I read David Kinnaman’s UnChristian earlier this year and I agree with Kinnaman, “Christianity has an image problem.” If we are projecting an image of Christ that is not a faithful representation of who Christ is to the world, then WE need to change it. And as Jim Henderson has suggested with this year’s Off the Map Live Tour, WE need to be Born Again.

Kinnaman reminds that “as we work to change the negative perceptions of outsiders, we need to avoid an opposite and equally dangerous extreme. Some Christians respond to outsiders’ negativity by promoting a less offensive faith.” But then he goes on to say, “Softening or reshaping the gospel is an utterly wrong response to the objections people raise.” While I agree we need to offer a faithful representation of the gospel, I do believe we may need to do some reshaping of the gospel if we have distorted it and deformed it so it is no longer recognizable as Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom. (more…)

After I first heard of The Born Again Church Tour 2008 I wondered, how can “born agains” be born again? JIm responded,

“Born agains” can get born again - and again- we’ve made it a passive concrete term but it is an active term which is why Jesus used water and wind to help round out the meaning of it all.

So, WE can be born again, but what are we being born INTO? Our church culture has been so focused on the act of conversion that perhaps we have forgotten the life we are hoping to be born INTO. While birth is important, birth is for life. Over the last fifty or so years, Christianity has come to be defined by conversion (being born again) instead of by the life we are being born into - a life of active participation in the commonwealth of God. (more…)

In a comment on Only Prostitutes Rank Lower Than Evangelicals, Kirk says

It seems to me evangelicals have gotten away from what made them ‘evangelical’ in the first place, and that’s why people have a low view of them. Evengalicals should be more concerned with God’s view of them and not man’s. What about the role of proclaiming the gospel message of Jesus Christ and cultural image? How do those fit together? And should we even focus on the idea of whether people like us or not if it causes us to compromise on the proclamation of Jesus? I guess I challenge the entire premise and nature of the question itself.

By Jim Henderson

Just when we find ourselves being associated with the right crowd we discover it’s for the wrong reasons

Off The Map is on the road this Fall.

We’re bringing The Born Again Church Tour to Seattle, Denver and Los Angeles

Here’s Why We must be born again (more…)