If the church is to succeed in reaching this generation then the church’s message and methodology must be relevant. After all, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Apostle Paul defined “incarnational ministry” when he said, “I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Of course, we must determine what relevant means. In our context, relevant most often means that we must embrace the popular culture, or at the very least we must utilize the symbols of pop culture to explain the Gospel. Pop icon Andy Warhol defined pop culture when he said, “Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” The problem with this type of relevance is that the Gospel becomes as trendy as the popular culture it seeks to engage and becomes “a vapor in the wind.” We see this especially in the realm of politics.
The Jesus of the left is a social/progressive activist, resembles Che Guevara, and is presently occupying Wall Street. 
The Jesus of the right preaches conservative economic values, is a member of the Tea Party, and wears a robe of “red, white, and blue.”
Both portrayals of Christ are poor caricatures at best; and at worst are nothing less than idolatry! When the Gospel embraces the culture it ceases to be transformative, and all too often becomes a tool of oppression. It is no longer the proclamation of the coming kingdom of God and it ceases to be the Gospel!
To speak of an authentic incarnational ministry we must seek to present the Gospel as relevant to the universal human condition. The human condition transcends all cultures – popular or traditional. How does the Gospel answer the basic human questions of significance and meaning? How does the Gospel engage the politics of the right and left? How does the Gospel remedy suffering and death? By offering meaningful answers to these questions the Gospel becomes relevant.
If the Gospel is to be relevant to the universal human condition, then the Gospel must be transcendent. The Gospel must transcend the human condition. Jesus Christ is the unique union of God and humanity. In the incarnation God assumed the totality of human weakness and corruption. In Christ, God embraced the oppressed and the oppressor. On the cross, Christ took upon himself the violence and corruption of humanity. In his death on the cross, human sin and corruption have been judged and suffers death. In the resurrection of Christ humanity (and all creation) is glorified.
Although we must wait for the glorious return of Christ to receive the fulness of God’s redemptive promise, that does not imply that this present age is void of God’s redemptive presence. The promise of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, ensures God’s presence on the earth in this present age. Here we discover another element of transcendence that makes the Gospel relevant. The Spirit works through the church and in the world, judging sin and corruption, and revealing the kingdom of God through the promotion of righteousness and justice. In the Spirit, we are offered a glimpse of the “glory that is to be revealed.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ transcends the politics and economics of this present age and hopes in “a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
