二十一世紀的福音：活潑的聲音

The Lively Voice of the Gospel in the Twenty First Century

Raymond BAILEY

The global village has become a reality in the 21st century. The result of such reality entails the context of political and religious pluralism. This article suggests that preaching in this post-modern and secular context need to revive the lively voice of the Gospel. This article points out that the lively voice of the Gospel is one that speaks to a particular people in a particular temporal and cultural context. In fact, this praxis of preaching presupposes a fundamental and dynamic view of the living God who has not ceased speaking to His creation as it is clearly witnessed by His work through the prophets, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Preaching, however, is not merely a task of presenting the past; it must be a re-presentation of the Gospel to the present. In the process of re-presenting the Gospel, preaching must not lose sight of cultural factors. Along this line, effective preaching in the 21st century would not be possible without considering the parties involved in the communication of the Gospel: the preacher, the text (enlightened by the Holy Spirit), and the community. This article demonstrates that from the hermeneutical perspective, preaching in the 21st century should be conversational and sensitive to cultural conditions. Such a prospect of proclaiming the Gospel integrates Christian traditions with the indigenous elements of the host cultures, so that the development of the centers of Christian influence may not be limited to the West.