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Whatever Happened to Gentleness in the American Church?
The Bible repeatedly tells Christians to be gentle, so what happened?
Ask the average American if she or he would consider evangelical Christians “gentle,” and I seriously doubt you’ll get an affirmative answer. The person being questioned may not even maintain a straight face.
To be clear, this article is written to my fellow Christians living in America. Those of you who do not share my Christian faith or who do not live in the United States may find this article interesting and perhaps even challenging, but I write mainly from within my frame of reference.
In a 2019 Barna Research Group survey, fewer than a quarter of U.S. adults affirmed evangelicals as “caring,” “friendly,” or “encouraging.” Most respondents hold a negative view of evangelicals, seeing them as being more politically driven than anything else.
I’ve been in full-time Christian ministry for over 20 years. And before that, I was (for most of my teen and young adult years) active in church in a volunteer capacity. Over the years, I’ve either personally witnessed or experienced significant church conflict and “church hurt” on countless occasions.
Not surprisingly, back in 2010, Barna conducted a study that revealed millions of unchurched…
