Christian Non-Profit Fighting to Save Christianity from Self-Destruction
Plano, TX (Vocus/PRWEB) December 28, 2010
Christianity is under attack from the inside. Christians are leaving the religion because of Christian hypocrisy, Christian intolerance, Christian judgmentalism, and Christian homophobia. Instead of living their Christian faith genuinely in the world, defectors see superficial name-tag-only Christians who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Non-Christians don’t take them seriously, because they often don’t follow their own teaching and preaching, which endangers the effectiveness of Christian evangelism efforts.
Outsiders see blatant hypocrisy between Christian beliefs and actions. Non-believers see prideful and self-righteous Christians who act “better” than others and judge others with an attitude of arrogance and intolerance. Homosexuals and people in the gay community feel rejected and condemned as outcasts by the Christian church and its followers.
Many in the Christian church today pay little more than lip-service to worship or living a Christian life. The phrase “love your neighbor as yourself” is quickly becoming a phrase no longer associated with the Christian religion. A non-profit organization called Changing the Face of Christianity is working to save the Christian religion from self-destruction, by helping Christians become more like Jesus Christ.
Changing the Face of Christianity has launched a bold awareness and education campaign aimed at existing Christians. Its strategy is to expose the perceptions of non-Christians to those within the Christian faith and encourage and assist them to take personal action to reverse the negative stereotypes. Founder and President R. Brad White says, “The Bible tells us that non-believers will always hate us, but not for the reasons they hate us now. Who could hate someone for truly loving their neighbor as themselves? The fact is we don’t do a very good job at loving our neighbor.”
The mission of Changing the Face of Christianity is to reverse Christian intolerance, hypocrisy, homophobia, judgmentalism, and other negative Christian stereotypes, by helping Christians to be more like Jesus Christ. Brad says “If non-believers hated us for truly living our faith and for being the best lovers of people the world has ever known, then our campaign would end. We would joyfully accept the criticism.”
Non-believers despise Christianity for all the wrong reasons. But the problem goes deeper than what non-Christians think. There is a growing exodus within the church too, especially within the younger generations. Younger Christians raised to be more accepting of other people, other lifestyles, and other beliefs, are turned off by Christians who maintain attitudes of bigotry and intolerance. This exodus is even more convicting given the growing trend in churches today to appeal to younger generations with “feel good” messages and more contemporary and entertaining worship services. Brad says “It appears that younger generations want more authenticity and compassion than simply more entertainment.”
In the American Religious Identification Survey of more than 54 thousand respondents released in 2009, the number of people claiming no religious preference (“The Nones”) almost doubled from 1990 (8.2%) to 2008 (15%).
In the book unchristian, written by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons based on research from thousands of interviews by the respected Barna Research Group, Kinnaman concludes “The vast majority of outsiders [to the Christian faith]…are actually dechurched individuals.” This gives support to notion that people are leaving the faith, not simply refusing to join as new Christians.
In the book American Grace, researchers Robert Putnam and David Campbell found that “young Americans are dropping out of religion at an alarming rate of five to six times the historic rate (30 to 40 percent have no religion today, versus 5 to 10 percent a generation ago).”
Changing the Face of Christianity Inc performs ongoing independent research and engages in positive dialogue with atheists and agnostics to maintain an accurate pulse on Christian culture and those in greatest opposition to the Christian religion.
Here are a few “outsider” quotes about Christians from Changing the Face of Christianity interviews:
“I would never consider being a Christian, but I might consider not being so critical if more Christians were open and genuine and willing to actually talk about their beliefs.”
“If one was a faithful Christian in their personal life but was able to respect the freedoms of others, what objection could truly be lodged against them? No one cares what you believe, only how your beliefs affect the personal lives of others.”
“I enjoy cross dressing, it makes me feel good about my appearance. It is my right. However the value of that right is severally damaged when I am constantly under attack by members of various religious groups. Are you personally familiar with what it feels like to have people follow you around shouting rude things, throwing empty coffee cups at you, or cornering you with the intention of goading you into a fight?”
“My grandmother always tried to make me feel bad that my mom didn’t take my brothers and me to church. She would tell me that my mom was a bad person. My mom was raised constantly being told that she was a bad person. I’ve seen the emotional scars it left on my mother.”
Brad White says, “We could easily be confused or misunderstood as being anti-Christian because of how forcefully we discuss these tough issues. However, we also have a positive strategy. We also enjoy highlighting Christians doing good. When engaging with non-believers, we listen instead of preach. We are gracious instead of antagonistic. We are accepting and reasonable instead of intolerant and hysterical. We want to show non-believers that there are positive, like-minded Christians out there that really care about them instead of simply trying to convert them.”
Brad continues, “When we started, we knew we would encounter some opposition within the church and some confusion about our purpose. However, we’ve been overwhelmed and encouraged by the positive response. I continue to meet people who say ‘you are dead on, keep it up,’ and we keep discovering other complimentary ministries that are attacking the problem from different perspectives. I have incredible faith and hope for Christianity even as we enter a very dark time within our church.”
Changing the Face of Christianity Inc has also released a “Christian Face Quiz”. Answer 10 questions and the quiz will return a score, telling you how Christian you are.
About
About Changing the Face of Christianity Inc.
Changing the Face of Christianity Inc is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit Texas corporation, started in 2010 by Founder and President R. Brad White. Their mission is to reverse Christian intolerance, hypocrisy, homophobia, judgmentalism, and other negative Christian stereotypes, by helping Christians to be more like Jesus Christ. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Changing the Face of Christianity Inc is working to change that negative perception. They do this by 1) making Christians aware of the negative stereotypes inadvertently created through their words and actions, 2) by educating Christians on the issues and effective ways to change their words and actions to create a positive stereotype in the world, and 3) by assisting Christians in their transformation into Christ-likeness. Changing the Face of Christianity Inc also strives to bridge the “trust” gap between believers and non-believers, to create positive and constructive dialog, and intellectually honest and friendly conversations with non-Christians.
About R. Brad White
For most of his life, Brad was an unshakable Atheist. But after a miraculous sign from God in 2005′, he shed his blind disbelief and became a believer. He later became a Christian after thorough deliberation and study. Ever since that moment, he has been actively engaged in using his life to Glorify God and to build up God’s kingdom. Brad felt called to start “Changing the Face of Christianity” in 2010′. Brad is also a professional speaker and trainer, speaking to groups large and small on topics such as Changing the Face of Christianity (reversing negative Christian stereotypes), Living a Life of Purpose and Significance (Leaving a Lasting Legacy), and Biblical leadership. Brad is available for interviews, radio segments, opinion pieces, guest blog articles, and commentary on our Christian faith and culture. Visit their website to learn more about R. Brad White and the Changing the Face of Christianity Board of Directors.
Media
NOTE TO EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Please contact R. Brad White to set up an interview (214) 906-7455 or brad(at)changingthefaceofchristianity(dot)com. For mail correspondence, Changing the Face of Christianity Inc., 4100 River Branch Trail, Plano, TX 75024. Images, videos, and content available upon request. Visit our online press room. The company’s website address is http://www.changingthefaceofchristianity.com. Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ChangingTheFaceOfChristianity. Twitter: http://twitter.com/Christian_Face. RSS Feed at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChangingTheFaceOfChristianity-Feed
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