As You Go: Creating a Missional Culture of Gospel-Centered Students. Alvin L. Reid. 2013. NavPress. pg. 93.“Dave Kinnaman’s recent book You Lost Me offers [a] sobering look at the status quo of the church. Based on an extensive survey, Kinnaman notes six primary factors for students disconnecting from church. Devoting a chapter to each, he summarizes the six as:
- over-protective toward youth;
- shallow in their teaching aimed at students;
- antiscience (just saying “evolution is dumb: will not cut it with this generation);
- repressive (churches appear simplistic and judgmental on issues of sexuality, that is, young people want more than “just say no”);
- exclusive (we need to clearly explain the exclusivity of the church–we cannot just say, “Jesus is the only way”; we must help them see why);
- doubtless (churches seem unfriendly to those who doubt).
“I encounter these sentiments regularly in youth and college students. We must take the timeless gospel and apply it in a timely way to deal with issues such as these. We cannot simply assume young people will embrace faith because we said to do so or because we have embraced it.”
