Owling the Gospel and You

I have a confession to make. The other day, with some friends, I did something out of character.

I owled.

That’s right, I said owled. Like the bird. I got up on my perch, on the sign for York College of PA, and yielded to social pressure.

If you don’t know what owling is, start with google-imaging “planking” (which is SO 2 months ago), then do the same for owling, and you will see the humorous trend of trying to pose yourself at various locations to outdo your friends. "Coning" is the most recent and even more over-the-top trend. It’s where you drive up and order an ice cream cone, rip off the ice cream, and leave the cone behind. Not kidding.

The Gospel doesn’t change. But I have said many times through the years that I will put it in whatever sized box you give me. Call it contextualization. We need to make the Gospel fit to all kinds of people, without changing it. I work primarily with twentysomethings, and so I owled.

Now owling is just a silly example, but are you expanding your behavior beyond what you would normally do for the sake of the Gospel? I mean, I know people who have tattoos for this reason, or have learned another language, or have moved to a different city, or have hung out at strange locations…all for the sake of the Jesus. I might go so far to say, if you are not feeling a bit uncomfortable for the sake of the Gospel, you are probably not going far enough.

What could you do this week to bring God’s message in fresh and fitting ways?

Thoughts?