How The World Perceives Us?

In 2007, David Kinnaman published his groundbreaking book, UnChristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity. This book is the result of three years of extensive interviews with young adults today. Through his research, Kinnaman discovered the negative perceptions the unchurched (he called them "outsiders") had toward Christianity, which altered their willingness to commit their lives to Jesus. One person he interviewed put it this way: "Most people I meet assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, antigay, antichoice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peaceably with anyone who doesn't believe what they believe."

Kinnaman’s research explores the six perceptions these outsiders have of Christians:

(1) Hypocritical. Outsiders consider us hypocritical—saying one thing and doing another—and they are skeptical of our morally superior attitudes. Christians present the church as a place only for the virtuous and morally pure people.

(2) Too focused on getting converts. Outsiders wonder if we genuinely care about them. They feel like targets rather than people. They question our motives when we try to help them "get saved," despite the fact that many of them have already "tried" Jesus and experienced church before.

(3) Antihomosexual. Outsiders say that Christians are bigoted and show disdain for gays and lesbians. They say that Christians are fixed on curing homosexuals and on leveraging political solutions against them.

(4) Sheltered. Christians are thought of as old-fashioned, boring, and out of touch with reality. Outsiders say we do not respond to reality in appropriately complex ways, preferring simplistic solutions and answers. We are not willing to deal with the grit and grime of people’s lives.

(5) Too political. Another common perception of Christians is that we are overly motivated by a political agenda, and that we promote and represent politically conservative interests and issues. Conservative Christians are often thought of as right-wingers.

(6) Judgmental. Outsiders think of Christians as quick to judge others. They say we are not honest about our attitudes and perspectives about other people. They doubt that we really love people as we say we do.

While we may not agree with the views of the unchurched, Kinnaman challenges us not to ignore them. We have to deal with the young adults of the 21st century as they are—candid, irrelevant, and brazen.

Leadership is about perception. What people think about Christians influences how they respond to us. In fact, what they think should help us to become more objective. We need to make continual, honest evaluations of ourselves so that we reflect what we profess. What people think about Christians also reflect their own personal stories of the disappointing interactions they have had with churchgoers. But we can change all that. We need to represent Christ in a completely new context. Like Jesus, we must start engaging culture and its people with respect and love.