING them might help us to minister to, and serve them.

Ann Bezemer

WHAT I GOT OUT OF THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE.:

You are what you are, not what you tell people you are.” We need to make continual, honest evaluations of ourselves so that we can uncover the ways in which our lives do NOT accurately reflect what we profess.

Our life shows other people what God is like.

The perceptions of outsiders will change only when Christians strive to represent the heart of God in every relationship and situation.

Spiritual formation is about depth rather than simplistic formulas

Worshiping God intimately and passionately

Engaging in spiritual friendships with other believers

We do not simply change our principles to accommodate people who disagree with us, but we should be willing to look at ourselves in the light of Jesus

Rather than being known for criticism, let’s learn to step in and work toward a solution for the problems we see They say Christians are more focused on condemning people than helping people become more like Jesus.

Are we more concerned with the unrighteousness of others than our own self-righteousness?

The opposite of sin is not virtue; it is grace. We need to move beyond expecting people to behave according to our expectations, and instead try to help connect them to God’s purposes.

Jesus was in but not of the world. Christ followers must learn to respond to people in the way Jesus did.

1. Respond with the right perspective. If his inquisitors tried to corner Jesus his response was often to raise another question or to tell a story that changed the parameters of the argument.

His response was oft en to raise another question or to tell a story that changed the parameters of the argument. The message of the cross doesn't make sense to outsiders

.2. Connect with people. The goal of overcoming their negative baggage is to point them to life in Christ. Not “spin” the Christian message; we live it - no need to exaggerate or hype faith - embrace and describe all the potency, depth, complexity, and realism of following Christ.

3. Be Creative. Make difficult concepts vivid and use the language of common people to help point them toward spiritual depth.

4. Serve People. Be compassionate, soft -hearted, and kind to people who are different from us, even hostile toward us. Need to do more than learn about faith;need live it.

Being Christian means being God’s agent of common grace in the world, Being Christian is hard work. The truest knowing comes in the doing.

Take seriously their opportunity to disciple and celebrate people who have a fully orbed view of Christian thinking and its relationship to all things throughout culture.

As Christians of all generations allow Christ to transform their hearts, minds, and actions, their expressions of the Christian faith will change, resulting in an influence on society that we have not experienced in decades.