Today's Daily Lesson comes from Romans chapter 2 verses 17 through 24:
17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
A study released a couple of years ago by the Barna Research Group found that much of the church's troubles with connecting with Millennials has to with negative perceptions that generations has about church people. Our reputation is bad, the research said, and in my opinion we've mostly done it to ourselves.
More than one-third of Millennials say moral failures in church leadership have undermined the church's credibility. Hands down, the vast majority of Millennials who don’t go to church view Christians as judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), anti-gay (91%) and insensitive to others (70%).
Not good. We've got a major PR problem and we've done it to ourselves. In my experience, it's not Jesus Millennials have a problem with; it's us. In the words of Bon Jovi, we've given love a bad name.
We can do better; we need to do better. For the name of God we need to do better.
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