From Canaan to Babylon: Crafting a Relevant Gospel Narrative for the 21^st Century Workforce.

Today we have been blessed with a unique, unprecedented opportunity for vocational disciple-makers, including business leaders, pastors, missionaries, seminary and Christian Liberal Arts faculty, to collaborate, bringing the hope of the gospel to people whose work experiences are being transformed by the fourth industrial revolution and artificial intelligence (AI). This paper explores how the evolving socio-cultural settings of the dynamic and technologically influenced contemporary workplace are a context starving for the gospel. Workplaces of the 21st century are exciting new cultures for the gospel to penetrate. They are an environment where many people are struggling to discover their identity, and are unaware that because of the cross, Christ reconstitutes their identity in himself: 'If we take the incarnation seriously, the Word has to become flesh in every new context.'1 When the gospel becomes understandable and meaningful within unique socio-cultural settings [such as different workplaces], the church grows in its understanding and application of the gospel, and the Kingdom of God is expanded to include many who could not embrace a foreign gospel [a gospel they feel is not relevant to the workplace]. This paper describes some of the ways people in this new context are shaping their identity, discerning their purpose, defining their values, and finding community. This lays the groundwork for missiologists, pastors and lay people to engage in a thoughtful, collaborative dialogue on how to bridge the gap between the language of Caanan, representing traditional religious contexts, and the language of Babylon, symbolising the contemporary, diverse and potentially challenging cultures of 21st century workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]