All kidding aside, over at GospelFutures, my buddy Peter Kress is starting a discussion on what he calls GospelMemes. Working off of his own spiritual journey, Kress wants to invite others,
to participate with me in a process of assessment, query and discovery with the goal to find ways to explain, confess, express and seek gospel that make sense and inspire hope in this 21st century.
Kress is calling for a collective effort to find different ways of talking about, thinking about, and communicating gospel (note absence of definite article) in our world today.
For much of my life, I have done my seeking within the constraints of conservative Christian communities. But my children’s generation often does not see gospel in many of the mores, dogma, exceptionalisms, and exclusions of these communities. I can see why. They live in times where science, technology and society expose inadequate explanations, unquestioned fundamentalisms, and in particular, entrenched abuses of power and influence.
Old GospelMemes no longer tell the true story. New ones are needed. I’m sure many of you can relate.
Kress begins to explore these new memes here, stating that,
The core memes of the Christian gospel emerge from the story of Jesus. As early Christians contemplated Jesus they, of course, drew implications for life, community, and spirituality. But, they also grappled with the meaning of Jesus for life, the universe, and everything. They speculated that the Jesus story was singular but also universal.
I want to emphasize that Kress is talking about a group effort with those who find themselves in a similarly reflective moment. You will find great conversation partners at GospelFutures. And keep checking back as this project unfolds.
