I just finished reading a great article entitled, “The Future of Christian Nonprofits: Responding to tomorrow’s trends today,” by David Kinnaman. This article came from Outcomes magazine and it covered the issue of wrongly-perceived Christians and the attempt of Christian non-profits having to conform to society.
Sometimes change is good. Sometimes it’s not… but that all depends on who you’re asking.
As Kinnaman states, “”Present-day Christianity” is viewed to be judgmental, hypocritical, out of touch with reality, too political, and anti-homosexual, among other images.”
I agree with his statement, and I find it really unfortunate that it has come to that. Why? Because for the most part, these perceptions are untrue.
These organizations have to be aware of the ever-changing views on religion and make sure that they can keep all of their contributors happy: the Christians and the non-Christians.
He goes on to say, “This means that the changing reputation of Christianity will force our organizations not just to connect with the proverbial “choir” of Christians who support us, but also to maintain viable connections with a culture that desperately needs the gospel.”
This should read, “How to sit comfortably between a rock and a hard place”- hence the title.
Kinnaman mentions Max DePree in the article, who recommends that in order to keep up with society and to keep your organization alive, you need to be able to accurately describe reality. In other words, see the world for what it is and how people really think.
Three other suggestions that Kinnaman had were:
- being responsive to new opportunities
- focus on the heart of the mission
- revise the way you measure your impact (keeping in mind that the ways to connect to people are ever-changing).
How do we protect the Gospel while trying to succeed in our communities? Change…?