They Like Jesus, But Not the Church

I am presently reading a book by Dan Kimball entitled "They Like Jesus, But Not the Church." Dan makes some very good insights into the culture and generation we are presently NOT reaching in the church...that is older teens and twenty-somethings. By his observation of numerous churches across the nation (including megachurches) there is an enormous absence of this younger generation from our churches. Oh sure, there is always a few that show up, and even get involved. But the problem is, by percentage, we are not seeing them show up in similar numbers as the folks who are 35 and older.

If we are to successfully reach this younger generation, Dan Kimball says we need to become missional in our thinking. By missional he means that we start to think like missionaries, treating this younger generation as a mission field. Learning how to penetrate this culture and engage it.

He says that the problem of most churches is...we show up at church and wait for them to show up. If they don't show up, that's their problem not ours. Missional thinking says, "NO! That is not the right approach. We have to go out into their turf and engage them in conversation. And not beat them over the head with the Bible, but instead LISTEN TO THEM!

The reason this younger generation is not coming to church is because they have preconceived notions as to what Christians are. They predominantly think that we are like TV evangelists, close minded, judgmental, angry, and controlling. If we don't go out into THEIR world and interact with them they will never meet a REAL Christian.

I am excited because I am on my way this week to the Oregon Christian Convention Center in Turner, OR to see Dan Kimball speak in person. The conference is called "Honoring Jesus by Creating a Church that Looks Like Jesus." You see, the younger generation says they like Jesus, they just don't like the church. Well, what if the church actually looked like Jesus, that's the goal.

I am hoping to get a chance to talk with him about his approach for successfully reaching the younger generation; to dialogue with him, ask some questions, and see if we can move in the right direction to make a difference in the culture around us.

Pray for me as I go to this conference in Turner. Pray for Dan Kimball that he can successfully give all of the pastors present some clear guidance on how we can begin to make more of a difference in the name of Jesus in the culture that we live in today. A culture that is post-Christian, post-modern, and basically hostile to Christians. And hopefully we can all begin to crawl out of our own Christian bubble (meaning YOU as well as ME) and start to interact with the culture around us instead of hiding in our churches, in what is called the "Christian subculture." Meaning, a group of people isolated from the culture around them. Let's all pray we can break this cycle and begin winning young people to faith in Christ. AMEN?!

Love ya all,
Roger