The issue is not whether I agree with someone but rather how I treat someone with whom I profoundly disagree. We Christians are called to use the “weapons of grace”, which means treating even our opponents with love and respect.”
– Philip Yancey from Vanishing Grace
Philip Yancey, in his new book, Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News?, shares a Barna survey regarding the way Christians are viewed. In 1996, 85 percent of Americans who had no religious commitment viewed Christianity favorably. This number has dipped in recent years to a mere 16 percent in 2009.
Yancey offers this question to the church, and even more to us as leaders:
“As one who has drunk deeply of grace, I want to offer it to a world adrift. How can we communicate truly good news to a culture running away from it?”
He offers the following thought:
