Apostle Paul certainly knew the value of using popular culture to reach his audience. In fact, he has quoted from several cultural products of his day. For example Epimenides and Aratus are both quoted in Acts 17:28; Menander is quoted in 1 Cor 15:33, and Epimenides is quoted again in Titus 1:12. These are drawn from popular culture and they reason why Paul used them to ‘build bridges’ (may be flyovers).
If we are to reach contemporary culture, then the message of the gospel is to be in their language, form and culture. We must recognize the value of popular culture, particularly movies. People watch more movies than they read books. The cinematic experience engages them with life’s deepest questions. We must follow apostle Paul’s method of using popular culture to speak our message. Movie clips, film dialogues and illustrations in our preaching/worship (can) help in reaching out to wider audience of our culture.
We must go to where people are. Our churches/fellowships must be ‘meeting spaces’ wherein young people can come and explore the richness of Jesus’s answers to life. Interestingly, we read in Acts 19: 9b, 10 that Paul took his disciples to the lecture hall of Tyrannus at Corinth and had ‘God-conversations’ for two years. It is possible that Paul (as a travelling rhetor) may have hired such a hall to proclaim his own peculiar philosophy [Ramsay, Paul the Traveler, 246, 271].It looks to me that Paul was serious about engaging with his audience and to address issues at the heart of our culture.
We need to break away from the cultural trappings of our (western) christian heritage if we are to be relevant to our contemporary world. We merely follow what is being done elsewhere, rather than seek relevant forms/methods of communication. When Larry Norman began what is today accepted as contemporary praise and worship, he was banned. His music created a stir among conservatives within the church and many rejected his music. Today (after 40 years), praise and worship has become part of our church.
Our rigid ways of looking at faith have crused innovations and creative expressions of the gospel. Perhaps, that is why the church has been a graveyard of talent. Why must we be out of step with our times? Why must we wait a decade or two to find acceptance? Why can’t we have the same passion (as St. Paul) to reach our generation with contemporary expressions of the gospel? Talent/Resources are not the problem. Our mindset is.
The bible has rich resources to help us move forward. Sadly, we don’t reflect on the bible to shed light on our contemporary challenges. Cinematic experience has a pervasive influence, particularly among South Asians, and we need to use them as (re)sources for taking the gospel and address the issues at the heart of our culture.
