In the book UnChristian, the author David Kinnaman quotes an outsider who described Christians in this way, “Most people I meet assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, anti-gay, anti-choice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peacefully with anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.”

My friend Chris Tan who was involved in Epic a few years back gave a memorable talk where he mentioned that most people understand Christianity from the viewpoint of the media. He explained how the primary exposure of many teenagers to Christ comes from shows like Southpark. Kids will here Cartman screaming “Eff Christ” and that’s that.

The way the world views Christianity is deeply skewed and oftentimes absurd. However, it has been very encouraging to see how Epic students have embraced our savior and are growing in stature as a result. It has been a blessing to see students understanding of Christianity shift towards truth.

There is still much work to be done though. To share the good news in our modern times is not just a one way message. We also have to combat the worldviews that have disparaged Christianity. We have to meet people where they are at and have a decent understanding of how they got there. Then we can start to build trust by loving them and representing true Christianity to them.

Let me pose a couple of questions.

What would be the first thing you would want to communicate if you were talking to someone about your faith?

How would you communicate such a thing amidst the preconceived notions about Christianity from the world?

Philemon 6, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

Mike Aalseth