A Difficult Read
In college, I was told by an English professor that if you started a book and were not thoroughly engulfed in it within the first few hours, you should put it aside. There are too many good books out there to justify wasting your time. I wish I had listened to his advice while reading The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons. While there are many good points made in the book, getting to them was a struggle for me. I found myself dreading my time set aside to read and have a difficult time pinpointing why I had that sense.
I enjoyed the early description of how the church has lost its place in the physical and social landscape of our culture. The move from town-square-oriented communities to the business districts and strip malls has not left out the church. In the change of our community landscape, the status of the church is being changed from the visible stalwart of downtown to integration into the neighborhoods where people live. "The church has stealthily moved away from the center of life to the periphery."
In looking at the "New Normal" and how Christians interact with current culture, there are some interesting categorizations. Looking at our interactions as being Separatists (Insiders, Culture Warriors, and Evangelizers) or Cultural (Blenders or Philanthropists) offered a view of where Christianity has been for our recent history. Also, the recognition of the need for restoration is an important concept, realizing the need to not separate from the world, but rather the need to be thoughtfully engaged in the world. I also found enlightening the approach to God's work with humanity being broken down into creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration.
The remainder of the book is devoted to the method by which we relearn what restoration is and how to accomplish it. He discusses the need to be provoked (not offended), creators (not critics), called (not employed), grounded (not distracted), in community (not alone), and counter-cultural (not "relevant"). Achieving second things comes from putting first things first.
I think my difficulties with the book began with the use of references to important people of the past several years. From the onset, name-dropping seemed to be part of the writing process. Listing important people the author had met with to counsel and discuss topics of modern Christianity did not impress me and seemed to be prevalent and at times, even a focus. It was a distraction for me and at times seemed to limit the delivery of the message.
However, my main difficulty in reading the book, came from the use of the name "Next Christians". The subtitle ("The Good News About the End of Christian America") should have given me a clue. Lyons seems to take stabs at corporate Christianity and its failures while giving examples of specific projects and actions of a few people as the answer to all of the Church's problems. He wants to use specifics as an answer to generalizations. He seems to dismiss the work of many current and past Christians, though many have sought (and accomplished) the same principles he is promoting. While the work of the Church as the body of Christ continues, I was confused by his minimizing of the foundations laid by many in our cultural history. While the gospel has not changed, the world has. Finding ways to be more relevant in the world has always been a challenge of the people of God, not because of God, but because of us.
Lyons begins the book by stating that seven years ago, he was embarrassed to call himself a Christian. I question whether that has changed.
I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I enjoyed the early description of how the church has lost its place in the physical and social landscape of our culture. The move from town-square-oriented communities to the business districts and strip malls has not left out the church. In the change of our community landscape, the status of the church is being changed from the visible stalwart of downtown to integration into the neighborhoods where people live. "The church has stealthily moved away from the center of life to the periphery."
In looking at the "New Normal" and how Christians interact with current culture, there are some interesting categorizations. Looking at our interactions as being Separatists (Insiders, Culture Warriors, and Evangelizers) or Cultural (Blenders or Philanthropists) offered a view of where Christianity has been for our recent history. Also, the recognition of the need for restoration is an important concept, realizing the need to not separate from the world, but rather the need to be thoughtfully engaged in the world. I also found enlightening the approach to God's work with humanity being broken down into creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration.
The remainder of the book is devoted to the method by which we relearn what restoration is and how to accomplish it. He discusses the need to be provoked (not offended), creators (not critics), called (not employed), grounded (not distracted), in community (not alone), and counter-cultural (not "relevant"). Achieving second things comes from putting first things first.
I think my difficulties with the book began with the use of references to important people of the past several years. From the onset, name-dropping seemed to be part of the writing process. Listing important people the author had met with to counsel and discuss topics of modern Christianity did not impress me and seemed to be prevalent and at times, even a focus. It was a distraction for me and at times seemed to limit the delivery of the message.
However, my main difficulty in reading the book, came from the use of the name "Next Christians". The subtitle ("The Good News About the End of Christian America") should have given me a clue. Lyons seems to take stabs at corporate Christianity and its failures while giving examples of specific projects and actions of a few people as the answer to all of the Church's problems. He wants to use specifics as an answer to generalizations. He seems to dismiss the work of many current and past Christians, though many have sought (and accomplished) the same principles he is promoting. While the work of the Church as the body of Christ continues, I was confused by his minimizing of the foundations laid by many in our cultural history. While the gospel has not changed, the world has. Finding ways to be more relevant in the world has always been a challenge of the people of God, not because of God, but because of us.
Lyons begins the book by stating that seven years ago, he was embarrassed to call himself a Christian. I question whether that has changed.
I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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