One of the beefs non Christians have with Christians is their perception that Christians want them to “get saved!” So, Kinnaman and Lyons, in unChristian, study this them in chp. 4. This chp, however, is less about the perception that Christians want others to get saved and much more about the lack of transformation in the gospel of Christians.
1. Mosaics and Busters don’t like being cornered into spiritual conversations and they are suspicious and savvy about the motives of others.
2. Mosaics and Busters are not likely to be pushy about their faith; they are less likely to share their faith; they believe one can live a life without Jesus in a meaningful way; less likely to believe in a “once-saved-always-saved” mentality.
3. 64% of Christians think they are sincere in evangelism; their audience is only 36% convinced.
4. Major myths and realities about evangelism:
4.1 Best evangelism is that which reaches the most people; best evangelism is relational.
4.2 Anything that succeeds is worth doing; 3-10x more damage done by mass [evangelism kind of] stuff.
4.3 No need to worry about offending others; respect is a key factor in evangelism.
4.4 Logical arguments are very important; very few respond to logic: individualism, loyalty to peers, emotional/experiential.
4.5 Everyone has an equal chance; vast majority respond before adulthood, often before adolescence.
4.6 We need to help outsiders find a connection with God; most are fiercely independent.
5. Alarming conclusion: the majority of those who are evangelized have already tried on Christianity and walked away.
6. Survey of Americans: 65% made a commitment; 29% absolutely committed; 3% have a biblical worldview.
7. 1 out of 7 Americans think Christianity is genuine or real.
8. Transformation is not central enough to gospel.
They believe the secret to shifting from the get-saved! problem is to establish genuine relationships.