I finally got around to watching Chris Pratt’s “Generation Award” acceptance speech at the recent MTV Video and TV Awards.  It’s one of those nice bits of pop culture that float to the top every now and then that can remind us not only that there are Christians out there in fields beyond us, but also that articulating the Gospel takes on different forms in different contexts.  Consider:

It’s a good mixture of PG-potty humor and some kind of real wisdom.  And it’s a nice build towards something of significance.  Sure, the odd cheering for difficult truths is interesting, but I think the overall presentation is worth it.  It’s almost a “slow build” from the belief in a soul to the imperfect soul’s need for grace.  And that’s what makes it an interesting case for a kind of “evangelism” we too often forget: working from the ground floor to build something that points higher.  Everything, of course, is evangelism in one way or another.  And the way we articulate it might change from moment to moment, from culture to culture, but that kernel of Truth and its first-fruit implications (saying “you’re not perfect” is more than just letting possible perfectionists in a perfectionistic culture off the hook) are vital if we as Christians are hoping to “play the long game” in a culture that’s oversimplifying everything.