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On the Radio Talking about the Younger Unchurched...

Friday July 31, 2009   ~   2 Comments

Between Two Worlds includes quotes from my time on the radio yesterday. The full details are here.

Robbie Sagers wrote:

Why do so many people say that they like Jesus, but not the church? And how can Christians go about changing that perception?


Dan Kimball, Kevin DeYoung, and Ed Stetzer joined guest-host Russell Moore yesterday on the Albert Mohler Program to talk about how unbelievers view the church, and how the people of Christ can reach lost men and women--those at the coffee shop, or sitting next to you on the bus, or those working in the cubicle adjacent to yours right now--with the only gospel that saves.

DeYoung and Kimball are both quoted. Dan and I have been friends for years and I appreciate his perspective. Kevin and I have not yet met, but we are speaking together and a forthcoming Reformed Church in American "classis" in Grand Rapids, so I look forward to meeting him. I have enjoyed his writings.

Robbie quotes my comments about authenticity here:

I think that authenticity is basically a simultaneous admission that I'm imperfect, in need of the work of Christ and the cross, but at the same time sharing that struggle in that journey along the way... I think that authenticity is built from pastors and leaders, but also from everyday people who say, 'Here's what Christ has done, how he's changed me, how the gospel shapes me, but I'm also the one who's filled with faults and failures--struggling, but trusting in the power of Christ.


You can listen to the whole program at the Albert Mohler show radio show site. Who knew that Russ Moore would have such a smooth radio voice?

And, in another post, Robbie also quoted me bringing some stats:

We asked a total of 1,000 twenty-something unchurched people; 900 American, 100 Canadian. And we compared them to a sample of 500 older unchurched (30 or above). ... And what we found is that yes, there are negative views of the church, two-thirds saying the church is full of hypocrites, people who do one thing and say another. But there was also great openness that's there. One of the questions that we asked them to agree or disagree with was: "I would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked me to?" Among twenty-somethings, 61-percent said, "Yes." Among their older counterparts of 30 and above, 42-percent said, "Yes." That was a statistically significant difference saying there is something going on, there is an openness that's there. So we're seeing that as an opportunity that in the midst of some negative views of the church there is also some openness to the things of God.


This data comes from Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them (B&H 2009).

Thanks to Russ and Robbie for the invitation.

Posted on July 31, 2009 at 10:40 AM   ~   2 Comments

Tagged with: interview, social networking

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2 Comments

By Daniel on July 31, 2009 12:28 PM

That openness in the below-30 crowd is the church's opportunity to re-engage the culture and spread authentic Christianity. I am thankful for men like Ed who make us aware of cultural perceptions and opportunities.

By Robbie Sagers on July 31, 2009 7:06 PM

Thanks so much, Dr. Stetzer, for coming on the show. I think the conversation that you, Dr. Moore, Pastor Kimball, and Pastor DeYoung had will prove very helpful for Christians wanting to know how best to reach their unbelieving friends and neighbors with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for you and your ministry!

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