Just a quick reflection before I turn down the bed covers for the night –

Katrina and I had a good talk this evening about Christian “evangelists” or “missionaries” who find their self-worth in being able to relate to new cultures. Many people sail to far away lands to “share the Gospel” but only after years and years of language training, people group acculturation, and loads of money to travel back and forth during furlough.

Why not instead of priding ourselves in our ability to reach out to other cultures, and spending TONS of money to do so, let’s live deeply into the culture we are already a part of. We know the language, the customs; the redeeming and broken qualities in our own culture very well. Why not use our years of experience in our own culture to truly speak the Gospel in our own language?

My wife and I are both from the Midwest. We know some of the tendencies and customs of the people there. We know that there are countless workaholics who have forgotten the blessings of Sabbath. Knowing that, we can speak the Gospel in such a way that addresses the very core of their brokenness. Isn’t that what the Gospel is supposed to be? Isn’t it supposed to be GOOD NEWS? What’s so exciting about something that doesn’t seem relevant to you? Who cares about something that happened 2,000 years ago? Give me something that matters to my life today. If its true that Jesus “will be with us always”, then he must have something to say to the corporate executive living in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and the single mom living in Hyde Park. As a fellow Midwesterner, he has something to say to me.