The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America [Hardcover]

Gabe Lyons (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 5, 2010

Turn on a cable news show or pick up any news magazine, and you get the impression that Christian America is on its last leg. The once dominant faith is now facing rapidly declining church attendance, waning political influence, and an abysmal public perception. More than 76% of Americans self-identify as Christians, but many today are ashamed to carry the label.
 
While many Christians are bemoaning their faith’s decline, Gabe Lyons is optimistic that Christianity’s best days are yet to come. In the wake of the stunning research from his bestselling book, unChristian, which revealed the growing disenchantment among young generations for Christians, Lyons has witnessed the beginnings of a new iteration of the faith. Marked by Lyons’ brutal honesty and unvarying generosity, Lyons exposes a whole movement of Christians—Evangelicals, Mainline, Protestants, Orthodox, Pentecostals, and others—who desire to be a force for restoration even as they proclaim the Christian Gospel. They want the label Christian to mean something good, intelligent, authentic, and beautiful.
 
The next generation of Christians, Lyons argues, embodies six revolutionary characteristics:
 
“When Christians incorporate these characteristics throughout the fabric of their lives, a fresh, yet orthodox way of being Christian springs forth. The death of yesterday becomes the birth of a great tomorrow. The end of an era becomes a beautiful new beginning. In this way, the end of Christian America becomes good news for Christians.”
 
In THE NEXT CHRISTIANS, Lyons disarms readers by speaking as a candid observer rather than cultural crusader. Where other people shout, Lyons speaks in a measured tone offering helpful analysis of our current reality while casting a vision for how to be a Christian in a world disenchanted with the faith. Both a celebration and a reckoning, THE NEXT CHRISTIANS combines current day models and relevant research with stories of a new generation of Christian leaders. If you are worried by what you see transpiring around you, this book will take you on a surprising social exploration in hopes that you too will restore confidence in your faith.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lyons (un Christian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters) garnered attention in 2007 with fresh research quantifying evangelical Christianity's image problem among American youth. His newest book aims to "restore" U.S. evangelicalism by elevating a generation of leaders marked by six traits suitable for a postmodern, pluralistic, post-Christian America. Evangelicals will need to be "provoked, not offended; creators, not critics; called, not employed; grounded, not distracted; in community, not alone; and countercultural, not relevant." Lyons surrounds his argument with engaging personal stories; he also draws on the successful community model of William Wilberforce's Clapham Hill group, the theology of N.T. Wright and Dallas Willard, and--surprisingly--the sociopolitical strategy of gay rights activists to demonstrate where this youthful evangelicalism is rooted and what effective cultural engagement might look like. It's possible to fault Lyons for his almost exclusively male and predominantly white role models. They don't represent future U.S. generations--evangelical or otherwise. However, for those following what church growth expert C. Peter Wagner called the "new apostolic reformation," this is an important book for the shelf. (Oct.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for The Next Christians and Gabe Lyons

“Gabe Lyons leads an important group of younger Christians who are seeking to avoid both the triumphalism as well as the cultural withdrawal of former generations of believers. We all have a long way to go as we think out how Christ relates to culture in our day. As we do so, we would do well to consider many of the significant insights that Gabe offers in this book.”
—Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City

“The Next Christians is a revolution tightly packaged within a book. As a pastor, it was game changing for me and the people of my church…every person should read it. This is the future!”
—John Ortberg, best-selling author and pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

“Gabe Lyons is one of the brightest young Christian leaders I’ve worked with and mentored. I’ve challenged his thinking; he has challenged mine—as he does again with his latest book, The Next Christians. I recommend this book, which will give you great insight into the hopes and aspirations of the next generation of Christian leaders.”
—Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview

“If I had to pick one leader for the next generation for Christians, it would be Gabe Lyons. If I had to pick one chapter from this book, it would be ‘Relearning Restoration.’ If I had to pick one sentence it would be this one: Christ didn’t come only to save us ‘ from something. He wanted to save Christians to something.’ Gabe Lyons gets it: restoration is the vision for the Next Christians, and I’m cheering them on.”
—Scot McKnight, New Testament scholar and author of The Jesus Creed

“The Next Christians is the best book you’ll read this year. Filled with stories of hope and grace, it’s a passionate call to join followers of Jesus everywhere in restoring the faith. You can’t afford to miss it!”
—Margaret Feinberg, author of Scouting the Divine and The Organic God

“At a time when a central challenge to faith is to be both faithful and fresh, Gabe Lyons’s is a voice I always listen to and benefi t from enormously.”
—Os Guinness, cultural historian and author of The Last Christian on Earth

“It seems an impossible task: restore a 2,000-year-old religion so that it no longer rejects, no longer chases, but actually leads a modern, pluralistic culture running at the speed of Twitter. Gabe Lyons offers hope for Christianity’s next one hundred years by profiling the next set of Christians transcending this epic challenge. I found his preview of Christian innovators inspiring post-Christian America persuasive and one of the most encouraging views of Christian faith in recent years.”
—Kevin Kelly, cofounder of Wired magazine

“The Next Christians is a must-read for anyone seeking to engage a broken world with the healing power of the Gospel. Provocative, yet massively optimistic, Gabe Lyons’s message challenges the ‘Christianity vs. Culture’ paradigm of the recent past with the hopeful template of ‘Christ as restorer of humanity,’ worked out through a new breed of Jesus followers, who are unashamedly running into the darkness—broken-yet-loved ambassadors for the One who makes all things new.”
—Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church and founder of the Passion Movement

“What Lyons gives us here, in spades and with proof texts, is the good news about the state of the Good News in tomorrow’s America. Those who have despaired that even the label ‘Christian’ might be tarnished beyond credibility, much less affection and influence, will find a thousand reasons to rejoice here. Chock-full of examples and stories, Lyons’s work also is full of brilliant insights and piercing applications of traditional verbiage to new ways of being in this world.”
—Phyllis Tickle, founding religion editor, Publishers Weekly

“We’re in an important time in Christianity. Leaders are considering the Gospel, its implications, and how we might live faithfully in the world we find ourselves. Gabe Lyons is an important voice in that conversation. In The Next Christians, he sets out a vision for Christians making a difference in the world. You should read this book and wrestle with his ideas as we consider together how we might be faithful to the Gospel in today’s world.”
—Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research; coauthor of Transformational Church

“The Next Christians is not about rehashing stale debates or reliving the culture wars. It is not about empty ideologies or even about branding a movement—it is about reading the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other and listening to God say, ‘Come change the world with me.’ ”
—Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and recovering sinner

“Gabe Lyons articulates a fresh and inspiring vision for bringing Christian faith forward in the new cultural paradigm of 21st-century America. May this become the predominant expression of Christianity for an up-and-coming generation of ‘next Christians’ and those of us who are counting on them.”
—Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today’s Board of Contributors and author of Onward Christian Athletes

“Gabe Lyons is a contemporary innovator who possesses relevant insight and profound foresight relative to Christ, culture, and the next generation of Christians. This must read book will inspire you and guide you to a new place of purposeful passion!”
—Charles Jenkins, senior pastor, Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church

“The prophet Isaiah declared that God would do a new thing. In The Next Christians, Gabe Lyons frames the narrative of a new Christian movement emerging in our lifetime. While addressing the challenges before us, Gabe presents the facilitative platform for the followers of Jesus to reconcile righteousness with justice under a canopy of compassion and love. This book will challenge us to embrace change as we welcome a fresh move of God’s Spirit.”
—Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

“The Lord has given a great mind and incredible wisdom to Gabe Lyons to be able to speak with such clarity and such understanding of the times. You will be greatly blessed and will desire to turn the next page, only to come to the end and then wish to pass this book along to a good friend so that others can be as informed as you are.”
—Pastor Johnny Hunt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Religion (October 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385529848
• ISBN-13: 978-0385529846
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gabe Lyons is author of The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live The Gospel and Restore the World and founder of Q (http://qideas.org), a learning community that mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society. He is also co-author of Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters, a bestselling book based on original research that revealed the pervasiveness of pop culture's negative perceptions of Christians. As a respected voice for a new generation of Christians, he has been interviewed by CNN, The New York Times, Newsweek, Fox News, USA Today, and countless other media outlets.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

220 of 226 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Overly Optimistic About the Next Generation but Contains Excellent Observations October 7, 2010

By Fr. Charles Erlandson TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a Christian school teacher, priest, and professor of Religious Studies, I eagerly awaited my copy of `The Next Christians' and immediately set to devouring it. I was hoping for reasons to believe that the next generation of Christians in America will restore faith in God, or at least that, as promised, there is good news about the end of Christian America. However, both of these promised hopes were disappointed by Lyons' book.

Let me begin with why I think the book has much value, in spite of my ultimate disappointment in it. Gabe Lyons has, in most cases, done a good job of diagnosing some of the problems with contemporary American Christianity. He's right to discern that Christians who are merely what he calls "Insiders," "Culture Warriors," "Evangelizers," "Blenders," and "Philanthropists" have not always been good representatives of Jesus Christ. Lyons has also correctly diagnosed the fact that the American culture has changed profoundly in recent decades and that many Christians have not adapted well to these changes.

Lastly, he presents a lot of good tools for understanding different kinds of Christians (including the typology of 5 kinds of Christians above). Another excellent analysis he presents is the 7 channels of cultural influence employed by the gay movement very successfully. These 7 channels are: Media, Education, Arts and Entertainment, Business, Government, Social Sector, and Church. Unfortunately, Christians have not acted very much like light in these 7 spheres. Because Christians who want to "restore" the world, instead of blending with it or retreating from it, will often be tempted to become like it, Lyons wisely lists 5 practices that will discipline "Next Christians" in their quest to engage and restore the world:

1.... Immersed in Scripture (Instead of Entertainment)
2. Observing the Sabbath (Instead of Being Productive)
3. Fasting for Simplicity (Instead of Consuming)
4. Choosing Embodiment (Instead of Being Divided)
5. Postured by Prayer (Instead of Power)

By correctly diagnosing many of the problems with American Christianity today and offering some general guidance to help Christians engage the world more meaningfully, "The Next Christians" will be a great help to many Christians.

You knew there was a "But . . . " coming, and here it is.

First of all, Lyons keeps referring to his research upon which he bases many of his claims - and yet he never provides much at all. It may reside in his other book, "UnChristian", but it was the author's job to present it in the current volume as well.

Second, Lyons makes it sound if "The Next Christians" are very different from their immediate ancestors. He believes that they are better prepared to be "Restorers" and not compromisers or judgers. However, he provides little evidence that this is true. In fact, the research shows that young Christians today have a very shallow faith that has been termed "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" and bears little relationship to true Christianity. (See "Soul Searching" by Smith and Denton for the best and most up to date research on the spiritual state of American teens.) Where are all of these "Next Christians" he keeps talking about? He assumes that this generation is a generation of seekers of truth, but the truth is that this generation is no more or less seeking after truth than any other. If you read the Bible closely, or church history or the sociology of religion, then you will know that this generation is not as different or noble as Lyons makes them out to be. The fact is, calling oneself a "seeker" or "spiritual" doesn't mean you're truly seeking God or will accept Him when He comes to you. Lyons underestimates the sinfulness of this generation, and sin in general. Lyons blasts previous generations for being judgmental and hypocritical. Well, join the club: so has every generation of Christians, including the "Next Christians." He blasts the previous generation of Christians for being judged by the media and non-Christians to be judgmental and intolerant. But what does he think was the judgment of Christ, Paul, and the early church by the non-Christians and media of their day?

Third, Lyons talks a lot about Christianity and "Next Christians" but relatively little about Jesus Christ and how we should make disciples of Jesus Christ. Where is his call for a radical dedication to Jesus Christ, not just to being open and tolerant and willing to engage the world? He doesn't adequately answer the "What" of how we are to fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of the nations. Yes, he does a good job of giving examples of how we can engage the world, but he falls short in getting at the root of the Christian life.

Fourth, he rightly recognizes that authentic community is one of the desperate needs for this generation, but he only lists the Church as "one of the best places for this kind of community." In fact, the Church has always been THE place that genuinely embodies the community of love that originates in the relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity and then becomes ours as we join the Body of Jesus Christ, the Church. This generation of Christians needs to gain a new and glorious vision for the Church, imperfect as she is, as the very Body of Christ and the means of His presence on earth. Lyons only plays into the current fashionable bashing of the Church.

In summary, there is a lot of food for thought here and a lot of good diagnosis but also a lot of wrong assumptions and vague or imperfect prescriptions for how the Christians should live in the world. Read more ›

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Christians Should Work Toward the Restoration of All Things November 15, 2010

By George P. Wood VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

American Christians live in a transitional age. Christian America is dead. American society is increasingly pluralistic, postmodern, and post-Christian. How should American Christians respond to this new cultural reality?

In The Next Christians, Gabe Lyons sets out to answer this question. He depicts two broad types of Christians interacting with culture: separatist Christians and cultural Christians. Then he proposes a better type: restorers. "I call them restorers," he writes, "because they envision the world as it was meant to be and they work toward that vision."

Lyons roots the work of restoration in the biblical narrative. "God's story is made up of four key parts: creation, fall, redemption, restoration (and ultimately consummation)." Historically, in the 18th and 19th centuries, evangelicals kept these four parts together, emphasizing both social reform (creation, restoration) and evangelism (fall, redemption). In the 20th Century, however, their fundamentalist heirs separated evangelism and social reform, emphasizing only the former. This led to an imbalanced spirituality. "The truncated Gospel that is often recounted is faithful to the fall and redemption pieces of the story, but largely ignores the creation and restoration components." The next Christians rejoin evangelism and social reform. "These missing elements [i.e., creation and restoration] are at the heart of what a new generation of Christians are relearning, and subsequently, retelling."

The heart of The Next Christians outlines six characteristics of the way restorers interact with culture.... They are:

* provoked, not offended
* creators, not critics
* called, not employed
* grounded, not distracted
* in community, not alone
* countercultural, not "relevant"

Lyons fleshes out these characteristics with biographical sketches of contemporary Christians working toward the restoration of all things. The vast majority of them work in secular professions, including non-profit charities. They work toward "the common good," defined as "the most good for all people." They seek to make a culture that "celebrates beauty," "affirms goodness," and "tells the truth." Their work includes but is not limited to what traditionally falls under the rubric of evangelism and discipleship. Indeed, Lyons de-emphasizes the vocations of the clergy in order to focus attention on the vocations of the laity.

Evangelism and discipleship, traditionally conceived, do not disappear among the next Christians. Rather, they take place organically. Lyons writes, "The fact is, where Christians restore, people get saved." In simple terms, good works create an environment in which people come to faith. And people who come to faith go on to good works. The gospel may begin with the salvation of the individual, but it doesn't end there. It encompasses the whole of his or her life, not just the spiritual component.

Without citing it, The Next Christians recapitulates the typology of H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture for evangelical readers. In place of "Christ against culture," we have "separatist Christians." In place of "Christ of culture," we have "cultural Christians." In place of "Christ transforming culture," we have "restorers." What is missing, of course, are "Christ above culture" and "Christ and culture in paradox." I largely agree with the transformation/restoration position, but it is always helpful to keep in mind that even our best cultural achievements are ephemeral and tinged with sin. The restoration toward which Christians work in this age finds perfection only in the age to come.

Still, the inability to achieve perfection doesn't mean we can't make progress. The 18th- and 19th-Century evangelicals--such as Wesley, Wilberforce, and Finney--who led both religious revivals and social reform movements knew this. So did Jesus and the disciples, who left a better world--spiritually and materially--in their wake. Their 21st-Century descendents would do well to relearn this lesson, and Gabe Lyons's book is a good place to start. Read more ›

92 of 118 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars I Cannot Recommend This Book January 28, 2011

By Sharon Henning

Format:Hardcover

I was given a complimentary copy of The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review. When I read all the praise for the author on the back dust cover I felt encouraged that I had made a good choice when selecting this book. Shortly into the book I was no longer encouraged. In fact, I had a hard time controlling my anger. Frankly, I prayed before writing this review so I could elucidate in a creditable way why I dislike this book so much.

First, a synopsis: Lyons is asked to go to Hollywood to give a movie producer demographic information in order to better market her product for Christians. (Not because she's a Christian but because she is impressed by the cash cow Mel Gibson's "The Passion" had become). Instead what she got was a dissertation of the different categories of people who consider themselves Christians and why they're all wrong. He then proceeds to tell her -and spends the rest of the book telling us -who the "right Christians" are.

First of all, if you're heavily involved in your church, church activities, have your kids on the church basketball team and ESPECIALLY if you homeschool, you are a "Separatist Christian". Gabe informs us that these Christians want nothing to do with nonbelievers and hide inside their self made world that only involves fellow Christians. The are always offended and angry at nonbelievers and show it by voting against gay marriage and abortion. They give Christianity a bad image and are responsible for people not becoming saved.

"Their motivation for retreating and separating from the broader culture can be attributed to a longing for purity, integrity, and holiness in life.... But by default, their choice to live outside the typical rhythms of culture makes them seem awkward, disconnected, and judgmental toward others....

.....They come across as 'holier than thou' and make mental lists of sins that, to them, are clearly wrong and unjustifiable for a 'true Christian.' Smoking, drinking, cussing, boys with earrings and tattoos, or even cutting your grass on Sunday might make it onto the list. They sincerely believe that anyone who participates in these activites couldn't possible have a relationship with God. Strangely, gossip, gluttony, and materialism never make their list.

....Another group of Christians is intent solely on getting people 'saved'. ...These Christians are motivated to 'win souls for Christ,' no matter who they offend." (Chapter 3 pg. 32, 33)

Secondly, if you grew up high church, say Lutheran, Episcopal or Catholic, you're a "Blender Christian." You're embarrassed by the image the world has attached to Christian believers and you want to make sure no one knows you're a Christian or, if they do know, you want them to know that you're "normal" just like everyone else. They accomplish this by living lifestyles that resemble nonbelievers more than believers. They also give Christians a bad image and are responsible for people not getting saved.

And don't think being a hip and groovy Christian is any better. Those who attend churches with coffee bars, worship to Christian rock music and listen to Contemporary Christian musicians are "imitator Christians". They are not affecting the culture because they are following it rather than leading it.

Then there's the "Next Christians." These are the good Christians who have got it right. Instead of being followers of American culture, they are the leaders of the culture. They accomplish this by organizing soup kitchens, working their way up into the upper echelons of Hollywood movie making, organizing fine arts displays and concerts, and otherwise serving their community. They have "engaged the culture". There's no description of their personal beliefs, how they're saving anyone and in fact at one point Lyons admits that, since these people aren't actually sharing the gospel we don't really know who's getting saved, if at all. BUT. We know that they are showing beauty and love to their community and that is sure to lead people to God.

"Entire churches finally feel free to serve their communities and the world using all their talents. Churches are beginning to feel the power of seeing all their congregants come alive, from doctors co-opting to create clinics for the poor in urban centers to stay-at-home moms starting after school tutoring programs for at-risk children. (Previously) They'd bought in to the modern idea that the only good Christian activity was to convert others or give their money and time to those who could. Today they are discovering that their talent and creativity matter." (chapter 7 pg 104)

Now so far that sounds really good, right? Of course Christians should be serving their community, but why? For what purpose? So people can become acquainted with Christ and receive salvation? Not exactly. The "next Christians" have finally figured out:

"The longings they have felt to do good in the world -even if it wasn't explicitly connected to getting people saved have been validated."(ibid)

But, hey, so what? Getting saved is only part of the gospel-another thing the old fogey Christians have gotten wrong. Getting people's souls secured in the after life is all well and good but we need to focus on the here and now. We need to RESTORE THE EARTH. According to Lyons, this is the ultimate objective of the "next Christians."

In fact, Lyons asserts that telling the gospel is only half the story.

"I don't mean to diminish the importance of telling others about God's redemption accomplished on the cross, and we shouldn't deny that salvation through faith in Jesus has eternal implications. But shouldn't we be faithful to recount and live out the whole story?"(chapter 4 pg. 57)

And what is the whole story? Lyons declares it's "to restore the earth."

"The idea of restoration is critical in the Next Christian discussion. They see themselves on a mission, partnering with God to breathe justice and mercy and peace and compassion and generosity into the world. They believe that ...they are turning back the hands of time to give the world a glimpse of what the world looked like before sin entered the picture. ..

..Is evangelism really the only use for the millions of church goers in our culture?..

Now, put restoration back into the story. Instantly, you've created millions of jobs for all the 'unemployed' and bored Christians in the church - jobs they can get excited about. .... Instead of simply waiting for God to unveil the new heaven and the new earth, the rest of us can give the world a taste of what God's kingdom is all about....

...The bottom line is this: The next wave of Christian engagement seems inherently linked to this idea of restoration." (pg. 60)

That's a beautiful thought, I just don't see any of that in scripture. It is true we are to serve people here as Gabe points out. One day each of us is going to an give account to Christ for how we treated the poor, sick and neglected but I don't see anywhere in the Bible that says we're supposed to be cultural leaders and create some kind of Utopia here on earth.

The whole book gives me the same feeling that so many other books written by immature, arrogant so-called Christian writers have ("Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller comes to mind) . They condemn the Christian world for being narrow, negative and judgmental while they describe these same Christians in narrow, negative and judgmental terms.

I don't know where Gabe Lyons goes to church. Judging from all the name dropping, he moves in a very different social circle than my own. I'd like to know where he met all the "wrong Christians" he describes. He doesn't cite references (or maybe just one). I've gone to church all my life and I've met plenty of sinners redeemed by grace but never anybody as flat and one dimensional as he describes. Oh, and by the way, someone needs to tell him that he didn't invent the idea of serving the community. Every church I've ever attended (I've been to a lot because I've moved around a lot) spent a great deal of time and effort plugging themselves into their environment and doing their best to address the communities' needs. I know that we, the body of Christ, could do more and be less swallowed up in the busyness of our lives but that's no excuse for making sweeping generalizations about the people to whom you're supposed to be a brother in Christ.

Before closing I would like to address Lyons' presumption that all these "wrong Christians" are responsible for the negative view nonbelievers have toward them and Christianity in general.

I contend that "the bad image" that the world has toward Christians is for a very scriptural reason:

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that they hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."(John 15:18,19)

"All the world will hate you because of me." (Matthew 10:22)

And one more:

"At that time the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the earth will mourn." (Matthew 24:30)

If the world is going to mourn at Christ's return why should we assume they're going to welcome any "restoration" Christians would have to offer?

And what about the majority of the Christian church that's living in exile and persecution? What's his solution to them?

In case you haven't figured it out, I recommend this book to no one. Read more ›