Dear Friends in Christ, I mentioned in my message last week Dr. E. Stanley Jones. Dr. Jones (1884-1973) was a Methodist missionary to India. He spent much time with Gandhi and the Nehru family. Gandhi challenged Jones and other Christian missionaries to be deeply respectful of the Dr. Davis Chappell mindset and strengths of the Indian character. Dr. Jones wrote a book called "The Christ of the Indian Road." It sold more than a million copies worldwide after its publication (in 1925). The book details his effort to contextualize Christianity to India. I was privileged to meet Dr. Jones when I was 11 years old. I find myself these days re-reading some of his works, and others like Lesslie Newbigin ("The Gospel in a Pluralist Society"). Reclaiming the mission of the Gospel demands the difficult work of contextualization. I had the privilege of teaching a seminar on "Missional Preaching" last week at Scarritt-Bennett for a group of clergy from the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences. As we began, I reminded them that preaching does not begin with our mouths, but with our ears. Before we speak, we must listen. Listen to the Scriptures. Listen to God's Spirit. And listen to the communal context. It's important for disciples to be theologians, but it is also necessary to be cultural anthropologists; to be students of culture. The church is a counter-cultural movement, but it isn't anti-cultural. That's why it's important to go to the Frist Center, to