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Decoding
DaVinci and Winning back our kids Renowned
speaker and author Josh McDowell never intended to be a defender of the What
does the release of The DaVinci Code mean
to the church? It
has ushered
in one of the most controversial periods the church has ever faced. Why
do you say that? Questions
about the authority of the church, the deity of Christ, and the
authenticity of the Bible. But
hasn't the Christian faith been under attack
since its inception? Yes,
and in this culture
it's been under attack for decades because most believers haven’t been
equipped to know why they believe, the very foundation of Christianity
within the Church has eroded. What
can be done? If
we are equipped now with solid answers about Christ’s deity and His
Word, we can blunt the devastating effect this movie is bound to have on
nominal believers, seekers, and even solid Christians. You've
produced a book to help Christians and those with questions. What was your
goal? My
goal is to turn this movie into one of the most positive platforms for
sharing God’s love and truth that we could have in years. We’ve got to
be positive, wholesome, and winsome. By responding wisely, the church can
be strengthened and many nominal believers and seekers grounded in the
true faith of Christ. You've
also written The Last Christian Generation. Isn’t the title a
little sensational? Yes,
but with substance. I’m trying to raise the alert level. I’m saying
we’d better wake up. I wish to God I never had to write this book, but
over the last ten to twelve years I’ve sensed trends and realized that
as a church we are in trouble. This is a definitive statement on the
condition of the church and the optimistic solution to it. The problem is
not with the kids; it’s with their parents and leaders. It’s not about
North America; it’s about the church. In North America we saw the last
Christian generation years ago. But now we’re seeing the last Christian
generation within the body of Christ. Still
sounds sensational. It’s
a crisis. Right now within twelve months of high school graduation over 80
percent of our kids are walking away from the church. If we keep doing
what we’re doing it will soon be 90 percent. According to Barna 65
percent of our churched kids either suspect or believe there is no way to
tell which religion is true. In 1994 half of evangelical Christian kids
said, “there is no truth apart from myself.” Now it is a staggering 91
percent. If there is no truth, then you cannot say that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God; only that he’s a
son of God. Francis Schaeffer said that our culture had become
post-Christian. I believe now he would say it’s become anti-Christian. You
say that only 33 percent of churched youth say the church will play a part
in their lives when they leave home? We’ve
never seen it lower than 55 percent until now. If we don’t make some
drastic changes, once this generation marries and has children they will
not return to the church the way the Buster generation has to a certain
extent. What
surprised you the most about the statistics in this book? The
effect of relationships on a child’s belief system. It blew my mind. Why
are our young people turning their backs on the church? They’ve
been raised with programs and events, not with a process-driven ministry
where the Word of God was internalized into their lives. We have a lack of
relationship with What
are some practical things churches should address to change things? First,
a pastor needs to study books like “The Last Christian Generation” and
“Beyond Belief to Conviction.” We must understand the condition of the
church or our solution will miss the bull’s eye. Second, we must realize
we’re losing our kids, not because they’re not hearing truth, but
because we’re not building relationships with them. Third, we can’t
raise children programmatically. We’ve got to raise them with process.
There are three dimensions to biblical truths. God is passionate about his
relationship with us and a child needs a relationship with the truth
giver. Then, is that truth credible? Is it truly true? Young people have
to be convinced of that. Third, how does that truth affect me in my
experience and relationship with others? Jesus said, “You will know that
they are my disciples,” not by their convictions, but “by their love
for one another.” Truth was given to be lived out in relationships but
we have failed to show kids how that can happen. When
you look at these things, do you ever get a sense of hopelessness? Yes,
I really do. When?
When
we do a pastors’ briefing and the overwhelming majority of pastors sit
there and take no notes. If ever there’s a time when I just want to
throw up my hands and walk away, it’s then. My heart goes out to senior
pastors. They’ve got to be everything to everyone and still try and hold
their families and marriages together. I do everything I can to inform
them what’s going on and trust God the Holy Spirit to do his work. My
optimistic approach is that if we can get back to teaching truth as a
relational process, we will have a revolution. What
advice would you have for parents? Build
a relationship with your kids. God’s Word without relationships leads to
rejection. Rules without relationships lead to rebellion. You can be the
greatest teacher of truth in the whole world, but if in the depths of
their hearts, your kids do not believe that daddy loves them, they’re
going to walk. You’ve also got to be able to show that truth is
credible. I can hardly ever find anyone including senior pastors who can
give me one intelligent reason they believe the Bible is true or
historically reliable or why they believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
With your children you’d better be able to explain to them why the
Resurrection is true, why the Bible is true and historically accurate, why
you can trust it. What
are you hoping this book accomplishes for the kingdom? I
hope God will use it to wake up the Church. We’re asleep. I want to see
a revolution take place that will take us back to a biblical paradigm of
truth where pastors and parents will start teaching relationally. If we do
that I guarantee we will see a change. I
asked you sixteen years ago what you would like to be remembered for. Has
that changed? I
still want to be remembered most of all as a man who loved his wife and
spent time with his children and lived out his faith. Then I pray that
I’ve been able to influence an entire generation toward truth. I want my
legacy to be people. Out of people will come organizations, buildings,
programs, process. I don’t want to leave buildings. I’m not concerned
about leaving a big legacy. I’m concerned about being faithful. If I can
challenge others to love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul, my
life is complete. NOTE:
This is from a Servant
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Christian faith. In fact, as a skeptic, his goal was just the opposite
until he learned that the Bible was the most historically reliable
document in all antiquity. His discovery that Christ’s claim to divinity
was true changed the course of McDowell’s life forever. Josh has since
spoken to more than ten million youth in 84 countries and on 700
university and college campuses and is convinced they have never needed
his message more than now. His new book explores the impact of a cultural
view of Christianity that has distorted how our youth understand God. In
this interview with 
