Is the book Acts about the Holy Spirit? The apostles? Spiritual gifts? Or the interaction with cultures? What is the purpose of the church? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in a pluralistic society? How do we build a bridge to communicate the gospel and then confront the new culture with the gospel message? Is there a "pure" gospel? What does it mean when every theology is a contextual theology?

Join Travis as he continues his discussion with Dean Flemming, as they discuss the need to contextualize the gospel so that our audience understands it, and is challenged by it.

Today's guest is Dr. Dean Flemming. Dean Flemming (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen) is an award-winning author, Bible teacher, and seminar speaker. He is Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Mission at MidAmerica Nazarene University and teaches New Testament at the Missional Training Center in Phoenix, AZ. He served for 24 years as a theological educator in the Philippines and Germany and has taught in many global settings.

Dean is the author of six books, including Contextualization in the New Testament, which won a Christianity Today book award, and a commentary on Philippians that received the Smith-Wynkoop book award. He writes especially on the connection between the New Testament and mission.

An ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, Dean has pastored churches in Ohio and Japan. He is active in his local church, which includes teaching an adult Bible class.

Today, he joins Apollos Watered to discuss his book, Contextualization in the New Testament, and how the early church contextualized the message of Jesus to its audience and we must do the same thing as well.

This conversation will help you to identify what contextualization is, why and how it was done in the early church, and how it might help you communicate the Gospel effectively today to those in your world.

Learn more about Dean Flemming.

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Salem al-Okaly, translated by Khaled Mattawa: "To the Here and Now"