Have we fundamentally missed the point of what Jesus and, later, Paul were saying?!
There have been recent postings (on this new website and on our previous one) which point us to articles dealing with the very definition of the Gospel: "What is the Gospel", and "The Challenges of Evangelism in the 21st Century".
Gimmic: I don't know about you, but my first inclination when I see those titles is to view them as a gimmic to grab my attention so that I will click and then read yet another article representing a traditional gospel perspective - perhaps spiced up with new illustrations or ideas about applications.
Good News / Bad News: Pardon the pun, but the good news (about the articles) is that I was completely wrong. These are not gimmic titles at all; rather, these are serious pieces of work. But the bad news is that some of this material - coming out of such trusted places as FTS - really are stating flat out that we may have some fundamental misreadings buried deep within our traditions about what the Gospel is really all about!
In Fuller's "Theology News & Notes" 2004 (the second article linked above), Brian McClaren's very first recommendation to us in rethinking our evangelism strategy is to "Admit we may not actually understand the good news, and seek to rediscover it." This is serious stuff.
Is it really Bad? Anything that can challenge the very core of what we have believed over time can be hugely disturbing. But if we dare to wade into the waters of this discussion we might just find that all that we believed before is still there, but that there are new and breathtaking perspectives available that we've never seen before which offer tremendous new power and inspriation to our understanding - and which provide a new and palpable sense of relevence to many around us in the postmodern mindset.
Thank You! I personnaly want to thank Pastor Mark D. Roberts for the depth and courage of his preaching and teaching this past year at Irvine Presbyterian Church. It was Mark's teaching, and his direction to other teachers and writers that have led me into the waters of this discussion. And the refreshment and invigoration I have known have been like living waters.
More links which can lead your toes and feet into these wonderful waters:
Mark D. Roberts, "What Was the Message of Jesus?"
N.T. Wright, "The Challenge of Jesus" (and just about everything else that Bishop Wright has written and said which illuminate how the Gospel is really all about God rescuing his world, new creation, his kingdom on earth, a new way of being human as image bearing people, and that finally it is all about the truly wonderful news that Jesus is Lord!)
