10. Good News Must Answer to Bad News (Part 1) with Dr. Aaron Wheeler

Ethical Evangelism

Mar 13

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Overview

Dr. Aaron Wheeler, the Director of Missional Development for Kindred Exchange, chats with Lauren about four different frames through which people see the world and their place in the Story of God. Too often, he says, our evangelism problem is rooted in a limited theology–we have a “good news” that doesn’t match people’s bad news.

This two-part episode series will significantly inform the way followers of Jesus share their belief with others, providing a set of powerful questions to ask and postures to take when connecting with other humans around conversations of faith.

From guilt to shame, purity to power, Aaron breaks down the worldviews most people hold and then explains why it is critical to understand a person’s frame before introducing him or her to a gospel narrative. He and Lauren also discuss what is next for the global Church, and how local churches can be better stewards of Good News.

“So for good news, you have to have bad news. You have to have an existential ache and problem in your life that you’re looking to Jesus to be the solution for, and the problem is, our gospel has become so reduced that that good news doesn’t necessarily match our bad news.”

“What we need to do on a theological level is make the good news good again.”

“I think what we need to say, especially when it comes to the gospel, is that, just like the artist and the art critic, let the creator define its creation. Let the one who made the thing and built the thing, and set it on a purpose, tell it what it is.”

Guest Bio

Aaron Wheeler is the Director for Missional Development at Kindred Exchange and a Professor of Ministry at Ozark Christian College. He has been married to his wife, Danielle, since 2004. They met as students at Ozark Christian College and have four children. Aaron has a Master’s in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College and a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Biola University, where his dissertation focused on contextualized evangelism strategy.

Episode Highlights