Tim Keller, as pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian, has ministered in the heart of New York City for decades. As part of his ministry there Keller has learned what it means to contextualize the Gospel, which strives to communicate the good news of Jesus to a segment of society that has many intellectual barriers to belief in the Gospel. New York City is teeming with people who comprise multiple worldviews and usually holds Christianity has a point of derision and ridicule. In the following video Keller explains in more detail what he means by contextualization.
Contextualization is not giving people what they want to hear but it is giving people biblical answers to the questions people are asking their particular time and place. This is done with language and forms that are comprehensible while also providing arguments and appeals that display what the communicator feels. You can tell if you have contextualized when there are three types of people:
- People who agree and are persuaded.
2. People who disagree but respect what you have you communicated.
3. People who don’t respect but are persuaded. The better we contextualize the smaller this group will become but the worse you are in terms of contextualization the bigger this group will become.
Watch the video for detail.
