Someone said to me the other day, “I am tired of hearing words like the Gospel... I don’t even know what that means.”

I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know how to respond. I know what that term means, but how do I say it without using other terms that are probably just as confusing??

I could tell this guy that the Gospel is ‘a sanctified message regarding the divine birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Savior that started an ecclesiastical revolution.’

At that point, I should just brace for a punch to the neck... that response is obviously absurd.

But yet, we as Christians often choose to speak in these elevated terms. I am honestly not sure why. Does anyone really think that it is helpful?

Perhaps we are insecure. Maybe we don’t totally get it ourselves, and just want to sound like we do. Possibly it makes us feel like we fit in when we talk that way.

Well, on behalf of everyone in Churchianity, I am sorry. We’ve tended to make this unbelievable message about Jesus surprisingly complicated. No one should have to obtain a decoder ring in order to learn about the Gospel of Jesus.

People who want to get their message out shouldn’t make it complicated. Take music for example: Beiber doesn’t write overly complicated songs. It is part of what makes him successful (that and his unpredictably stunning instagram selfies).

If the Beebs sang exceptionally convoluted lyrics, he would demonstrate that either...

1. he doesn’t know his audience
2. or simply doesn’t care about them.

I think the Church has struggled at times because of problem #1. But what happens is that people often perceive it as problem #2. And that is a major issue.

When the Church doesn’t know its audience by failing to make the Gospel message simple and attractive, the result is that people walk away thinking that the Church doesn’t care about them. Which could ultimately lead them to think that God doesn’t care about them either.

Ouch.

The truth is that the Gospel is for Everyone. It’s a simple truth that demonstrates that we care, because God cares. In fact to say that He just cares, is an understatement; He loves. The Gospel is the pinnacle of how

He communicates that love... and there’s no sense in complicating that.

Is it too late to say sorry now?