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Preaching the Gospel: Past, Present, and Future

A look at current conversations about the gospel and what they might mean for our preaching

Editor's note: In the months ahead, Preaching Today will be wrestling with the idea of preaching the gospel. What does that really mean? Is our gospel too small? Is it too big? To help us get a feel for the terrain we'll be exploring, we asked Skye Jethani, managing editor of Leadership journal, to discuss critical names, resources, terminology, and ideas to keep in mind. 

Preaching Today: A number of Christian authors, pastors, and theologians are raising critical questions about our understanding of the nature of the gospel. What do you think has stirred such passion?

Skye Jethani: A lot of passion has been fueled by the angst produced from conversations about how to reach younger, postmodern generations. Two schools of thought emerged from the beginning. One group opted for the conservative approach: we just need to be more relevant, repackaging the same gospel message in a manner or style that's going to be appealing to the next generation. Another group insisted the church needed to ...