Made for Cultural Awareness

Lost in Translation

The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover, until after thousands of signs had been printed, that the phrase means: ‘Bite the wax tadpole’.

Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, ‘ko-kou-ko-le,’ which can be loosely translated as: ‘Happiness in the mouth’.

In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan: ‘Come alive with the Pepsi Generation’ came out as: ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead’.

Peace Child

As a community living in the margins and no longer dominating the culture, our beliefs, values and language we use is now a foreign language. Therefore, we strive to translate the message of Jesus Christ to other communities in ways that will captivate their hearts.

Article I read last year - someone visited

The spiritual condition of Athens provoked Paul to go to the synagogue and marketplace to be with and talk with anyone who was there about the good news. He was forced to share (put on trial like Socrates) his "strange" teaching with the assembly of governing council in Athens (caretakers of legislative, judicial, religions, cultural, and political matters).

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system. Many converts were gained.

We translate all the time.

you have to accept the fact that languages are all different and they don't describe the world in quite the same way.

We read bibles that are translations where those who did the translation also had to do some interpreting as well.

Upbringing

Experiences

To translate well, have to become a student of the culture of the people we’re trying to communicate with.

Paul’s Pattern

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system. Many converts were gained.

Acts 17:16–34 ESV

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

1. Synagogue - Jews and God fearers

2. Anyone he met in the marketplace.

First to the Jew then the Gentile (everyone else).

He was a student of the culture wherever he went. Observed, learned.

He spent time with people of all walks in every place in the city - synagogue, marketplace - with anyone who happened to be there. Including the philosophers (academic).

Today, as in the ancient era, the church is confronted by a host of master narratives that contradict and compete with the Gospel.

Acts 17:16–34 ESV

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

At one time the intellectual centre of the ancient world. Athens was an international destination.Athenians and visitors to the city (tourists) were both moved by curiosity to hear something new and they had nothing better to do than enjoy intellectual stimulation. Go there to get the latest on everything from scientific discovery to real and fake news, to religion. Curiosity to hear something new and they had nothing better to do than enjoy intellectual stimulation. The center of pagan philosophy and culture that on closer look, was philosophical superstition.When Paul arrived, it was during his second missionary tour and he found the city was in a period of decline; living on its reputation.

Where Paul went.

Open place of assembly

The public internet - gathering place to hear and talk about the latest news, politics, ideas.

Later the Agora defined the open-air, often tented, marketplace of a city (as it still does in Greek) where merchants had their shops and where craftsmen made and sold their wares.

Think Depot Town or downtown Ann Arbor with a farmer’s market.

Acts 17:48 - God doesn’t dwell in things made of human hands

ESVTo whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

Reasoned, discussed with people where they met, lived.

Learned about their lives, beliefs, etc.

They wanted to know about his.

Not impressed.

Babbler - bird picking up scraps in the gutter;

Loafer - equivalent to a someone with enough knowledge to be dangerous on the internet trying to sell you their system for leadership or financial success.

Come and See phase of discipleship

Materialistic. Nonexistent or very distant gods. Science and importance of pleasure and tranquility.

Prominent rise overlooking the city of Athens where the philosophers of the city gathered to discuss their ideas, some of which revolutionized modern thought.At one time The Areopagus was an Athenian institution devoted to matters of justice, law, and governance.The Areopagus was remembered for playing a leading role in the death of Socrates who was charged with introducing foreign deities into Athens.The charge brought against Socrates is that he “does evil, for he does not acknowledge the gods whom the state acknowledges, while introducing other, novel divine beings” Taken their to find out in detail what he was teaching because he was introducing a foreign God - some strange or foreign thing to their ears.Luke makes Paul look like a Socrates-like figure to show a kind of mock trial between early Christianity and Athens as the center of pagan philosophy and culture. Luke presents Paul and the gospel as confronting the elite religious, cultural, and legal institutions of Athens. Not a backwoods, superstition but one worth of attention from society's most prestigious and elite institutions.

Reason is the principle inherent in the structure of the universe. Pantheistic concept of God. as the world-soul. Ethics - individual self-sufficiency and duty.

Christendom Framework for God’s Story

Creation - sin - Redemption

Augustine - Shaped western Christian thought

Continued by Calvin and handed down to Evangelicals during the Enlightenment. Prevails today

Nothing wrong with it itself. Problem is the way it has been interpreted and applied.

Emphasis on personal and moral sin and not dealing well with the principalities and powers.

Augustine, Calvin and modern Evangelicals have put a great deal of emphasis on personal sin, the need for confession, and personal appropriation of the death of Christ as sacrifice for our sin.

This emphasis led the west to an almost exclusive concentration on the sacrificial view of the atonement without a strong connection to the resurrection and the triumph of Jesus over sin, death, and the powers of evil.

This preoccupation with the satisfaction theory of the cross has failed to adequately see the unity that exists between creation, the incarnation, and ultimately the restoration of all God’s creation.

Adam affects all of creation because of his sin and the second Adam rescues all creation because of his righteousness. In death, Jesus defeats death. In his resurrection he begins a new act of creation that will ultimately be fulfilled in his second coming (Kingdom come).

Because we are post-Christendom, our era is like the Roman era. We must interact with the principalities of our time the way the apostolic fathers did. To do so, we need to recover the ancient framework of Scripture and restore the emphasis on Christus Victor.

Apostolic Framework for God’s Story

Creation - incarnation - re-creation

Theology of recapitulation - To bring back all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Irenaeus; ).

Another way of describing the apostolic framework of God’s story.

Jesus triumphs over death and all that is evil, winning the world back for his heavenly Father, returning it to the garden of God’s glory.

Changes how we read Scripture. Rather than the Gospel being God asking me to let him into my narrative, to find room for him in my heart and life, God calls me to find my place in HIS narrative.

In God’s story, the incarnate Word and the Holy Spirit reversed the human situation so I can now live in him.

Through him I can live in the expectation of a restored world without the presence of evil.

It begins here and now, because God became incarnate and recapitulated all things, I live in him, his narrative, and he lives in my life, which is to be a witness to his narrative for the world.

KINGDOM COME.

At one time the intellectual centre of the ancient world.

Athens was an international destination.

Athenians and visitors to the city (tourists) were both moved by curiosity to hear something new and they had nothing better to do than enjoy intellectual stimulation.

Go there to get the latest on everything from scientific discovery to real and fake news, to religion.

Curiosity to hear something new and they had nothing better to do than enjoy intellectual stimulation.

When Paul arrived, it was during his second missionary tour and he found the city was in a period of decline; living on its reputation.

Where Paul went.

Open place of assembly

The public internet - gathering place to hear and talk about the latest news, politics, ideas.

Later the Agora defined the open-air, often tented, marketplace of a city (as it still does in Greek) where merchants had their shops and where craftsmen made and sold their wares.

Think Depot Town or downtown Ann Arbor with a farmer’s market.

He was forced to share (put on trial like Socrates) his "strange" teaching with the assembly of governing council in Athens (caretakers of legislative, judicial, religions, cultural, and political matters).

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system. Many converts were gained.

The spiritual condition of Athens provoked Paul to go to the synagogue and marketplace to be with and talk with anyone who was there about the good news.

Acts 17:48 - God doesn’t dwell in things made of human hands

Isaiah 40:18–20 ESV

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

ESVTo whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

Come and See

Learned about their lives, beliefs, etc.

He was forced to share (put on trial like Socrates) his "strange" teaching with the assembly of governing council in Athens (caretakers of legislative, judicial, religions, cultural, and political matters).

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system. Many converts were gained.

They wanted to know about his.

Not impressed.

Babbler - bird picking up scraps in the gutter;

Loafer - equivalent to a someone with enough knowledge to be dangerous on the internet trying to sell you their system for leadership or financial success.

Come and See phase of discipleship

He was forced to share (put on trial like Socrates) his "strange" teaching with the assembly of governing council in Athens (caretakers of legislative, judicial, religions, cultural, and political matters).

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system. Many converts were gained.

Prominent rise overlooking the city of Athens where the philosophers of the city gathered to discuss their ideas, some of which revolutionized modern thought.

At one time The Areopagus was an Athenian institution devoted to matters of justice, law, and governance.

The Areopagus was remembered for playing a leading role in the death of Socrates who was charged with introducing foreign deities into Athens.The charge brought against Socrates is that he “does evil, for he does not acknowledge the gods whom the state acknowledges, while introducing other, novel divine beings” Taken their to find out in detail what he was teaching because he was introducing a foreign God - some strange or foreign thing to their ears.Luke makes Paul look like a Socrates-like figure to show a kind of mock trial between early Christianity and Athens as the center of pagan philosophy and culture. Luke presents Paul and the gospel as confronting the elite religious, cultural, and legal institutions of Athens. Not a backwoods, superstition but one worth of attention from society's most prestigious and elite institutions.

Paul used the opportunity to identify with their context.

To listeners, sounded complementary

To readers, not complimentary so they could see the irony of the situation.

For all their religiosity, the Athenians were in reality thoroughly superstitious and lacking in knowledge of the true God.

Paul’s speech in presumes some basic knowledge of the institution of the Areopagus, Stoic and Epicurean philosophy, and the trial of Socrates.

In their religion there were glimpses of the Gospel

Their Language

Connected the good news with the language of their religious system.

Paul uses language you would expect a Greek-speaking Jew to use, especially when talking with pagan worshipers.

Their Religion/Philosophy - Took advantage of unknown God to proclaim who the unknown God is.

Not saying they were unknowingly worshiping the true God.

Telling them who the true God is who was ultimately responsible for all the things in life they gave the unknown god credit for.

This is the God who made the universe and all it contains...therefore Lord of heaven and earth

Paul in fact uses the insights of the philosophers in his attack on the beliefs

Epicureans - superstitious, irrational belief in the gods, expressed in idolatry

Stoics stressed the unity of mankind and its kinship with God and the moral duty of man.

The job of a missionary is to express the gospel in terms that would be intelligible to the hearers without changing the essence of the message.

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system, poets who shaped their culture.

The job of a missionary is to express the gospel in terms that would be intelligible to the hearers without changing the essence of the message.

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system, poets who shaped their culture.

Including other gods and all of creationA God who is Creator and Lord clearly does not live in a temple made by human hands

Zoe (life) associated with Zeus. Greeks: humanity is divine. Paul: humanity is the image of God.He doesn't need us to provide him anything but rather is our source of life - life, breath, and everything.

The grateful longing of the heart of humanity for the God whose goodness we have experienced. Seeking should not be difficult. The living God of Israel is near even though he is great.

Now uses OT/Jewish thought to oppose Greek thought.For if men are in God’s image and are given the spirit of God, then a statue cannot portray the living GodYou didn’t know this before - ignorant and God was prepared to overlook itNow you know it and are no longer ignorant; he will no longer overlook it (A STATEMENT THAT FIT THEIR CONTEXT)Conclusion: APPEAL - give up your ideas of God and change your mind (REPENT)There is a day for the world to be judged by one who has already been seated as judge - not the judges that used to meet here and found Socrates guilty like you are trying to do to me todayThe one God raised from the dead

The job of a missionary is to express the gospel in terms that would be intelligible to the hearers without changing the essence of the message.

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system, poets who shaped their culture.

We live in a multi-cultural world.

Including other gods and all of creationA God who is Creator and Lord clearly does not live in a temple made by human hands

Today, as in the ancient era, the church is confronted by a host of master narratives that contradict and compete with the Gospel.

Zoe (life) associated with Zeus. Greeks: humanity is divine. Paul: humanity is the image of God.He doesn't need us to provide him anything but rather is our source of life - life, breath, and everything.

The church is culture: it is a system of language and other things that make sense of the otherwise chaotic and unrelated events in our lives.

The Christian narrative is my core story; the code of my life.

Thinking of ourself as a culture can help us appreciate the complexity of confronting a multicultural world of which we are a part.

The grateful longing of the heart of humanity for the God whose goodness we have experienced. Seeking should not be difficult. The living God of Israel is near even though he is great.

There are many church cultures.

Now uses OT/Jewish thought to oppose Greek thought.For if men are in God’s image and are given the spirit of God, then a statue cannot portray the living GodYou didn’t know this before - ignorant and God was prepared to overlook itNow you know it and are no longer ignorant; he will no longer overlook it (A STATEMENT THAT FIT THEIR CONTEXT)Conclusion: APPEAL - give up your ideas of God and change your mind (REPENT)There is a day for the world to be judged by one who has already been seated as judge - not the judges that used to meet here and found Socrates guilty like you are trying to do to me todayThe one God raised from the dead

2. Anyone he met in the marketplace.

The multiple church cultures engagement with cultures is complex.

Now they were provoked. Here's where the group began to form their opinions and the group was split. Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul but bodily resurrection was alien to their thinking (body was earthly and evil/soul good).Some laughed at him and dismissed himWe'll hear you another time - a more positive reaction...they longed that what Paul said was true. But others wanted to hear more. When he left, some followed.One, Dionysius, became the first bishop of Athens.

Our engagement is on a case by case basis. Some of it we can embrace, others, reject, some we will be open to with changes or qualifications.

you have to accept the fact that languages are all different and they don't describe the world in quite the same way.

Upbringing

Experiences

What Paul was doing: side with the philosophers, this is what you’ve got right and then show them that they did not go far enough.

The job of a missionary is to express the gospel in terms that would be intelligible to the hearers without changing the essence of the message.

He proclaims the good news - give an explanation for his strange teachings - by connecting it with some of the language of their religious system, poets who shaped their culture.

Including other gods and all of creationA God who is Creator and Lord clearly does not live in a temple made by human hands

Zoe (life) associated with Zeus. Greeks: humanity is divine. Paul: humanity is the image of God.He doesn't need us to provide him anything but rather is our source of life - life, breath, and everything.

The grateful longing of the heart of humanity for the God whose goodness we have experienced. Seeking should not be difficult. The living God of Israel is near even though he is great.

Now uses OT/Jewish thought to oppose Greek thought.For if men are in God’s image and are given the spirit of God, then a statue cannot portray the living GodYou didn’t know this before - ignorant and God was prepared to overlook itNow you know it and are no longer ignorant; he will no longer overlook it (A STATEMENT THAT FIT THEIR CONTEXT)Conclusion: APPEAL - give up your ideas of God and change your mind (REPENT)There is a day for the world to be judged by one who has already been seated as judge - not the judges that used to meet here and found Socrates guilty like you are trying to do to me todayThe one God raised from the dead

Now they were provoked. Here's where the group began to form their opinions and the group was split. Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul but bodily resurrection was alien to their thinking (body was earthly and evil/soul good). Some laughed at him and dismissed him

We'll hear you another time - a more positive reaction...they longed that what Paul said was true. But others wanted to hear more. When he left, some followed.

One, Dionysius, became the first bishop of Athens.

Christendom Framework for God’s Story

Creation - sin - Redemption

AugustineShaped western Christian thoughtContinued by Calvin and handed down to Evangelicals during the Enlightenment.Prevails today

Nothing wrong with it itself. Problem is the way it has been interpreted and applied.

Emphasis on personal and moral sin and not dealing well with the principalities and powers.Augustine, Calvin and modern Evangelicals have put a great deal of emphasis on personal sin, the need for confession, and personal appropriation of the death of Christ as sacrifice for our sin. This emphasis led the west to an almost exclusive concentration on the sacrificial view of the atonement without a strong connection to the resurrection and the triumph of Jesus over sin, death, and the powers of evil.This preoccupation with the satisfaction theory of the cross has failed to adequately see the unity that exists between creation, the incarnation, and ultimately the restoration of all God’s creation.West struggles with the virgin birth. Eastern theologians don’t. God in the womb of Mary united with his creation in order to reverse the fallenness of creature and creation by taking into his own body the consequence of sin, which is death. Adam affects all of creation because of his sin and the second Adam rescues all creation because of his righteousness. In death, Jesus defeats death. In his resurrection he begins a new act of creation that will ultimately be fulfilled in his second coming (Kingdom come).

Because we are post-Christendom, our era is like the Roman era. We must interact with the principalities of our time the way the apostolic fathers did. To do so, we need to recover the ancient framework of Scripture and restore the emphasis on Christus Victor.

Apostolic Framework for God’s Story

Creation - incarnation - re-creation

Theology of recapitulation - To bring back all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Irenaeus; ).

Another way of describing the apostolic framework of God’s story.Jesus triumphs over death and all that is evil, winning the world back for his heavenly Father, returning it to the garden of God’s glory. Changes how we read Scripture.Rather than the Gospel being God asking me to let him into my narrative, to find room for him in my heart and life, God calls me to find my place in HIS narrative. In God’s story, the incarnate Word and the Holy Spirit recapitulated and reversed the human situation so I can now live in him.Through him I can live in the expectation of a restored world without the presence of evil.Here and now, because God became incarnate and recapitulated all things, I live in him, his narrative, and he lives in my life, which is to be a witness to his narrative for the world. - KINGDOM COME.

We must be a faith community that shows it is true - that God woos, changes and redeems people who are far from him.

Think about how someone else would feel coming into our culture.

Now they were provoked. Here's where the group began to form their opinions and the group was split. Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul but bodily resurrection was alien to their thinking (body was earthly and evil/soul good).Some laughed at him and dismissed himWe'll hear you another time - a more positive reaction...they longed that what Paul said was true. But others wanted to hear more. When he left, some followed.One, Dionysius, became the first bishop of Athens.

Creation - sin - Redemption

AugustineShaped western Christian thoughtContinued by Calvin and handed down to Evangelicals during the Enlightenment.Prevails today

Nothing wrong with it itself. Problem is the way it has been interpreted and applied.

Emphasis on personal and moral sin and not dealing well with the principalities and powers.Augustine, Calvin and modern Evangelicals have put a great deal of emphasis on personal sin, the need for confession, and personal appropriation of the death of Christ as sacrifice for our sin. This emphasis led the west to an almost exclusive concentration on the sacrificial view of the atonement without a strong connection to the resurrection and the triumph of Jesus over sin, death, and the powers of evil.This preoccupation with the satisfaction theory of the cross has failed to adequately see the unity that exists between creation, the incarnation, and ultimately the restoration of all God’s creation.West struggles with the virgin birth. Eastern theologians don’t. God in the womb of Mary united with his creation in order to reverse the fallenness of creature and creation by taking into his own body the consequence of sin, which is death. Adam affects all of creation because of his sin and the second Adam rescues all creation because of his righteousness. In death, Jesus defeats death. In his resurrection he begins a new act of creation that will ultimately be fulfilled in his second coming (Kingdom come).

Because we are post-Christendom, our era is like the Roman era. We must interact with the principalities of our time the way the apostolic fathers did. To do so, we need to recover the ancient framework of Scripture and restore the emphasis on Christus Victor.

First to the Jew then the Gentile (everyone else).

Apostolic Framework for God’s Story

Creation - incarnation - re-creation

Theology of recapitulation - To bring back all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Irenaeus; ).

Another way of describing the apostolic framework of God’s story.Jesus triumphs over death and all that is evil, winning the world back for his heavenly Father, returning it to the garden of God’s glory. Changes how we read Scripture.Rather than the Gospel being God asking me to let him into my narrative, to find room for him in my heart and life, God calls me to find my place in HIS narrative. In God’s story, the incarnate Word and the Holy Spirit recapitulated and reversed the human situation so I can now live in him.Through him I can live in the expectation of a restored world without the presence of evil.Here and now, because God became incarnate and recapitulated all things, I live in him, his narrative, and he lives in my life, which is to be a witness to his narrative for the world. - KINGDOM COME.

By living our faith story - the gospel in a real, compelling and consistent way that speaks to all of life’s experiences

Call to Ancient Evangelical Future

It is compelling if it speaks to a variety of life experiences.

He was a student of the culture wherever he went. Observed, learned.

It is persuasive if it is able to listen.

He spent time with people of all walks in every place in the city - synagogue, marketplace - with anyone who happened to be there. Including the philosophers (academic).

There is no genuine Christian formation and life apart from the body of Christ.

We live in a multi-cultural world.

Our witness is corporate more than individual.

Our story must have the power to take hold of our lives and transform it.

The church is culture: it is a system of language and other things that make sense of the otherwise chaotic and unrelated events in our lives.The Christian narrative is my core story; the code of my life. Thinking of ourself as a culture can help us appreciate the complexity of confronting a multicultural world of which we are a part.

If it’s not happening with us - if we’re not following it, why should anyone take it seriously?

There are many church cultures. The multiple church cultures engagement with cultures is complex. We cannot decide to be for, against, over, under, or in paradox with it (Niebuhr). Our engagement is on a case by case basis. Some of it we can embrace, others, reject, some we will be open to with changes or qualifications.

Awareness and Engagement of the Christian Cultures with Societal cultures is not an option.

Ship Metaphor

We’re in the ship of Christianity and it’s is the ground we stand on. We operate out of our own culture that provides our own roots, symbols, meanings.

But in lanes shared by hundreds of other ships where we interact with them and their cultures.

Willing to learn form the shipbuilding and seafaring skills of others, trade at any port because we have a cargo we believe to be of infinite value to all.

We must be a faith community that shows it is true - that God woos, changes and redeems people who are far from him.By living our faith story - the gospel in a real, compelling and consistent wayIt is compelling if it speaks to a variety of life experiences. It is persuasive if it is able to listen.There is no genuine Christian formation and life apart from the body of Christ. Our witness is corporate more than individual.Our story must have the power to take hold of our lives and transform it. If it’s not happening with us - if we’re not following it, why should anyone take it seriously?

Think about how someone else would feel coming into our culture.

Christendom Framework for God’s Story

Creation - sin - Redemption

AugustineShaped western Christian thoughtContinued by Calvin and handed down to Evangelicals during the Enlightenment.Prevails today

Nothing wrong with it itself. Problem is the way it has been interpreted and applied.

Emphasis on personal and moral sin and not dealing well with the principalities and powers.Augustine, Calvin and modern Evangelicals have put a great deal of emphasis on personal sin, the need for confession, and personal appropriation of the death of Christ as sacrifice for our sin. This emphasis led the west to an almost exclusive concentration on the sacrificial view of the atonement without a strong connection to the resurrection and the triumph of Jesus over sin, death, and the powers of evil.This preoccupation with the satisfaction theory of the cross has failed to adequately see the unity that exists between creation, the incarnation, and ultimately the restoration of all God’s creation.West struggles with the virgin birth. Eastern theologians don’t. God in the womb of Mary united with his creation in order to reverse the fallenness of creature and creation by taking into his own body the consequence of sin, which is death. Adam affects all of creation because of his sin and the second Adam rescues all creation because of his righteousness. In death, Jesus defeats death. In his resurrection he begins a new act of creation that will ultimately be fulfilled in his second coming (Kingdom come).

Because we are post-Christendom, our era is like the Roman era. We must interact with the principalities of our time the way the apostolic fathers did. To do so, we need to recover the ancient framework of Scripture and restore the emphasis on Christus Victor.

Apostolic Framework for God’s Story

Creation - incarnation - re-creation

Theology of recapitulation - To bring back all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Irenaeus; ).

Another way of describing the apostolic framework of God’s story.Jesus triumphs over death and all that is evil, winning the world back for his heavenly Father, returning it to the garden of God’s glory. Changes how we read Scripture.Rather than the Gospel being God asking me to let him into my narrative, to find room for him in my heart and life, God calls me to find my place in HIS narrative. In God’s story, the incarnate Word and the Holy Spirit recapitulated and reversed the human situation so I can now live in him.Through him I can live in the expectation of a restored world without the presence of evil.Here and now, because God became incarnate and recapitulated all things, I live in him, his narrative, and he lives in my life, which is to be a witness to his narrative for the world. - KINGDOM COME.

Call to Ancient Evangelical Future

Today, as in the ancient era, the church is confronted by a host of master narratives that contradict and compete with the Gospel.

Made for Cultural Awareness

Introduction

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Translation

Paul’s Pattern

Know Your Message

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Athens

The Agora

Provoked, Distressed (angry)

Come and See

Reasoned, discussed with people where they met, lived

Invitation for More

Took him to the Areopagus/MARS HILL

Stoics

Translating the message: UNDERSTAND OUR STORY

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Captivating Hearts: Connect with Their Culture

Know Your Audience

Athens

The Agora

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Provoked, Distressed (angry)

Come and See

Reasoned, discussed with people where they met, lived

Invitation for More

Took him to the Areopagus/MARS HILL

Captivating Hearts: Know Your Story

God is Lord of the World

[SLIDE] Man is God’s creation and needs God

Paul takes over pagan Greek poems, expressive of Stoic philosophy, and applies them to God: LIFE AND CONNECTION WITH GOD

God's purpose in all of it - humanity would seek after him to touch and find him.

[SLIDE] God and man are related; therefore idolatry is foolish

Captivation

Crossing into Secular Boarders With the Gospel

Truth 1

God is Lord of the World

[SLIDE] Man is God’s creation and needs God

Truth 2

Paul takes over pagan Greek poems, expressive of Stoic philosophy, and applies them to God: LIFE AND CONNECTION WITH GOD

It’s Your Choice

God's purpose in all of it - humanity would seek after him to touch and find him.

Truth 3

[SLIDE] God and man are related; therefore idolatry is foolish

It’s Your Choice

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Captivate Hearts: Translating the Story

God is Lord of the World

Man is God’s creation and needs God

Paul takes over pagan Greek poems, expressive of Stoic philosophy, and applies them to God: LIFE AND CONNECTION WITH GOD

God's purpose in all of it - humanity would seek after him to touch and find him.

God and man are related; therefore idolatry is foolish

It’s Your Choice

[SLIDE]Captivate Hearts: LIVE OUR STORY

For the Gospel to be spread and adopted to the cultures of our time and place: LIVE OUR STORY

[SLIDE] Discipleship (including evangelism) requires that we understand HOW a convert becomes the member of a new race, family, humanity.

Share Your Story

[SLIDE] [SLIDE] Truth 4

[SLIDE] Truth 1

[SLIDE] Truth 2

[SLIDE] Truth 3

[SLIDE] Truth 4

[SLIDE]

[SLIDE] For the Gospel to be spread and adopted to the cultures of our time and place: LIVE OUR STORY

[SLIDE] Discipleship (including evangelism) requires that we understand a convert becomes the member of a new race, family, humanity.