Unchristian: What a New Generation Really thinks about Christianity ... and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons

I just finished this work that was published in 2007 this morning. It is a representation of the viewpoint of people that were born between the years of 1965 and 1983 (the 'Busters') and between 1984 and 2002 (the 'Mosaics').

Their point is the Busters and Mosaics see the church as unchristian. In Kinnaman and Lyons words, "they think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind ..." (p. 15). Whether or not it was intended this is how the church has come across to these two generations. They, the Busters and Mosaics, see us (the church) as: hypocritical; too focused on converts; anti-homosexual; too sheltered; and judgemental.

The authors of Unchristian ... not only present the descriptive definitions of how we, the church, are seen by those born between 1965 and 2002, but they also give us good advice from various leaders as we seek to engage people and the world with the love of God.

This work has helped me to realize that we, Arlington United Methodist Church, are on the right road in our vision to "change the world by loving our neighbor". That is, we are directly feeding the hungry, offering the good news of Jesus in varied styles, and listening to the community as we shape our actions. But as always Kinnaman and Lyons affirms that the shaping our action through listening and loving is never complete.

Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church by Mark Deymaz

I just completed this work on Monday. It gave me a beneficial way to give reflections on where we are at the moment. 'We' refers to the staff and laity of Arlington UMC in Nashville, TN where we live in a diverse community of over 40 languages with persons from economically rich to poor.

Part One of work explores the biblical mandate to cross artificial borders. In this section he explores three areas: Jesus' prayer in John 17; the boundary crossing that occurs in Acts tying together Jewish and Gentile believers; and the letter of Ephesians that speaks of diverse people being made one in Jesus.

Part Two explores what he calls "core commitments" of a multi-ethnic church. They are as follows: embrace dependence; take intentional steps; empower diverse leadership; develop cross-cultural relationships; pursue cross-cultural competence; promote a spirit of inclusion; and mobilize for impact. In this section he challenges the theme that has been taken from Donald McGavran's work in Church Growth which does encourage us to work on attracting people just like us. To that Deymaz would ask, 'Is that what Jesus did?'

Part Three tells stories of three local churches using the "core commitments". The first illustration was a local church planted in a diverse community. The second told of how a declining church that crossed the 'boundaries' in order to grow. And the third told of a transformed homogeneous church becoming heterogeneous.

Let's say it was worth my reading. It gave me a means to determine where we are at the moment. That is we are in the areas of "empowering diverse leadership" and I am seeing the possibility of further "developing cross-cultural relationships" by requesting a leadership feedback team that crosses cultures.