Evangelists in previous generations were asking questions such as, “Where will you go when you die?” In those previous generations, the majority of Americans had a basic awareness of a higher authority and a basic understanding of the concepts of judgment and divine forgiveness. Today, such a question falls flat because Americans aren’t asking, “Where will I go when I die?” but “How can I be happy?”, “Who or what am I?”, and “Where can I belong?”
The West no longer holds a guilt-centric worldview. The public sphere shares little to no standard of truth or morality. Instead, we've shifted to a predominantly shame-centric worldview that is concerned with identity, belonging, and acceptance. In previous generations, the great fear was to be wrong, but now the great fear is to be shamed and canceled.
Because the concerns of those around us have changed, our approach to proclaiming the gospel should, too. It is the same gospel, but we see a great need for different points of emphasis to win people to Christ in this age of shame.