When Campus Crusade for Christ staff member Angie Bring advertised for a book club to meet at her apartment complex, she wanted to tap into the growing secular interest in spiritual things. The young women who signed up for the club were not Christians, but eagerly explored spiritual rabbit trails uncovered by their first book, The Red Tent, a best seller by Anita Diamant, that mostly fictionally accounts the patriarch Jacob and his family.

"The transitions to today's spiritual issues came naturally," says Angie. So easy, in fact, that the group unanimously chose to take on the Left Behind series next. They are, in effect, asking questions like, "What is really true?"

It is the same question that people have asked since Jesus first claimed, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Our unbelieving friends, like Angie's book-club members, are no different from those first-century seekers.

Their eager questions belie the conventional wisdom that people today resist Christianity, supposedly uninterested in things of the Spirit. The truth is, most unbelievers today are very interested in spirituality. Frequently, they just buck against caricatures of the Christian faith or perceived shortcomings of what is often referred to as "organized religion." Have they met Jesus? And have they honestly explored their need for Him?

Pop culture demonstrates a fascination with spirituality, sending little sorties—music, books, movies, art and television—out to investigate our condition. Wrong or right conclusions aside, culture can open doors for spiritual conversation that might normally remain sealed. It can expose common ground between believers and those who do not yet know Jesus.

Jesus engaged everyone on the common ground of their own culture as He made Himself known and offered Himself to the masses. He did this on their own turf, using parables and analogies to which they could relate. Jesus knew the dynamics of the society as only a partaker of the culture could.

Christ told stories that resonated with the audience, and He often transformed whatever He found at hand into a prop—a blind man, a coin, a child or a Pharisee. We need a similar kind of discernment for our own culture, so that we can turn a current event, best-selling novel, recent movie, or work of art into our prop. Like Christ, we want to point people to their need for a Savior.

In Spain, Campus Crusade staff member John O'Neal developed an evangelistic outreach around paintings by the masters. For example, he passed out a color photocopy of Rembrandt's Supper at Emmaus to a small group of non-Christians. Together they read the scriptural account from Luke on which the artist based his piece, and then they discussed it. The participants knew John's intention was to address spiritual concepts through art; we don't have to trick anyone into talking about spiritual things. John asked questions like:

"What did you like most about the painting?"

"What did you like least about it?"

"Is there anything you don't understand?"

"What have you learned about God?"

"What personal application can you make?"

The questions served as conversation starters and allowed John to explore deeper truths. At each discussion the conversation rolled quickly past an artistic critique and toward introspective doubts and theological questions. By the end of the hour, the person of Jesus was much clearer to the members of the group than before.

Even a cursory look at our world yields parallels to biblical themes of forgiveness, sacrifice, sin and redemption. Many best-selling novels offer similar bridges. Peace Like a River by Lief Enger—just the title can spark conversation about God's peace—portrays the life of a boy who experiences miracles, apparently brought about in response to his father's faith and love. This best-selling read offers a veritable buffet line of conversation starters and gets us onto someone else's turf.

The title cut from My Own Prison by the chart-topping rock band Creed begins:

"A court is in session, a verdict is in.

No appeal on the docket today,

Just my own sin."

What thinking person has not wondered about the verdict they might face for their wrongdoings?

In last year's blockbuster movie Signs, Mel Gibson plays a former clergyman whose faith is shaken by the tragic loss of his wife. Toward the end of the film, he calls out to God to save his son. The movie begs the question: Can we trust God?

The beauty of using these or similar elements from our culture lies in the fact that the artists, writers and actors have already asked the pertinent questions for us. We don't have to search for or manufacture bridges to get conversations on task. All we need to do is to recognize the doors when they open, listen closely to our friends, and show them Jesus with our words and our lives.

Wisdom reminds us not to see or read everything out there; you don't have to jump in the sewer to know that it smells. But media, events and experiences that resonate with the world can often be used as a springboard for evangelism. Are we looking? Clearly, Jesus did not live in a vacuum, and neither can we.

With a little creativity and foresight, we can be ready for the next cultural flash and use its light to illuminate the folly of rejecting Christ, to illuminate the truth of the gospel. Look for cultural and media events that explore the questions, "Who am I? Why am I here? What does it mean?" A life without Christ ends in hopelessness, never providing satisfying answers to these questions. And so they are asked again and again. We will never run short of opportunities to share experiences with others on their turf.

And we have to relate to others on their own turf, otherwise we might not see our unbelieving friends question their positions and belief systems. "One good question," says Tim Downs, Campus Crusade author and speaker, "is worth a dozen mediocre answers."

The first question we should inspire an unbeliever to ask is, "What if?"