June 13, 2008
How to Reach People Who Have Been Turned Off by Christians
By AJ Rinaldi in Podcast | 1 comment
Evangelism.net has a great podcast this month on the topic: “Dealing with people who have been turned off by Christians.”
In this episode of the Evangelism Encouragement Podcast, host Mark Rae talks with Dr. Larry Moyer as they consider some of the reasons non-Christians give as to why they have been turned off by Christians.
It is also available on iTunes here.
Enjoy!
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Javamom | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
Nice blog, AJ! We chatted a little this morning, but I’ll type up my query here. I understand this issue from a personal standpoint, having faced this multiple times throughout my life as a PK whose family took in abused and neglected children throughout all but the first four of my growing up years, going off to college myself, traveling abroad multiple times, and working and volunteering amongst the secular world since that time.
But as a mother standing by watching my son face this; well, that requires a different set of skills: love, patience, discerning when to speak and when just to simply and actively listen.
How about young adults who were raised in “Christian” homes, some tyrannical and downright mean, some just über-conservative, who now have a huge problem with their particular (and former) brand of Christianity?
*I* can understand it and even empathize. I remember taking several years to come to a peace about that myself. It took years to forgive abusive elders that I knew, but forgive I did.
The issue is more difficult for college age, idealistic kids to grapple, perhaps moreso those raised in Christian homes, therefore the most ghastly and ugly truths about the worst of/in us are a bit more difficult to bear. We all have very likely heard that they were there when we were younger. Hearing someone’s story third or fourth hand and before sufficient brain development and maturity (from both physical and spiritual growth), is quite a different matter than when you hear it from a new best friend who has set Jesus and the Bible (as complete truth) on the shelf, perhaps only for a time, because of horrific, and possibly never discovered abuses. Oft times those undisclosed abuses cause the deepest, sharpest Buddhists and atheists, but that could be a discussion for another time.
That is the case for many of our 19.5 yo son’s house mates and friends. I think the ugliness of the fact is the biggest blow for him, and now he is tempted to put most all Christians in the category of “abusive.” He was not really very sheltered. We always talked about these issues throughout his lifetime, and more concentrated in his high school years.
Instead of trying to convert or reconvert them, or make sure they were Christians in the first place, he is still in the “anger” phase of grief over the harshness of those realities. I really believe he will come through this, just like I did. You and I both know that the percentage of abusive and radical Christianity is quite small in comparison to the total population of those who profess to at the very least believe in God and in the Gospel of Christ. I have shared with him to search Barna reports for better statistics.
I will listen to the podcast to see what all is addressed!
Thanks again for sharing the blog on Sunday.