I am currently in the middle of six week series entitled "Perceptions." In this series, I've tackled the top six perceptions 16-29 year old outsiders have of Christianity. The research behind this series has come primarily from the book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. The Barna Group has put out this research and I believe the church must consider these findings.
What are the top perceptions?
1) Christians are hypocritical.
2) Christians are only out to convert people.
3) Christians are antihomosexual.
4) Christians are sheltered.
5) Christians are too political.
6) Christians are judgmental.
It's easy to get defensive about these perceptions, but for the people we're trying to reach, perception is reality. It's been a great series so far! The church has certainly responded well to these difficult subjects.
We'll see how it goes this week. I'm preaching on perception #5 (too political), which might be a bit controversial. But if we can't talk about these things at church, where can we talk about them? I believe our people want to have these conversations. And so far, Littleton has confirmed my hypothesis.
What do you think about these perceptions? Are they fair? And what other perceptions aren't named in this list?
