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Summary: Interesting perspective
Comment: A great book with a new perspective on the current role of Christianity in the culture. Talks about how Christians are doing more harm then good using techniques that may have been successful decades ago.
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Summary: To the point and accurate!
Comment: Nobody has written as extensively on young adult ministry as Dan. This book cuts through the quick, and addresses the central reasons why this generation sees Christianity as the monolithic beast that the church has made it into, and better yet, how to overcome those obstacles. Christ never intended for His church to be so institutionalized, and in the process of the modern church movement, we (Christians) have become more church centered (building) than we have about soul centered. It has become more about religion than relationship, and Dan has opened the doors and the windows in an effort to bring a fresh change to the way that we can reach the next generation for Christ. Don't dumb down the message of the Gospel, but reveal it and make it approachable. More churches need to focus on reaching these young people, BEFORE they leave the church - NOT after they are gone. Roughly 70% of churched Christians who go off to college will stop attending church within their first 2 years of school. Most will never return. It's time to recognize that these young people need to be ministered to, and that our methods need to change in this new age. Wake up churches!! Dan's books will help you see how to reach them. Excellent book to help us see inside their minds and their hearts.
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Summary: Excellent book... but it's not a one-size-fit-all solution
Comment: My perspectives of reviewing this book might be a little different... since I grew up in a Presbyterian church while going to an Episcopalian elementary school in Hong Kong. Then, when I moved to the states, I went to an Episcopal Church. However, that's not all... for the first 22 years of my life, I went to Chinese churches (the Presbyterian church in Hong Kong and a Chinese Episcopal Church in the states for 11 years each) before relocating to a Caucasian Episcopal church last year. While the churches are probably small in the author's view, I was mentally comparing and contrasting the 3 churches in my mind as I was reading.
Personally, I think this book is designed for clergies as well as young adult leaders. Because I got used to be treated as a young adult leader since 2004 through numerous young adult leaders events I went to (at local and national levels), I think this book does apply to me.
Anyway, I would say this book offers pretty good suggestions for non-ethnic churches. The only weaknesses are the following.
1. The solutions might not really work for these churches outreaching first generation young adults of minority descents with limited or no church background. I say that because they might have a language barrier with the rest of the members of these churches, which makes them sharing these problems more difficult than it already is. Can these churches do anything about it? The answer would be yes/no. Yes... if the community around the church is changing over time. No... if the church is only catering to a few individuals. This is not to say the church is dismissing these individuals. Rather, it's the fact that the church has no ability to cater to those needs at this time, especially if the individuals don't do their part in the process of getting helped.
2. For ethnic churches (at least the Chinese ones I know)... while it's easier to cater those who can only speak a language that's not the dominant language in the church (like Mandarin or English for a mostly Cantonese speaking church), the language barrier could be a hard factor to ignore, too. While those churches would have an easier time making adjustments, in terms of adding certain services, the clergy would be forced more than ever to be stuck in the "prison" the author talked about. After all, not only he/she has to prepare one sermon, but several for one Sunday, if the clergy needed to do all the sermons by him/herself.
Having said that... the rest of what he said was pretty much right on the button, whether it's inside an ethnic church or not. In fact, I had the same feeling on quite a bit of things he mentioned throughout the book. So, overall, I would give it an 9 out of 10.
If there's one thing I could suggest Mr. Kimball to do, it would be spend some time visiting some ethnic churches. That would make his work even more well-rounded.
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Summary: They Like THEIR Jesus, But Not the Church
Comment: I do not like the title of this book but overall I like the book. I do not believe most non-Christians like Jesus. They like their perceptions of him, but their thoughts of him are not well-rounded. Most people I have talked to see him as a great teacher and example, a person of love and a person who sacrificed greatly for others. These things are true but are only part of the story. The people Kimball references are no different than any other people, they like Jesus as long as he doesn't offend them. But in time Jesus will offend a person, because he breaks down our pride and self-reliance through his actions and words. In John chapter 6 this very dynamic plays out. Jesus is very popular with the people in the beginning of the chapter but by the end many people turn away from following him. So many people in our culture may think they like Jesus, but when they hear a fuller presentation of who he is, they turn away. This may be the case with some of the people Kimball is referencing. Since they don't want to come right out and say they don't like Jesus, they blame the church when confronted with the cost of discipleship. There's no doubt the church can be abusive, narrow, and stuck in tradition. But people outside the church are not just a bunch of well-meaning people who have been confused by the church. They are rebels against God, whether they know it or acknowledge it. All Christians were once in the same place, rebels to the core.
Kimball does a good job of highlighting the way Christians are often misperceived by the culture as well as the way Christians often stand in judgment over the culture. His approach of relationships and love is good and should be an important focus of the efforts of believers to live their faith and share it with others.
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Summary: they like Jesus but not the church
Comment: We are using this book for our Young Marrieds & Singles class on Sunday mornings and it has been a good fit so far. There are a lot of things in it that are obviously going to make people uncomfortable but I think that they are things that all need to be said and understood if we are going to be able to reach today's generation.
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