Gabe Lyons’ book, The Next Christians, is an great book that deals with seven ways that we can live the Gospel and restore the world. It is provocative. Lyons argues several points in describing what the next generation of Christians will look like in word and deed.
* First, Lyons argues that the old forms of Christianity in Western civilization, especially in ‘Christian America’, are passing away and are being replaced by what Lyons calls ‘next Christians’ with new modalities of cultural engagement.
* Second, he argues that these ‘next Christians’ are guided by the goal of ‘restoration’ as they seek to restore all things as intended in God’s original creative purposes.
* Finally, Lyons argues that these same ‘next Christians’ are guided by a concept he calls the ‘power of the ought.’ That is, ‘next Christians’ focus on how things ‘ought’ to be rather than how things really are – they are more hopeful and positive than previous generations as they engage culture through restorative means.
In his closing chapter Lyons states:
The power of ought ... begins to flood and transform the world. It's playing out in the oddest of places - from overhauling the broken Texas prison system to igniting a spiritual revolution in Hong Kong. It's a way of life that's likely emerging in a neighborhood near you. And it's conceivable that God wants to use you to bring it to life.When it comes to reach the modern generation for Christ, Jesus is saying, "Enough of what is; I see things in terms of how they ought to be, and I'm here to do something about it."
Let us get on board with the "ought" to be and reach this generation for Christ.
