The message of the gospel is the simple truth that Jesus died for our sins. By trusting in him, we can live the gospel now and experience the joy of living a life that brings glory to God.
The Bible gives us clear instructions on how to trust in Jesus, and how to live for him. So why do we need a new way of seeing to reveal the opportunities to live that simple truth now?
Our informationally interconnected world has become unnaturally complicated. Because of this, the importance of cultural messages has overwhelmed the integrity of our purpose.
When we communicate in a physical community we are limited in whom we can interact with. But we have a broad range of non-verbal ways we can share our message. This broad way of communicating helps us build trust.
When we communicate in a virtual world we are unlimited in whom we can interact with. But we are limited to verbal and visual ways of communicating. This limited way of communicating undermines trust.
Both contexts depend on cultural messages. But the place and importance of those messages changes depending on which context you are in.
The story of Jesus in the Gospels explains the gospel in a small, physically close context. But the gospel did not stay there.
The book of Acts and the New Testament Epistles describe how the gospel moved into and throughout the dominant Roman culture. Throughout this expansion, the message of the gospel remained unchanged. But the methods of sharing it did change.
By examining these developments an underlying framework becomes clear. That framework helps us identify our dominant cultural messages, and when and how to break with them. That is how we can live the gospel now.
Redemptive Leader uses this biblical cultural framework to help us recognize opportunities and make choices that will have an impact for the gospel.