The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World

This book stirs up so many questions. The first being, where to start? There are so many areas that are broken that need help in our world.A friend and I have been discussing this and hope to grow our thoughts into action.This book has challenged me the most of any I've read recently and is answering a haunting question I've had of what is missing.Don't read this book unless you are willing to do something, anything to make the world a better place and bring glory to God.Thanks Mr. Lyons for the challenge.

The Next Christians is a must read for those seeking to explore examples of the current reformation of the Christian experience in America in the twenty-first century, which Lyons terms restoration. While his earlier work, UnChristian, relied heavily on research, focused on what is or is perceived to be wrong with Christians and Christianity, and was sound modern scholarship this new book relies heavily on stories of real people, focuses on what is or what he perceives to be experiences that exemplify Christianity in its intended form, and is told in a primarily postmodern way. The book is divided into three parts. Part one provides an overview of how Christianity in America has changed in recent years and how the faith has become sidelined in American culture. Part two is the strength of the book; it includes a chapter on each of the six characteristics of the next Christians or those who embody what is right about Christianity. Part three suggests that the work of restoration now underway is setting the stage for the next big shift in Christianity and calls upon individuals and faith communities to move in this direction through properly emphasizing what matters most and embodying the characteristics outlined in part two. This book affords readers an opportunity to interact with the stories of well known and largely unknown followers of Jesus, explore the supportive biblical texts, and consider the possibility of restoration.The six characteristics of the next Christians also known as restorers:*provoked, not offended: Christians are proactive not reactive*creators, not critics: Christians act to construct something new not just destruct that which is undesirable in culture*called, not employed: Christians expand influence to all spheres of life rather than utilizing it primarily in the church and also reclaim a rich understanding of vocation*grounded, not distracted: Christians commit to spiritual disciplines and ongoing growth rather than shallow discipleship that fails to stand up to cultural temptations*in community, not alone: Christians are involved in authentic Christian community and engaged in their geographic Community (Lyons uses the upper cased Community when speaking of a place)*countercultural, not relevant: Christians engage rather than withdraw the existing culture as salt that seeks to restore the common goodLyons writes extensively about culture, cultural engagement and cultural restoration. While he adequately explores how Christians have historically interacted with culture and rightly suggests that going forward Christians must be intentionally involved in all "seven channels of cultural influence" (media, education, arts and entertainment, business, government, social sciences, and church) in order to create and/or restore culture, he doesn't explore the commonly accepted idea that culture is created only or at least primarily by elites. Instead, he simply encourages all believers to impact as many channels as possible.

Over the Christmas and New Year break, I read Gabe Lyon's next book, The Next Christians (DoubleDay, 2010). I heard Gabe at the Catalyst Conference back in October and was impressed with his impassioned presentation of his observations about "the good news about the end of Christian America." (I was mostly impressed with his own family's response to their son, Cade's, Down Syndrome as an example of what he was describing.)I'm a bit of an existentialist when it comes to verifying the premise of others, so, what I had observed in larger venues like Catalyst and Right Now, I also saw in the younger generation of Christ followers at Legacy. Lyons seems to be on target: these "next Christians" want little to do with maintaining the institution of the church and following its programs, but they deeply desire to engage the bigger needs of humanity in the name of Jesus.Lyons begins his assessment of Christians response to change in similar fashion to H. Richard Niebuhr's classic work, Christ and Culture. He couches his views in fresh language with stories to demonstrate his points.His message of engagement in the "seven channels of cultural influence" (Media, Education, Arts & Entertainment, Business, Government, Social Sector and Church) is refreshing and reveals the potential the church has to impact culture through the involvement of Christians. He rightly heralds, "The church...[is] the most uniquely positioned channel of cultural influence...No other institution regularly convenes people who work within the other six channels on a weekly basis." (Kindle edition, locations 1661-67)Lyons builds his message around six descriptors of the next Christians. The categories are valid, but as with any broad categories of a nebulous movement in its infancy, they lack little more than anecdotal evidence for their existence. However, they are excellent ways to characterize these next Christians.Lyon's six categories are: * provoked, not offended * creators, not critics * called, not employed * grounded, not distracted * in community, not alone * counter cultural, not relevantThese describe those he names "restorers" for these next follower of Jesus. This role of Christian as restorer of creation in light of Christ's inaugural work on earth is reminiscent of N.T. Wright or C. H. Dodd's realized eschatology that is so popular today.I appreciated Lyon's call to spiritual disciplines that ground restorers on mission. I especially liked his section titled, "Immersed in Scripture (Instead of Entertainment)"--although he echoes the prevalent mantra of Scripture as "a grand narrative that tells a story of a God who loves..." which sometimes tends to bias the reader against the gory details of the smaller stories within His-story.I applaud his call to community, too. I believe this to be crucial to the thrivival (I made that word up) of the church in the decades ahead. "Community provides the critical support base the next Christians need to be on mission for God." (Kindle location, 2099-2103) This is a welcome shift in the purpose of small groups during the last three decades that was more about the individual than the mission of God. (See also, Scott Boren's Missional Small Groups.)Lyons was hypercritical in his excursus on relevance, which was a mainstay of the church growth movement. I agree with him that counter cultural (as he defines it) has always been the position of the church in culture by its very nature as God's alternate reality to this fallen creation. Relevance was never the modus operandus of the ekklesia we read about in Scripture. We got off track when we moved relevance to our priority lists.The Next Christians will play its role in the search for what's next for the church in America and will be a seminal work in the discussions around the topic, but like Lyon's first book it will have a relatively short shelf life that will be replaced by the next observer of Christian America. Given the rapidity of change in that arena, it could be very short-lived. Read it while its relevant. Wink.

This is indeed a constructive work looking at the challenge of the Church as we embrace the implications of the Gospel from the perspective of The Kingdom Of God. In other words, many Believers are beginning to realize that Christianity means more than a ticket to Heaven, and in fact, embraces a restorative principle for mankind in all aspects of his life including the Earth that we inhabit.The thrust of this book looks at ways in which many authentic Believers are moving toward a more Christ-like and redemptive approach to the Gospel.The Gospel includes Salvation for Man's soul but also is reflected in works of social justice and addresses brokenness that sin has caused in every strata of society, the Gospel is the foundation upon which redemption and restoration can occur

A most wonderful book, a must read for anyone who takes their Christ encounter seriously, O to have Restorers of "...streets to dwell in..."(Isa 58), in every city. To see a dynamic expression of Christ explaining the Father in every street, I long for this, this book gets you longing fir the wide open way of God. This book is inspiring and presses you towards the great change that's underway. I agree whole heart with Gabe regarding the Restored future, a must fir every Christian, every bible teacher.