SWAGGALICIOUS!

Texas monthly recently quoted Fort Worth native and gospel artist and author Kirk Franklin as saying, "My main message is to preach God's word, pure and truthful, but also to make it swaggalicious."

Swaggalicious? That's a new one on me. According to urban dictionary, swaggalicious refers to something that is tight, fresh or cool. I think Kirk is onto something with his approach to sharing the gospel and there is something here we can all learn from.

Is there anything more exciting or wonderful that the gospel of God's good news that he has sent his son to offer you and I forgiveness, peace and joy? There's not, that just can't be beat! As Christians, we have the most wonderful story of how the God of the universe loves us more than any person can imagine and it's our job to take that story to the world.

Our world is changing though and we must be able to change with it. There was a time not too long ago when faith and God's story were normal and accepted parts of everyday life. That time has come and gone. Today, we live in a postmodern age where choices about God are no longer viewed as important or relevant. Faith has become more or less a spiritual grab bag where people choose part of a religion to believe in or even put different faiths together in a way that fits and pleases them. All the while we are expected to be tolerant, to not hold anybody in contempt for what they believe and to be accepting of all.

The problem with this whole scenario is that it completely ignores the concept of truth. Some argue that absolute truth does not exist but that statement in and of itself is an absolute. The reality is that if you and I look around, there is a not a one of us who would say that things in this world are the way they should be. Injustice, pain, evil and wickedness take their toll on a daily basis and we are forced to feel the effects. But in addition to the darkness, we also see goodness, kindness and joy which stand out in stark contrast. Why is this? Where exactly did our concept of right and wrong and good and bad come from?

As we both know, mankind, regardless of how hard we try, is and will always be incapable of doing right all the time. This means the real definition of goodness, truth and justice must be found outside ourselves, in the form of God. So it seems that the concept of a good, holy, perfect God is not bogus or irrelevant after all but rather essential and necessary.

The point of all of this is to say that God's story, the gospel, often no longer falls on open ears but still needs to be told. Most people today don't go to church and don't read the bible but Jesus' command to go and make disciples still applies to every believer. If you and I as God's messengers only quote bible verses and sing praise songs, most people will never understand our message. Fifty years ago they might have but not today. We must be able to share God's story in a manner and language that people relate to and understand.

Like Kirk Franklin, the apostle Paul also understood the huge responsibility we have in how we share God's story. Listen to what he writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23. "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this all for the sake of the gospel." Paul was willing to do whatever it took to communicate how much God loves the world. He lived out God's love in a way that people could see there was something tight, fresh and cool about what he believed. He also took the time to customize God's story each time he told it so that those who were listening at the time could understand.

I'm not saying that we need to ever add or take away from God's story or embellish it in any way but we do need to tell it in a way that people can relate to. Our job is not to convince a person to believe in God, only God can change a heart, but we are responsible for accurately communicating the message in a way that is truthful and reaches people where they're at. When we share and live like this, other people get to experience the aroma of Christ which is totally different than anything else the world has to offer.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 says, "We are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To one we are the smell of death, to the other the fragrance of life. Who is up for such a task?"

We know that our message will not always be received well but that should never stop us from sharing. I Corinthians 1:18 says "the message of the cross is foolishness to those to are perishing," but we should never take rejection of God's story personally. Donald Whitney reminds us of this with a great analogy. "In regards to sharing our faith, you and I are most like the postal service. Success is measured by the careful and accurate delivery of the message, not by the response of the recipient."

So how about you? Is your life and the story you tell about God filled with the coolness, freshness, tightness, and newness that should be true of a person whose life has been dramatically changed by a loving God? Go live swaggalicious today.

Some musical stylings from Mr. Franklin: