The Gospel Trust: Thoughts on Communicating the Gospel
Having briefly mentioned thoughts on the Christian writer and the content of our blogs, the last area I would like to consider before our meeting is thinking about how we communicate the gospel effectively in the blogosphere. This is an important issue and the subject of considerable debate and controversy. Yet, given that we been given the charge of carry the gospel to the world, it is important to consider how effective we are as carriers of this gospel message.
1. Is it ever appropriate to use sarcasm and satire in our blogging as carriers of the gospel?
2. What about controversy? Knowing that people are interested in controversial matters, is it ever acceptable to tackle controversial matters as a means of connecting people with the gospel?
3. Can our attitudes and how we treat (or neglect) our readers cause people to be turned away from the message we carry?
4. Are we taking advantage of the tools and resources available to us to transmit the gospel message to as many people as possible in a God-honoring way?
5. How can we communicate the gospel to people beyond our network or created blog culture? Are we reaching out to unbelievers with our blogs, atheists, seekers, etc.? Should that be a stated goal? If not, why not?
I realize that the issues of contextualization and culture are huge issues here, and I hope that we can come together to target intentional ways we can be good stewards of the gospel trust with creative and challenging discussion.
May we all reflect on how the gospel is at work in our individual lives, the formatting of our blogs, and the manner and ways in which we communicate the gospel through our blogs and in our lives. I look forward to seeing many of you and discussing “The Gospel Trust” in just a couple of days!

April 20th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Good questions to ask. I do think that sarcasm and controversy are appropriate at times. It seems that Jesus often times used both as means to an end.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
My understanding of ‘sarcasm’ is that it’s a form of anger, so it can be carried to an extreme if allowed to escalate.