Final quotes from UnChristian

From the chapter, Sheltered:
1. Christians enjoy being in their own community. The more they seclude themselves, the less they can function in the real world. So many Christians are caught in the Christian "bubble."
2. If we allow the actions and attitudes of outsiders to shock us, we become either isolationists or crusaders, and neither extreme will have much influence on outsiders.
3. God wants to use us in the gritty and raw places of people's lives, but our usefulness is hindered if we are more concerned about our protection from sin than the effects of sin in the lives of others.
4. Too many churches expect unchurched people to come to them, but the church is called to go to unchurched people. The church is called to compete for the kingdom in the middle of the marketplace.
5. Christianity is the most exciting story ever told. It needs to be told, not the way we typically dumb it down, but the way it is.

From the chapter, Judgmental:
1. Christians talk about hating sin and loving sinners, but the way they go about things, they might as well call it what is is. The hate the sin and the sinner.
2. Christians like to hear themselves talk. They are arrogant about their beliefs, but they never bother figuring out what other people actually think. They don't seem to be very compassionate, especially when they feel strongly about something.
3. Being judgmental is fueled by self-righteousness, the misguided inner motivation to make our own life look better by comparing it to the lives of others.
4. Yet in our efforts to point out sin, we often fail to do anything for the people who are affected by sin. Think of it this way. The perception is that Christians are known more for talking about these issues rather than doing anything about them.
5. Outsiders might think of us as friendly or that we have good principles, but we are not known for our love.
6. Are you softhearted enough to see a clear picture of your motivations? Just because you are doing the right things does not mean that you have the right attitudes or motivations toward outsiders.
7. God says he "opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). We have to start seeing ourselves and those around us for the people we really are - needy and hurting but with great potential as God's sons and daughters. Maybe then we would reject arrogance as adamantly as we do any other sin, because it is especially corrosive to the faith of Christ followers.
8. The writer Philip Yancey offers a great insight about judgmental attitudes, pointing out that the opposite of sin is not virtue; it is grace.
9. We judge because we do not understand.
10. What could happen if we viewed them with the same grace we extend to ourselves?
11. I want Christians to be know as the most loving people - the kind of people who love you until it hurts.
12. We all share the same fallen DNA. The fact that Christians have accepted this grace and are redeemed should create humility in us.
13. Our culture doesn't look at us as a faith of second chances but rather as a religion of judgment.
14. Because it appears at some level that the secular world is capable of "doing grace" better than we are. Christianity's main export has been co-opted by nonbelievers.
15. We must begin by loving each other, forgiving each other, and carrying each other's burdens, especially when we fail. When a brother or sister is steamrolled by life, we don't run from them, we rally around them.

From the chapter, From UnChristian to Christian:
1. Be more concerned with what happens in you than what happens to you.
2. But we should consider whether our response to cynics and opponents is motivated to defend God's fame or our own image.
3. Many outsiders specifically articulated that they think Christians "eat their own."
4. Our future reputation as Christians is intricately connected to our passion for justice, service, and sacrifice.
5. We have lost sight of being for Jesus rather than against outsiders.
6. Read Isaiah 58: 1-4, 6-12. The passage in Isaiah describes on simple yet difficult solution: to rebuild our lives and restore our nation, we have to recover love and concern for others.