Book Review: You Lost Me -- Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church And Rethinking Faith

You Lost Me
(by David Kinnaman)

I was looking through the books I had on our e-reader (I forget what I was looking for), when I came across one that I had downloaded several years ago, but never got around to reading: You Lost Me--Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church And Rethinking Faith. Having just watched a documentary called Divided about the problem of youth leaving the church, the topic was fresh on my mind. Like Divided, this books aims to diagnose the church drop-out problem and propose solutions. Unlike Divided, this book is backed by years of research and offers a more balanced point of view.

The Center of the Bible

Most modern scholars will tell you that the primary rule in approaching the Biblical texts is to look for what the original author was trying to say within his own time, culture, and context. That is, do not start out with "What does this mean to me?" or "What is this symbolic of?" or "What is the hidden meaning here?" Questions like these circumvent what the author is trying to say. Rather we should seek to understand the language and the culture and then let the text speak for itself.

Why I Practice Communion

Photo Credit: Kurt Clark

Communion is one of those Christian traditions that most of us Messianics left behind. After all, once you learn that the "Lord's supper" was actually a Passover seder, why hold on to tradition?

That's why I was wary of joining our local church in their practice of weekly communion for a long time. It seemed intellectually dishonest for me to participate in something that I believed had no real foundation. The Lord's Supper was Passover, not some new thing.

I began reconsidering my position when I read an article entitled Penal Substitution vs. Christus Victor by Derek Flood. The article challenges its readers to reconsider the way in which we think about atonement, but in the midst of this Derek pulls in the concept of communion:

The Double Mirror Experiment

Photo Credit: David Marcu

Most people look at the world through some lens--their worldview. These are ordinary people. A few take the time to examine the different worldviews people have. These people we call philosophers. They hold up a mirror and allow us to see ourselves and the worldview we have. Even fewer people take the time to examine the worldview with which they look at other worldviews. These people we call mad. They hold up two mirrors so that you can look at one through the other.

If you value your sanity, I suggest you stop reading now.