Storying to Postmoderns: The Gospel We Preach…

May 29, 2007 | 8:00 AM

As one attempts to relate the gospel to postmoderns, contextualization is of the utmost importance. Already discussed are the many variables that influence a person’s worldview, and the one constant is postmodernism in the form of pluralism and relativism. Each individual must be approached differently, and any communication must be fluid. If the modern age is made of meta-narratives, then this postmodern age is comprised of mini-narratives. A canned speech is likely to fail in this age of individual stories.

Before attempting to discuss the transmission of the gospel cross-culturally, one must first determine what actually comprises the gospel itself. Towns and Stetzer lay the foundation of the gospel in Perimeters of Light.

The gospel content is the message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-3). This is called the propositional truth of the gospel, i.e., that which is true in all cultures and in all ages. These eternal truths are the principles of salvation. But the gospel is also a person; it is Jesus Christ. Thus, this is the personal gospel—Jesus is the message of evangelism. “There is no other name… by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Although some postmoderns will reject the principles of Christianity as valid, they must accept the personal gospel. Why? Because that is the methodology—personal encounter and interpretation—a postmodern uses to arrive at truth. [8]

Towns and Stetzer explain that the postmodern prefers the personal experience to the propositional. [9] It is a personal experience of the gospel that is central to conversion.

Gibbs and Bolger agree, writing, “Clearly, the gospel is not restricted to a message giving an individual assurance about eternal destiny. It is minimally that, but it is much more, being concerned as much with life before death as with life after death. When people are reconciled to God through Christ, they become a ‘new creation’ (2 Cor. 5:17). They first experience God’s reconciliation, often in community, which results in a life of radical transformation. The primary reference point is no longer their former alienation but their present and future identification as part of God’s new order, which was inaugurated with the first coming of Christ.” [10]

The final aspect of the gospel that must be considered is the role of the kingdom in the world today. Jesus said that the kingdom of God was near (Mark 1:5; Luke 10:9), so an understanding of the kingdom of God is vital to the gospel itself. Gibbs and Bolger discuss the importance of the kingdom in the gospel. “Rooted in the work of N. T. Wright, emerging churches embrace the gospel of the kingdom as revealed in Mark 1:15-16. At the outset of the Gospel narrative, the good news was not that Jesus was to die on the cross to forgive sins but that God had returned and all were invited to participate with him in this new way of life, in this redemption of the world. It is this gospel that the emerging church seeks to recover.” [11]

The whole of the gospel must be preached—from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to the forgiveness of sins and the now present kingdom of God in which all who believe are offered an opportunity to participate. But how is this communicated? It is that question that must now be answered.

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[8] Towns/Stetzer, 131.

[9] Ibid., 156.

[10] Gibbs/Bolger, 54.

[11] Ibid.
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Part 1 [05.26.07]: Introduction…
Part 2 [05.27.07]: Defining Postmodernity…
Part 3 [05.29.07]: The Gospel We Preach…
Part 4 [05.30.07]: The Story of the Gospel…
Part 5 [05.31.07]: The Celtic Way…
Part 6 [06.04.07]: Story Living…
Part 7 [06.06.07]: Bibliography…

Posted in Life, Missional, Missions, Pomo Storying Series