We’re wrapping up our exploration of how our unchurched and/or non-Christian friends think.

In Part One of this series we explored the first five of Lee Strobel’s fifteen observations.

In Part Two we explored observations 6-10.

And now… the rest of the observations (said in my best Paul Harvey voice)

• Observation #11 – Your unchurched friend isn’t much of a joiner, but he/she is hungry for a cause he/she can connect with. Strobel says, “A significant number of [unchurched people] would return to church if they thought it would be an institution through which meaningful social change could be accomplished. In fact, when unchurched people were asked what would attract them, the second most common answer (after better preaching) was for the church to become more involved in its community.” He then points to a Gallup survey that found that “nearly one out of five unchurched people said they would come to a church that was ‘serious about working for a better society.’”

• Observation #12 – Even if your unchurched friend is not spiritually sensitive he/she wants his/her children to get quality moral training. This speaks to the incredible urgency of making sure we are offering ministry to our children that is unparalleled!

• I’m going to get off track for a minute here, but it’s worth it… Strobel writes, “Only one out of three church-going adults rate their own church’s ministry for children as being excellent. If churched people aren’t sold on their own program, then chances are their unchurched friends won’t be either!”

• Observation #13 – Your unchurched friends are confused about sex roles, but they don’t know that the Bible can clarify for them what it means to be a man and a woman.

• Observation #14 – Your unchurched friend is proud that he/she is tolerant of different faiths, but he/she thinks Christians are narrow-minded.

• Observation #15 – There’s a good chance your unchurched friend would try church if someone invited him/her – but this may actually do him/her more harm than good.

• Studies show that one out of four unchurched people would attend church if invited. The question is, “What would they find?” Remember this… a LOT of unchurched people used to attend church and quit attending because of what they were or were not experiencing!

Man, there is so much to dissect here!

I really want to understand how people who do not go to church and/or are not Christians think! Is this stuff on?

We’re on a quest to understand our friends who do not go to church or embrace the Christian faith.

We MUST do this before we seek to make ourselves understood!

In “Part One” of this series we discussed the first five of fifteen observations (courtesy of Lee Stroble) about unchurched people.

The next five…

• Observation #6 – Your unchurched friend doesn’t just ask, “Is Christianity true?” Often, he/she is asking, “Does Christianity work?”

• Observation #7 – Your unchurched friend doesn’t just want to know something; he/she wants to experience it.

• Observation #8 – Your unchurched friend doesn’t want to be somebody’s project, but he/she would like to be somebody’s friend.

• Observation #9 – Your unchurched friend may distrust authority, but he/she is receptive to authentic biblical leadership. Strobel makes a GREAT point – “…the same shortcomings that have turned off Americans to major national institutions – deceit, greed, arrogance, self-promotion, and abuse of power – are also the antithesis of biblical leadership. And when [your unchurched friend] sees the opposite values being lived out in a church’s leadership, there’s a good chance he/she won’t paint those leaders with the same brush of disdain. Chances are that he/she will respond positively to those who are accountable and open in their financial dealings; moderate in their lifestyle; humble in their demeanor; modest about their achievements and who use their influence to serve people in need. In other words, leaders who follow Christ’s example.”

• Observation #10 – Your unchurched friend is no longer loyal to denominations, but he/she is attracted to places where his/her needs will be met.

OK, let’s talk. What do you think about these observations?

Click on the blue letters that say “Comment” beneath this article and let us know what you think!

This is the title of two chapters in Lee Strobel’s book, Inside The Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary.

He makes fifteen observations about people who either do not embrace Christianity or are unchurched.

In the next three posts I’m going to share these observations and would love to hear back from you. What do you think about these observations? Are they true? False? To stereotypical? What experiences have you had to confirm or deny these observations?

Here we go…

• Observation #1 - Your unchurched friend has rejected church, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she has rejected God.

• Observation #2 – Your unchurched friend is morally adrift, but he/she secretly wants an anchor. To substantiate this claim, Strobel quotes from James Patterson and Peter Kim’s book The Day America Told the Truth, “In the 1950′s and even in the 1960′s there was something much closer to a moral consensus in America…. There is absolutely no moral consensus at all in the 1990′s. Everyone is making up their own personal codes – their own Ten Commandments. [...] Only 13% of Americans say they still believe in all of them.” Stroble writes, “Proliferation of situational ethics in recent years has plunged the country into a moral quagmire. Sixty-nine percent of Americans adhere to the attitude that there’s no absolute moral standard, but that ethics should fluctuate according to the situation. That’s how many [people] live. Yet numbers of them are beginning to conclude that moral anarchy isn’t all that [it's] been painted out to be.”

• Observation #3 – Your unchurched friend resists rules but responds to reasons. In other words, people aren’t looking for a bunch of rules without reasons! They want to know the “why” behind the “what.”

• Observation #4 – Your unchurched friend doesn’t understand Christianity, but neither does he/she fully understand what he/she claims to believe. Strobel refers to a study that showed “51% of Americans have no philosophy of life!”

• Observation#5 – Your unchurched friend has legitimate questions about spiritual matters, but he/she doesn’t expect answers from Christians.

What do you think?