Millennials were born to ages 20 to Gen X were born to ages 35 to Boomers were born to ages 54 to Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.
About Barna Group Barna Group is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization under the umbrella of the Issachar Companies. Located in Ventura, California, Barna Group has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since A brand new Barna report, Faith Leadership in a Divided Culture, finds that in the Christian church, leaders believe discipling Christians around social issues is a critical part of their pastoral responsibility.
However, when it comes to some issues in particular, pastors feel a level of sensitivity and pressure in how they approach controversial topics from the pulpit. These fall into two main groups: Lapsed Christians identify as Christian but have not attended church within the past month. Only 4 percent consider their faith very important.
Pastors Face Communication Challenges in a Divided Culture A brand new Barna report, Faith Leadership in a Divided Culture, finds that in the Christian church, leaders believe discipling Christians around social issues is a critical part of their pastoral responsibility.
But this is a flawed idea when applied to all situations. For instance, if you believe that meth is awesome, you better understand that the most loving thing I could do is to attempt to persuade you to change your beliefs. So for many millennials, the idea of proselytizing is offensive. I was walking down Duval Street.
I was furious. Regardless of what the Bible says about homosexuality, condemning people is a horrible way to win them over. All this man did was further solidify a hard-heartedness towards Christianity. I heard some of the things the people outside the bar muttered about the man. Another time, I was in Portland, Oregon walking through a street festival, and I saw a man standing on a wooden box.
He had no idea that I was a pastor in Portland on a trip to help homeless youth, nonetheless , but he assured me that I was headed for hell too.
Yes, it's sometimes meant as an insult, a popular non-Muslim conceit that pretends Muslims all have to believe exactly the same things, often focusing on some of the most "objectionable" options out there, when the truth is Muslims are likely even more diverse than they are. That's not to say that there aren't some Muslims who can be pretty specific about exactly what Muslims must believe, often getting themselves into arguments with equally monolithic but dogmatically different Muslims.
However, they are monolithic for the same reason some Christians are, and it's a good one. Because we all believe -- at least to some extent -- that we MUST be "right," for the sake of our immortal souls. Because if we're not "right," then what certainty can we have regarding the outcome of God's evaluation of our lives, come Judgment Day?
Now personally, I don't think that's the right place for us to be, regardless of which faith we're following: certainly from the Muslim perspective, putting yourself ahead of God, by thinking you can control Him by believing certain things about Him, is actually one of the biggest sins in all of Islam.
And I don't think Christians -- at least if they stopped to think about it -- could be completely comfortable with that proposition either. Throughout my own faith journey, I've been wrong about so many things so many times that I've frankly lost count, despite the fact that I've been convinced I've been absolutely "right" at the time regardless.
Belief's a funny thing that way: given sufficient motivation, people can convince themselves to believe pretty much anything, and once we do we become equally convinced that makes it true, and makes that matter.
Until about 20 years ago, when I made the rather impudent request that God grant me wisdom. And strangely enough since that time I've come to understand that being "right" doesn't matter so much: all I have to be is a humble servant of God. That's why I think this "winner takes all" approach to religious believing we've all become convinced is "right" is the wrong way to approach evangelism, no matter what we're professing, and the reason why is one of the main reasons I've chosen to approach our Creator along the path of Islam.
Because Muslims believe at least we're supposed to that life is a journey on a path ordained by our Creator, to teach us what we have to know. And if we're facing in the right direction towards Him, and honestly seeking to find Him, then He's the One who's responsible for getting us there.
We don't begin that journey perfect, and we don't even end up perfect: perfection is one characteristic that belongs solely to God. And that pertains even to things like religious belief: because it's our intention that matters. But that goes ALL ways: if Christians believe they're on the right path, then fixing them is God's problem, not mine. That's not to say we're not supposed to be part of each other's faith's journeys, because we are, and if we believe we're created by a God as powerful as the God of Abraham then we have to admit that's because that's what's meant to be.
Remember, God's in control of destiny. But is it possible that God put us here, not to recreate other believers in our own images, but instead to live and learn and grow alongside them not despite our differences, but because of them? And do you think He might have given us so many different directions to approach Him from to teach us to take ourselves a little less seriously? Ask yourself: Do you do more good for God by telling other people they're wrong, or by doing right by them and living right yourself?
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