Review: Next Christians (finally)

Have you grown up in the church and want to see it succeed in the years to come?  Have you been hurt by the church or people who call themselves Christian? Are you tired of searching for a faith community, but only finding worship and churches that seem to be out of touch?  Have you ever had a conversation about the future of the church and someone said “we just need more technology and guitars to get young people to come?” If you answered yes to any of these questions then it would do you well to pick up a copy of Gabe Lyons book The Next Christians.

Pretty much read this unless you think that the church is perfect and doesn’t need to change a thing.

I received my free copy of Lyons’  book The Next Christians in late January from Water Brook Multnomah Publishing Group. Because of work being crazy I haven’t been able to get the review out as soon as I would have liked, but also it took longer than expected to read the book because it was packed with great stuff.

In the text Lyons looks at some of the traditional ways that Christians have addressed the tension between living a life of faith and the stumbling blocks that society places in front of us.  Lyons outlines two main schools of thinking when it comes to this topic.  There are the “Separatists” who distance themselves from society.  I feel like this group has a very “us” vs “them” view of the world.  This insider/outsider view is not at all helpful in sharing the Good News because the mentality to some degree is that I am saved and it would be nice if you were too.

The second group are the “blenders.”  The blenders engage culture and blend into it.  The danger here is that theology and beliefs get sacrificed and watered down because of the blending.  I would say that this is where many young people would place themselves after reading the work of Christian Smith (Soul Searching) and Kenda Creasy Dean (Almost Christian).

Lyons then proposes that both views fall short and then says that there is a third way that is emerging.  The Next Christians are Restorers.  This group works hard at restoring the church back to what it was meant to be.  Throughout the years the church may have lost its way and has been missing the mark.  This new group understands that faith in action and service is essential to restoring the church.  Lyons takes a good chunk of the latter part of the book to give real examples of restorers in action.

From my perspective as a Methodist pastor this new way would make John Wesley proud.  He said that “there is no holiness apart form social and personal holiness.”  As a practical theologian I feel like John would have fit right in with the restorers.

Well, that’s enough from me about the book.  Go and get a copy here