In True Story, James Choung seeks to illustrate how to re-present the gospel for today’s culture through a fictional conversion account. Through this story, he tries to show how the “Big Story”—the overall biblical narrative—has meaning for people’s lives. Much of this retelling is an attempt to correct gospel presentations of the past, and he concludes his work with a new shorthand presentation of the gospel.
Choung’s corrections of gospel presentations have three major emphases. First, Choung places emphasis upon the present reality of the gospel. In the past, the good news was presented as an opportunity to “go to heaven,” something which took place at the end of time. Choung draws upon the realized eschatology of Jesus’ life and teachings in the gospels to demonstrate the present reality of the kingdom of God. This emphasis is proper not only biblically, but also culturally, as postmoderns want a faith that impacts their lives today.
Second, Choung emphasizes the communal nature of the gospel. Past gospel presentations were highly individualistic, only highlighting personal salvation. In contrast, Choung brings out communal themes of Scripture, such as the creation account, the body of Christ metaphor, and the nations gathered together at the end of time. These are proper themes; however, Choung rather inconsistently fails to make a communal experience a part of the conversion process, assuming that a person becomes associated with a Christian community only after accepting salvation.
Since the church is a fundamental part of the Christian life, I wonder how effective these personal studies can be without the support of the broader Christian community. I have shared the gospel with hundreds of people, usually using an eight week study I have written called The Story of Redemption. Except for those with whom we were studying in the prison ministry, nearly all of those who were converted began to experience the Christian community at some point during the study. Furthermore, most of these studies have not been just one on one, but have also involved the seekers’ friend or family members. Going through this study together over eight weeks around the kitchen table creates a sense of community and trust that is essential for conversion today. People must feel that they belong before they believe. This is another reason why tracts and short hand presentations of the gospel are usually not effective today. Choung’s short hand presentation could, however, be used to spur interest in a fuller study.
Third, Choung emphasizes the missional nature of salvation. That is, Christians are saved for something—to be a part of the global reconciliation of humanity with itself, creation, and God. In my context, this is the point which I believe most needs to be better emphasized in our conversion process. The rest of his emphases, and the general outline of his presentation, fits amazingly well within the evangelistic Bible study that we use (The Story of Redemption); however, I need to incorporate this message more clearly into this study.
