Suppose God called you to share the gospel in a foreign culture. After the initial panic subsided, what would you do? How would you take the message of Jesus Christ to an unbelieving world?

Youd probably start by trying to gain a basic understanding of that culture, right? Youd try to learn some of the language, customs and characteristics of the people you hoped to introduce to the glorious gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV), wouldnt you? Of course you would.

Well, brace yourself for a news flash: you no longer need to imagine becoming a missionary to some pre-Christian culture. You already are!

Who changed the channel when I wasnt looking?
In the last 40 yearswithin the short span of two generationsa brand new culture has arisen just beyond the lawns and driveways of our homes and churches. The cultural landscape around us has been transformed from familiar territory into a foreign landforeign, that is, to us, and resistant to our accustomed ways of sharing the gospel.

Im talking about postmodernism, of coursea word you hear a lot these days. Its become commonplace. Its thrown around like peanuts at a ballpark. Books, magazines, seminars and websites exist to warn us of the dangers of postmodernism. But for all that, most of the time, were not really sure what it means.

Like an international missionary facing the task of understanding a new country, we would be wise to study this new culture, its language and its customs. As Dr. Rick Ferguson, senior pastor of Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado, says, We need to be good missiologists and adapt to our postmodern culture, so that we can clearly communicate in [a postmodern] context.

The trouble is not with your set
But the road to understanding this foreign culture is full of bumps and potholes. Ferguson says postmodernism defies definition because it is constantly changing. To borrow a line from The Sound of Music, its a lot like trying to catch a cloud and pin it down.

In fact, its fitting that the very term postmodernism describes this school of thought by what its not. In other words, postmodernism is the prevailing philosophy that succeeded and, to some degree, has supplanted modernism, a way of thinking that has itself challenged the Christian worldview for centuries. Whereas modernism rejected religion and superstition in favor of science and it exalted Reason as the means by which Truth could be found and progress made, postmodernism repudiates any appeal to Reality or Truth. Ours is a day, says Roger C. Palms, former editor of Decision magazine, where people believe everything is true, but nothing is absolutely true.

So, while postmodernism is tough to pin downnot only because its constantly changing, but also because its complex, and its individual points are sometimes contradictorylets summarize its most common beliefs:

• An ultimate Truth does not exist in any objective sense.

• Instead of discovering Truth in a metanarrativewhich is a story (such as the Bible) or ideology (such as Marxism) that presents a unified way of looking at philosophy, religion, art and sciencepostmodernism rejects any over-arching explanation of what constitutes Truth and Reality.

• Truthwhether in science, education or religionis created by a specific culture or community, and is true only in and for that culture.

• Individuals are the products of their cultures; individuality is an illusion, identity is constructed from cultural sources.

• All thinking is a social construct. That is, what you and I regard as truths are simply arbitrary beliefs we have been conditioned to accept by our society, just as others have been conditioned to accept a completely different set of beliefs, wrote Jim Leffel in The Death of Truth (Bethany House, 1996).

• Any system or statement that claims to be objectively true or unfavorably judges the values, beliefs, lifestyle and truth claims of another culture is a power play, an effort by one culture to dominate other cultures.

Many people hold these views without consciously thinking through their implications.

Must-see christianity
When the Apostle Paul faced a marketplace of philosophies and spiritualities in his day, he managed to adapt his presentation of the gospel without compromising it. We must do the same. But how? How can we be good missiologists and adapt to todays postmodern culture, so that we can clearly communicate the gospel?

For one thing, we can relax a little. God still speaks to the hearts of men and women by His Holy Spirit, to convince the world of its sin, and of Gods righteousness, and of the coming judgment (John 16:8, NLT). The salvation of our postmodern friends, neighbors and strangers is not completelynor even primarilyour responsibility.

Still, we are called to be faithful, and as we do so, God can help us become more effective at sharing the gospel in a postmodern context, particularly as we understand a few key contrasts that express what resonates to a man, woman or young person in todays culture:

Spiritual vs. Christian
Capitalize on the spiritual curiosity of the day. America is more spiritual today, Ferguson says, but less Christian. Many postmoderns are spiritually hungry, even starving. [They] are open, curious, seeking, and they want help with their struggles and hurts, adds Palms. That spiritual curiosity makes this a great time to talk openly about Christopening with questions such as Do you have any interest in spiritual things? and May I tell you how my life has changed? will usually open doors better than If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven or hell?

Personal vs. Propositional
Focus your Christian witness on the personal. Our culture today is not so much asking whether the gospel is credible; it is asking whether it is relevant. In other words, the question Is it true? has been replaced by Will it work for me? Thus, there has never been a better time to share our personal testimonies. As Discipleship Journal editor Sue Kline says, Most postmoderns are interested in hearing peoples stories. If we listen with genuine interest to the stories of non-Christians, they will listen to our stories, which are just like theirs but with the added surprise of redemption. A personal testimony of Christs love and forgiveness is more effective in these postmodern times than ever.

Process vs. Presentation
View your Christian witness as a process. Postmoderns tend to be process-oriented. Many will come to Christ inch by inch, not mile by mile, says Ferguson. In other words, they have to process the gospel, and so while there will always be a place for confrontational evangelism, the best opportunity is for incremental movement in their understanding of the gospel through ongoing dialogue with Christians. The goal is not to immediately give them a gospel presentation but to form a relationship with them and begin to build a bridge. Sharing the gospel effectively in a postmodern age will mean building long-term relationships with pre-Christians and engaging in dialogue about matters of faith at their own pace.

Dialogue vs. Monologue
Engage in dialogue, not monologue. Contrary to popular belief, Postmoderns are not won by emotion, says Ferguson. They are attracted to reason and rational thinking. They will not be persuaded by argumentation, however, but by dialogue. Most of us, Kline adds, learned to do evangelism as a monologue: we share a presentation and ask the listener to pray a prayer. But in every friendship I have with a non-Christian, I entered that relationship mostly as a listener. We have got to become better listenerscompassionate, sincere listeners, not listeners who are only listening for a weakness in the other persons worldview.

Community vs. Institution
Present the church as a community, not as an institution. Postmoderns are repelled by organized religion, but theyre starved for community. True Christian communitywhat the New Testament calls koinonia is powerfully attractive and winsome, and many of our postmodern friends and neighbors crave the kind of community we Christians often take for granted: eating in one anothers homes, sharing material blessings with each other, supporting and encouraging each other, praying together, weeping together and celebrating together. Sharing the joy of Christian community is one of our most powerful witnessing tools in a postmodern culture.

Multicultural vs. Homogenous
Focus more on the universal character of the church than on denominationalism. Postmoderns are turned off by denominations, which they interpret as a sign of discord, not diversity. Therefore, take every opportunity to emphasize, as Peter Tze Ming Ng of the Chinese University of Hong Kong wrote in an article for Religious Education, that The real church isand always has beenmulticultural ... When we think of the church we must conjure up a picture not of people like ourselves, but of people of all colors and shapes and ages, women and men speaking different languages, following different customs, practicing different habits, but all worshiping the same Lord.

With the advent of postmodernism, on mission Christians face an opportunity that comes roughly once a millennium: not only to witness but to respond to a major shift in the cultural climate of the world around us. May we respond, like Paul, in a way that prompts those around us to say, We want to hear more (Acts 17:32, NLT).

Bob Hostetler is an award-winning author of 13 books, including The New Tolerance (co-authored with Josh McDowell). Hostetler lives in Hamilton, Ohio.