Book Review - UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons

For anyone that has ever read any of my other posts, it should be pretty clear that one of my biggest issues is with modern day Christianity and how we practice it and present it beyond the four walls of our churches (and in some cases how we present it within those walls.) So, when I saw the book UnChristian at my local bookseller, I was instantly intrigued. And the fact that it was written by the president of the Barna Group and included three years worth of research made it all the more interesting.

The book itself is based, as I said, on three years worth of polls, surveys and interviews that were commissioned by Gabe Lyons, head of the Fermi Project and a co-author of the book. It looks at a half dozen or so common perceptions about Christianity (we're too judgmental, too political, too hateful etc.) and offers evidence for support as well as what our response should be. And while the concept for the book was excellent, it fell very short of what I expected in it's delivery.

First, let me say that statistics aren't really my thing. The only detail I really remember from my high school statistics class many moons ago was my teacher telling us that a statistic can say whatever you want it to say, and there is a lot of truth to that. For example, in a sermon I heard on Father's Day the pastor used a stat that said something like 85% of people in prison came from fatherless homes. And while that is certainly very striking, I was left wondering what percentage of all fatherless children end up in jail. Let's say you have 100 fatherless children, and three of them end up in prison with one person from a two parent home. 75% of the people in the prison are fatherless, however they make up only 3% of the total fatherless population. With all apologies for the quasi-statistics lesson, I hope you see my point.

That all being said, Kinnaman actually does a pretty good job of explaining how they qualified their questions and subjects so as to end up with the most accurate data possible. Of course, no matter the qualifications I always have a hard time believing that a couple thousand people could truly represent the entire population, but that's a whole other blog.

I guess my biggest issues with the book (outside my general mistrust of statistics) are form and function related. For what the book was billed as, I actually thought that there wasn't nearly enough data referenced. Each chapter included one or two charts showing the polling numbers for a particular topic, but they usually felt kind out out of place to me, as though they were just sort of forced in. And in other cases when the author was trying to make a point of his own, he would reference polls or data, but only briefly and with no numbers to back it up. I guess it just seemed to me that for all the massive research that was done, the book relied very little on the numbers and much too heavily on the authors own opinions on what we could do to change each perception.

Which brings me to my next issue. While Kinnaman may be a gifted leader and superb pollster, I think it may have been beneficial to leave the penning of the book to someone more accomplished. Not that I have any room to judge mind you, but I'm not writing a book, at least not yet and certainly not one of this potential importance. The points were a little disorganized and in some instances, such as the chapter on Christians being viewed as too political, I wasn't even sure what the point was. He also had a bad habit of making brief references, especially Biblical, while not providing any support or point of reference at all.

Thirdly, I had some issue with the essays at the end of each chapter. In addition to the research and the author's viewpoints, the book also relied on a group of twenty or so prominent figures in the religious community who wrote brief viewpoints at the end of each chapter in support of that particular topic. And again, while I applaud the concept I have to wonder who, if anyone, was editing the content of these essays. Don't get me wrong, there were a few that were excellent and on-target. But most seemed hurried, off-the-mark and worst of all, very self serving. Too many of them seemed to be nothing more than glorified advertisements for their own book, program or agenda. It was difficult to read at times.

There were a few other minor details that I might have liked to see changed, but nothing a major as what I mentioned. I might have liked to see the focus of the book expanded to include more than just 16-29 year-old's, but I fully understand why they chose that group. However, it might also be nice to have a follow-up to see if there really is a major perception switch being ushered in by a new generation, or is it simply youthful arrogance, independence and new-found freedom. What I mean is that, although I'm only 33, I know my perceptions and attitudes have changed since I was 16 or 20. Is the data collected unique to this current generation, or is it just typical of that age group? Whatever the case, it doesn't change the fact that regardless of the age group, the generation or the decade, there is an air about Christianity that we need to understand and change.

So bottom line, would I recommend this book? Surprisingly I think I would, at least to the right person. As I said previously, the concept of the book is excellent and for all my issues with it, there is plenty that will make you think, and think hard. And even in the case of the essays which I didn't care for, they gave me reason to hash out my own thoughts and beliefs in relation to what they were saying. This issue is one that all Christians should be concerned about but this particular book is not for everyone. It's fact-based and laborious at times with far too few anecdotes from the interviews that were conducted. But for someone with a true passion for this subject, that understands the type of book this is, it's at least worth a look. For a similar type insight but a far more enjoyable read, you should consider 'The Unlikely Disciple' by Kevin Roose. I'd tell you about it, but it's the subject of my next review so you'll just have to wait.