How Cultural Narratives Affect Our Gospel Presentation
Michael Keller identifies four prominent secular cultural narratives and advocates for Christians to present a compelling alternative, rooted in the gospel.
To All The World
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Cultural narratives are the stories we tell each other, and ourselves, that make sense of the world and our place in it. Spoken and unspoken, assumed and promoted, they are the scripts we live by. If followed, these narratives promise happiness and justice and freedom and belonging. But they can also cause anxiety and confusion as they compete with and contradict each other. At their best, however, these narratives reflect longings that come from God. As Christians we can help each other, and our neighbors, connect with these narratives and correct them in light of the story God has written in the gospel.
Michael Keller identifies four prominent secular cultural narratives and advocates for Christians to present a compelling alternative, rooted in the gospel.
Collin Hansen, Michael Graham, and Christopher Watkin explore Tim Keller’s approach to cultural engagement and its implications for the future.
Alan Noble and Trevin Wax discuss how the “weird” or countercultural aspects of the Christian faith might be opportunities, not stumbling blocks, in reaching a post-Christian culture
Telling a Better Story clears a path to a more effective, empathetic apologetics for today—both for experienced apologists and those new to sharing their faith with others.
Today’s Christians often view the practice of defending their faith as pushy or unnecessary. Won't it just be taken for proselytizing? Don’t many unbelievers find it offensive? Many Christians have shifted to a strategy of hoping that our lives will show Christ to our neighbors—and, while this is certainly good, it's no substitute to actively telling people about Christ.
Is Christianity history? Or is Christian history the deepest explanation of the modern world?
Today in the west, many consider the church to be dead or dying. Christianity is seen as outdated, bigoted and responsible for many of society’s problems. This leaves many believers embarrassed about their faith and many outsiders wary of religion. But what if the Christian message is not the enemy of our modern Western values, but the very thing that makes sense of them?
Building on the work of theologian J.H. Bavinck, Dan reveals five recurring themes that our culture cant stop talking about, or, as he puts it, the five permanent itches that in our work, rest, and play, we have to vigorously scratch. From TV to books to social media, these are the questions we cant stop asking and the tensions we cant stop wrestling with and Jesus speaks powerfully into each one.
Michael Keller identifies four prominent secular cultural narratives and advocates for Christians to present a compelling alternative, rooted in the gospel.
If you’re serious about pursuing happiness, you might want to take the time to work out what happiness really is.
When we settle for the pluralistic confines of a personalized and privatized faith, we lose the adventure of evangelism and the heart of Christianity.
Cultural Narratives Videos & Curriculum for Adult Small Groups
Michael Keller and Tim Keller book (Title Forthcoming)
Living a Better Story, a book by Joshua D. Chatraw
You Have Heard It Said, a Counter-Catechesis Project for Youth and Parents by Craig Ellis
The Gospel Way Catechism: 50 Truths That Take On the World, a book by Trevin Wax and Thomas West