These posts are going to be a huge collaboration of my frustrations, opinions, and my "state of the union" for our faith currently. It will encompass numerous posts and probably take us into the new year.
I have been extensively researching this topic as this is one of my biggest issues and concerns with Christianity currently.
"What has happened to Christianity and why are we seen as the enemy to many of the younger generations."
Please understand, I am going to quote a lot of data and research from people looking at our faith from the outside and much of it will make you feel uneasy and even angry. I am not writing this as a means to anger my fellow Christians but as a wake up call from the generations that most need our help and support.
It's time we got honest and looked in the mirror.
If we want to reach the younger generations and moreover our own children, then we need to look at this data and make some decisions about how we are going about our faith and how our churches are projecting their image to the world.
I have been frustrated in 2008 by the amount of people I have met that were former Christians, raised in a Christian home or those who view Christianity in a negative light mainly because of the Christians they have encountered or how they were treated by other Christians.
Some will look at this post and say it is blasphemy. Some will simply let it cross their computer screen and not give it a second thought. But, I hope a few of you will really read these posts and empathize with the thoughts of people looking at Christianity from the outside and why they think present day Christians are very far from the early church and the teachings of Christ.
We, the believers, are the ones to blame and we need to wake up if we want to reach our children and their generation.
Much of the research and opinions are based on the data from two generations:
Generation Y - born between 1984 and 2002.
Generation X - born between 1965 and 1981
These posts are not Black and White, meaning that I will quote research but it, of course, does not represent each person or Christian but a majority of opinions and views. If the shoe fits.
This work is not all my own but the labor, research and foresight of many Christians and Christian leaders. Here is a list of all those involved:
David KinnamanJim HendersonRob BellAndy StanleyGabe LyonsGeorge BarnaDan KimballThom RainerMichael FletcherEd StetzerThe Barna GroupThe Fermi Project
Thank you all for your guidance, help and research. May God help us change lives.