To All The World
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When you live in a city, you stop noticing the noise. Traffic outside your window, music bleeding through the walls, sirens at all hours—you start tuning it out. But even when you stop noticing it, the city’s noise still affects you, shaping your everyday life.
In the same way, we live in a culture that’s constantly telling us stories—stories about who we are, what matters, and how to be happy. Even when we don’t notice them, they’re shaping us. These cultural narratives help us make sense of ourselves and our world. These are the stories we live by, the scripts we inherit, the frameworks we rely on to tell us who we are and how to live.
Making Sense of Us is a 7-week video curriculum that helps young and newer Christians, and even non-Christians, explore key narratives that have shaped Western culture. You’ll see how these stories fall short and how the one true story of the gospel fulfills our deepest longings.
Michael Keller (MDiv, ThM, Gordon-Conwell Seminary; PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) is the founding and senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church–Lincoln Square and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He also serves as a fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. His PhD is in computational linguistics applied to historical theology.
John Starke pastors Apostles Church Uptown in Manhattan. He has written for Christianity Today, Books & Culture, Comment Magazine, and others. He’s the author of The Secret Place of Thunder and The Possibility of Prayer.
Rebecca McLaughlin holds a PhD from Cambridge University and a theology degree from Oak Hill Seminary in London. She is the author of several books, including Confronting Christianity, The Secular Creed, Jesus Through the Eyes of Women, and Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships?.
Sam Chan (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the lead mentor and trainer at EvQ School of Evangelism, a ministry of City Bible Forum. Based in Australia, he’s the author of several books including Evangelism in a Skeptical World and How to Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy). Sam speaks at conferences around the world on storytelling, apologetics, and the practice of evangelism in a post-Christian culture. He blogs at Espresso Theology.
Trevin Wax is vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board and a visiting professor at Cedarville University. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has lectured on Christianity and culture at Oxford University. He is the author of multiple books, including The Gospel Way Catechism, The Thrill of Orthodoxy, and The Multi-Directional Leader. His podcast is Reconstructing Faith. Trevin and his wife, Corina, have three children.
Rachel Gilson (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves on the leadership team of theological development and culture with Cru. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, Desiring God, and The Gospel Coalition, and she regularly speaks at churches and on college campuses. She is the author of Parenting Without Panic in an LGBT-Affirming World and Born Again This Way. Rachel is pursuing a PhD in public theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter.
Bob Thune (MA, Reformed Theological Seminary) is founding and lead pastor of Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of Gospel Eldership, coauthor of The Gospel-Centered Life and The Gospel-Centered Community, and creator of the Daily Liturgy podcast. In addition to his work as a pastor and writer, he coaches and trains church leaders and helps to lead a classical Christian school.
Glen Scrivener is an ordained Church of England minister and evangelist who preaches Christ through writing, speaking, and online media. He directs the evangelistic ministry Speak Life. Glen is originally from Australia and now he and his wife, Emma, live with their two children in England. They belong to All Souls Eastbourne. He is the author of several books, including The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom and 3-2-1: The Story of God, the World, and You.
Making Sense of Us is a timely and captivating study. It’s rare in that it balances timeless wisdom with clear application for the pressing issues of our day. I agree wholeheartedly with its theme—namely, that our culture offers counterfeit stories of identity and meaning, but only the gospel fulfills our deepest longings.
Sean McDowell, PhD, professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, author of more than 20 books, and a popular YouTuber
It’s tough to imagine a better lineup than the one TGC has put together here. Each of these leaders is an expert in reading both the Bible and our culture. The spirit of Tim Keller—and behind him, Lesslie Newbigin—is alive and well in them. Each cultural narrative is explained simply yet with enough of a twist that you’re left going, “Wow, that was fresh and profound.”
J. D. Greear, pastor of the Summit Church and author of Everyday Revolutionary: How to Transcend the Culture War and Transform the World
We are shaped by the stories we believe. Sadly, we’re also surrounded by false narratives that leave us confused, longing, and hopeless. Making Sense of Us examines six of the most common of these narratives and helps us see them in light of the biblical storyline—the true, good, and beautiful story God has given to us. Each author skillfully shows us how we can anchor our lives more deeply to the only narrative that gives life.
Courtney Doctor, Bible teacher, director of women’s initiatives for The Gospel Coalition, and author of books such as From Garden to Glory and In View of God’s Mercies.
What story are you living in? When doing both Christian evangelism and discipleship today, we’d do well to start with that question. We’re drawn into stories of courage and honor, friendship and failure, good and evil, and suffering and hope because they speak to our deepest desires and fears. The problem is that the cultural narratives that script our lives have dangerous and deadly plot holes. While unmasking these cultural narratives, the teachers in Making Sense of Us neither wag their fingers in condemnation nor shrug their shoulders in passivity. Instead, with clarity and wisdom, they point us to the gospel story. There we see how Jesus crucifies these false narratives then brings them back to life, redeeming them as subplots in the greatest story ever told.
Josh Chatraw, Billy Graham chair of evangelism and cultural engagement at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama
Christianity’s influence on our society is undeniable and invaluable. The values our modern society holds most dear, and the goals it wants to progress toward, find their foundation in the fundamental ascendancy of the Christian worldview. Supposing progress—or any cultural longing—can exist apart from Christian values is a pie-in-the-sky pipe dream. As Glen Scrivener skillfully highlights in his Making Sense of Us lesson, it’s because we are, knowingly or not, immersed in a Christianized society that our desires make sense to begin with.
Wes Huff, historian, researcher, YouTuber, and vice president with Apologetics Canada
If you’ve ever wondered how to think critically and biblically about the stories the culture tells, and how to tell a better story, this resource is for you. Each teacher helps us consider how our greatest longings ultimately lead us to the only One who truly satisfies. I can’t recommend this resource enough.
Vanessa Hawkins, author and director of community life at Redeemer Lincoln Square, New York City
Making Sense of Us is such a timely resource. Engaging with six stories central to Western culture, the study combines theological wisdom, evangelistic creativity, and historical insight with a compelling presentation. It will help people make sense of the world around them, their neighbors, and themselves.
Andrew Wilson, teaching pastor at King’s Church, London
Cultures, communities, and individual lives are shaped by the stories that surround us, but sometimes these narratives can be hidden beneath the surface. Making Sense of Us carefully teases out the stories forming us, then examines each one from the perspective of the Christian metanarrative.
Timothy Paul Jones, PhD, C. Edwin Gheens endowed chair and professor of Christian family ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and author of Did the Resurrection Really Happen?
The videos are cinematic and compelling. The workbook is clear and accessible. Either in a class or a small-group setting, Making Sense of Us will serve both seekers and followers who want to understand their world and take next steps as followers of Jesus. I can’t wait to use this in my church!
Seth Troutt, teaching pastor at Ironwood Church, Mesa, Arizona
In the Making Sense of Us study, you will:
The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics helps Christians share the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel as the only hope that fulfills our deepest longings.
