The Core of the Gospel

Culture has an amazing impact upon people. It subtly shapes their worldview of everything in life, from birth through adulthood. This impact is strong and resistant to change, but it will change given sufficient cause. The change can be either good or bad depending on one’s worldview, values, or beliefs. For example, the enslavement of Africans, abducted and traded as if they were cattle, was culturally acceptable in European countries and America.

Tapestry of the Gospel

Karen conference in N Thailand ©tkBeyond

Picture a tapestry woven with five different colors of thread. Choose some bold colors like red, blue, green, and perhaps some purple and gold. Or choose your own colors and imagine someone at a weaver’s frame with five different shuttles. The tapestry begins to take shape as the weaver moves the shuttles back and forth across the frame. It may take some time before you see the completed fabric, but when finished it will be bold and beautiful.

Is it Just Me?

Is it just me or is there an inordinate amount of overreaction nowadays? Last week I read (in our local sports section) that the wife of a LA Lakers player received a tweet that he hoped their family would be murdered. Why? Because her husband had missed a shot at the end of the game...a basketball game. It's not like the Lakers were doing that well any way, but this kind of reaction is way over the top.

Christian Language and Gospel Ignorance

A growing number of people in North America and Europe have no background or understanding of Christianity. One reason could be the great influx of immigrants from many nations. But an increasing segment of Western society has grown unengaged and uninterested in Christianity, the result of a shift in culture. America’s culture is becoming both post-modern and post-Christian. Many sources discuss this at length, but I won’t here.[i] Europe and Canada have preceded the US in this cultural shift, but America is not far behind. 

The Search

"The Tent Days" @ CCCM — circa early 70's

**During the sixties, I was part of the counterculture movement seeking spiritual truth. In the early seventies, I became part of the Jesus Movement.[i] This movement was neither organized, nor guided by any church or religious organization. It was the work of God in people searching for spiritual truth and encountering Jesus in a personal relationship. A common expression during that decade stated, “It’s not about religion, but relationship.” Young people, including those known as hippies who joined the developing counterculture during the 1960s, popularized the Jesus Movement.