Our culture doesn't know God's redemptive story as told through Scripture. This story is rooted in history with real people and real events, all pointing to a Messiah who came to usher in a new Kingdom. This Kingdom is to be centered around Jesus the Christ, a gospel that invites people to move from spiritual death and brokenness, to an eternal life, a healed life. This life is to be used for the glory of God in this life and the life to come. There has been plenty written regarding this new Kingdom, about the need for justice, about redeeming Creation. The assumption is that people can put the pieces together and have a fuller and deeper appreciation for the original gospel. What I am noticing is that they can't. 

I am not arguing that we should move away from themes of Kingdom, justice or redeeming creation in our theology or praxis. I am arguing that we use the thin spaces to tell a compelling story for God's desire and our need for true and full salvation in and through Jesus Christ. Just like the seeker movement missed part of the story by assuming everyone knew the premise of the Bible, I don't want our current movements only to paint a beautiful picture as we work toward justice. Even more than before, the church cannot be so subtle with the picture it is painting. We are made in the image of God and are longing to be healed from our brokenness. Our personal and cultural desire for healing and justice is because of this universal truth. Because of this universal truth, we can be bold in pointing out that it is through Jesus that we are healed and wrongs are made right.

This is what famous missionaries such as Hudson Taylor, did a century ago. In the mid 1800s Taylor went to China; being sensitive to the culture, he found these thin places. These are places where the needs of a particular culture have rubbed against solutions the gospel of Jesus offers. Taylor would use those thin places to point to Jesus. We need to take a closer look at the culture in which we live and really search for these thin places. The good news is the Holy Spirit already has been moving the church to these places, specifically in justice, poverty and peace issues. As we strive to be missional and work for justice, we can find places where our post-Christian context and the church can meet.

The step that's missing is the point that tells the rest of the story. Our desire for missional living and justice go hand-and-hand with the character of God. We are motivated by our love for Jesus and a response for the complete salvation He offers us. This connection is getting trickier. Because our non-Christian neighbors have zero touch points for this language or the church, you and I must be even more intentional and purposeful in communicating. While missional living and justice are vital in and of themselves, if we never get back to Jesus, then we really have missed it. We must find a clear and compelling way to put this all together. We have to find a way to show Jesus is the Hero of the story again. We have moved so far away from a cultural understanding of who Jesus is that our post-Christian context—the buildings we work in, the schools where we volunteer, the non-profits we partner with—simply cannot understand what Jesus has done for all of creation. There was an important pendulum shift during the past decade. Like all transitions, there is a need to come back toward the center so the canvas is complete with the beautiful setting and with Jesus Christ front and center.

Without a clear understanding of the original gospel story, those Kingdom principles and works of compassion and justice just become elements of a nice story that has no real value—just as Wicked is a great play on its own merits; but what makes the play truly amazing is the original story of The Wizard of Oz. As our culture loses connection to the original gospel story, maybe it is time to revisit how we tell our story so the redemptive message becomes the center of our focus once again. As our hearts grow for people who are totally unconnected to the church and the Christian faith, we might need to do less with fancy illustrations and simply share the original story once again.