If anything is going to be useful to a missionary, it must be Biblical. And if it is Biblical, then it must have a strong foundation in the Bible. So, the question remains, is contextualization in the Bible. All it takes is a Concordance to prove that this long word does not appear in scripture, but does the proper idea of contextualization appear.
Here, I want to make a point. Most liberal missionaries, start this discussion with the following verses: 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
With this starting point they say that we must become just like others to reach them. But, they conveniently miss a phrase in these verses: “being not without the law to God, but under the law of Christ”. They forget that though somethings in style, form, and presentation can be changed, they are not lawless. If they change the message or methods of the Bible, they are just opening the door to syncretism. They will not have a faith that is relevant to the new person, but a new faith!
With this point made, lets move to the Bible, which is the sole authority for faith and practice. Does the Bible make a case for context or against context? We will bring three witnesses to the stand, and let the Bible speak for these witnesses and their actions.
The first Witness is… Jesus Christ himself.
Jesus Christ being Himself totally God, is not limited to man's culture. He is the embodiment of heavenly values, teaching, and truth. We see in his earthly ministry, that he always placed the truth of the Bible over the culture of man, even Hebrew culture. We see an example of this in Matthew 15:1-6
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Here we see that Christ strongly condemns the braking of scripture to make way for tradition and/or custom. This passage is speaking against syncretism, not context. Does context, have any place in Christ’s ministry?
The scripture does tell us that Christ did put his message into a context. It was put into Jewish world view. Jesus spoke Aramaic, though Greek and Latin, where the world wide languages.
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Jesus Christ, wore clothes, wear prayer shallows, beard and sideburns, all in the manner and custom of the devote Jews. This is how the women at the well in Samaria, knew right away that Jesus Christ was a Jew, and that is why she thought he would condemn her for being a Samaritan. Christ ministry on this world, was spoken in a thoroughly Jewish context. The forms, styles, language, all prove this.
Also another point to consider is that Christ would vary the mode of his presentation of the gospel depending on the audience. This is seen in the Emmaus road trip, witnessing to the Syrophenician women, and witnessing to Nicodemius.
If Christ could allow His eternal, heavenly message to be shaped and influenced by the audience that he was speaking to, and in no way sin, because he is sinless, then there is a way as a missionary that we can do the same thing.
Witness Number Two… Peter
The Bible tells its reader that Peter had a specific ministry. Though he was the first person told by God, that the Gentiles should be reached, and preached to the first totally Gentile audience. He was given the ministry of the gospel to the Jews.
Galatians 2:7-9 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
This passage does not teach that there are two gospels. For as a person sees in Galatians 1:6-9, any other gospel, that is new or different, is not the gospel at all. This passage tells us that these men had different ministries, and that these different ministries reached people with different world views. The gospel was the same, but the way in which they presented and ministered the gospel was different.
Witness Number Three… Paul.
There is probably no great example for the missionary in the Bible, then the life of Paul. The book of Acts is a divinely inspired history book, that gives us great insight to the methods and means of the New Testament churches. In the book of Acts we can see clear examples of how Paul presented the gospel to different groups under different circumstances. Here, I will site a view example of direct quotes from the book of Acts, to see different ways in which Paul presented the gospel.
Example Number 1
Acts 13:14-43 We see the first full message that Paul preaches of the gospel. They are in a synagogue and preaching to a thoroughly Jewish group. Paul starts the presentation giving Jewish history and builds up through David, to present the coming of Messiah. He quotes many quotations from the psalms, which because of Hebrew worship in the synagogues, most Jews knew these passage by heart.
Example Number 2
Acts 17:22-31 We see the second full message of Paul recorded in the book of Acts. The location is Mars Hill. The audience is mostly gentiles, and gentiles that do not have a Jewish world view. Paul starts with their own idols, and speaks of their altar to the Unknown God. He makes us of quotations of their own secular poets. Brings these points to Christ, and their need for him.
Example Number 3
Acts 21:40-22:1-21 Paul hear is addressing the crowd that has beaten him in the temple. He speaks to them in Hebrew, and the Bible puts an emphasis on this point. He starts by telling them that he was a Pharisee, and gives his Hebrew pedigree; then moves to the way that Christ called him unto salvation.
Example Number Four
Acts 26:1-23 Here we have Paul last recorded sermon in the book of Acts. He is preaching to King Agrippa. Though he is a Jew, and would naturally disdain the king’s herodian lineage, he starts by giving him the proper deference that a person would give to a king. Here he speeches Greek, and comports himself in such a way that would be fitting to the case that he is in.
In these four example we can clearly see a Biblical pattern for contextualization. Paul never changed the message. He preach the authority of scripture, and the clear intent of helping the listener understand the propose of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But in each case, the language, starting point, style, and information used, varied as he presented the gospel to a new audience or people group.
I believe that the use of contextualization is very important. It helps to fulfill the very heart of 1 Corinthians 9:2-22. It allows us, under the law of Christ, to become all things to all people, so that we might WIN SOME!
Also I believe that the danger is very real if a missionary does not learn the context of his listeners. The mission field today is filled with this: unconverted, confused, followers of a Western thinking ‘gospel’.
In the next post I will show how conservative Christians have already embraced this idea of context, in minor ways, but how we need to apply it in a more fully in our modern missions.
Showing posts with label understanding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label understanding. Show all posts
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Context- Helps to make Contact!
The longer that I live as a missionary, the more I learn that the context of peoples' understanding is very important, if I want people to understand what I am really saying. I want to give two stories to illustrate this point. The first is personal, and the second, I heard from the late Mr. Keith Kiser, one of my professors in Bible College The story comes from the time that he was a missionary in England.
Story #1
I had only been in Ghana for about four months at the time that this story took place. It was a Sunday morning, and the morning church service had just ended, and the national pastor and I where greeting the people that had come. I was chatting with a group of men from the church, and was trying to make small talk. I had noticed that one of the men had purchased a new pair of slacks. I had learned in the four months that I had lived in Ghana, that people always like a person to notice new things they are wearing, and they appreciate a nice compliment. So with my fledgling culture skills, I launched out.
I turned to the guy, in front of all his friends which numbered about five or six people, and said; "Are those new pants, those are really nice pants!" Now, to a Mid-Westerner from the United States this is a totally normal statement. But, what I did not know was, just because it made sense to me, or meant something to me, did not mean that it meant the same thing to the people I was addressing.
After I made the comment, all the men standing around started laughing at the man! If an African could blush, he was, and he kind of pulled away a bite. Everyone started speeching in Twi, I did not know a word of Twi then. It seemed like they where really making jokes at the expense of my friend and the 'broni', that's me. Finally after about five or six minutes of humor, the guy came around, and started laughing. Then, finally someone told me what was so funny.
See, here in Ghana, we speech a dialect of British English, Patty and I like to call it, "Twing-glish". Anyway, here men do not wear pants, they wear trousers. Pants are your undergarments. Basically, I had walked up to a group of young men, put my arm on one of their shoulders and said, "Our those new underwear, they are really nice underwear!". This was one of my first lessons in contextualization.
Story #2
Keith Kiser, was a missionary and fill-in pastor in England for a few years. He related this funny story to us in one of our Bible classes. He was in his church office, doing some work and arranging some minor things around the church. He had only been in England for a short time. While in the office, his head deacon called him on the telephone. After greeting each other, the deacon asked Mr. Kiser, if he was free to talk, to which he responded, "I am free, I am just peddling around the office!" The line went quiet for a second. Then the man said, "Pastor, what was that?" To which Mr. Kiser said, "I said I am free, I am just peddling around the office!" Then he heard a laugh through the receiver. Then the man explained that in England, when someone says 'peddling", it means that they are going to the bathroom. So, after a good laugh together, they talked for a while, and then the deacon said this, "Preacher, if y' need anythin'. just give me a tinkel on the fone." Mr. Kiser burst out laughing and said, "If I cannot piddle in my office, you cannot tinkel on the phone."
These are just two of meaning stories I can tell. I have heard these stories from missionaries in Ireland, from South Africans that have visited Ghana, even country people visiting urban area in America. All these stories just illustrate the fact, that context is very important to proper understanding. Context should become very important to a missionary, if he want his message to mean to the people, what it means to him.
The point of this post, is to introduce the importance of proper context in missions. I hope to write a short series on contextualization. Though the term is long, the definition is not complex. Here is a simple definition:
Contextualization can be thought of as the attempt to communicate the message of the person, works, and will of God in a way that is faithful to God's revelation, especially as it is put forth in the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and that is meaningful to respondents in their respective cultural and existential contexts.-David. J. Hesselgrave
Basically put, making the gospel make sense, to a person, even though their culture and thinking is very different from the Bible and the missionaries' culture. In this pursuit the missionary has not right to change the truths and facts of the Bible, but he needs to know that the starting point, method of communicating, and body language and gestures, that he uses will all have a great affect on the listeners understand, appreciation, and acceptance of his message.
The next few posts, I hope to show the Biblical ground for this thinking, use evidence from our current outreach, and try to give some practical advise about proper contextualization.
Story #1
I had only been in Ghana for about four months at the time that this story took place. It was a Sunday morning, and the morning church service had just ended, and the national pastor and I where greeting the people that had come. I was chatting with a group of men from the church, and was trying to make small talk. I had noticed that one of the men had purchased a new pair of slacks. I had learned in the four months that I had lived in Ghana, that people always like a person to notice new things they are wearing, and they appreciate a nice compliment. So with my fledgling culture skills, I launched out.
I turned to the guy, in front of all his friends which numbered about five or six people, and said; "Are those new pants, those are really nice pants!" Now, to a Mid-Westerner from the United States this is a totally normal statement. But, what I did not know was, just because it made sense to me, or meant something to me, did not mean that it meant the same thing to the people I was addressing.
After I made the comment, all the men standing around started laughing at the man! If an African could blush, he was, and he kind of pulled away a bite. Everyone started speeching in Twi, I did not know a word of Twi then. It seemed like they where really making jokes at the expense of my friend and the 'broni', that's me. Finally after about five or six minutes of humor, the guy came around, and started laughing. Then, finally someone told me what was so funny.
See, here in Ghana, we speech a dialect of British English, Patty and I like to call it, "Twing-glish". Anyway, here men do not wear pants, they wear trousers. Pants are your undergarments. Basically, I had walked up to a group of young men, put my arm on one of their shoulders and said, "Our those new underwear, they are really nice underwear!". This was one of my first lessons in contextualization.
Story #2
Keith Kiser, was a missionary and fill-in pastor in England for a few years. He related this funny story to us in one of our Bible classes. He was in his church office, doing some work and arranging some minor things around the church. He had only been in England for a short time. While in the office, his head deacon called him on the telephone. After greeting each other, the deacon asked Mr. Kiser, if he was free to talk, to which he responded, "I am free, I am just peddling around the office!" The line went quiet for a second. Then the man said, "Pastor, what was that?" To which Mr. Kiser said, "I said I am free, I am just peddling around the office!" Then he heard a laugh through the receiver. Then the man explained that in England, when someone says 'peddling", it means that they are going to the bathroom. So, after a good laugh together, they talked for a while, and then the deacon said this, "Preacher, if y' need anythin'. just give me a tinkel on the fone." Mr. Kiser burst out laughing and said, "If I cannot piddle in my office, you cannot tinkel on the phone."
These are just two of meaning stories I can tell. I have heard these stories from missionaries in Ireland, from South Africans that have visited Ghana, even country people visiting urban area in America. All these stories just illustrate the fact, that context is very important to proper understanding. Context should become very important to a missionary, if he want his message to mean to the people, what it means to him.
The point of this post, is to introduce the importance of proper context in missions. I hope to write a short series on contextualization. Though the term is long, the definition is not complex. Here is a simple definition:
Contextualization can be thought of as the attempt to communicate the message of the person, works, and will of God in a way that is faithful to God's revelation, especially as it is put forth in the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and that is meaningful to respondents in their respective cultural and existential contexts.-David. J. Hesselgrave
Basically put, making the gospel make sense, to a person, even though their culture and thinking is very different from the Bible and the missionaries' culture. In this pursuit the missionary has not right to change the truths and facts of the Bible, but he needs to know that the starting point, method of communicating, and body language and gestures, that he uses will all have a great affect on the listeners understand, appreciation, and acceptance of his message.
The next few posts, I hope to show the Biblical ground for this thinking, use evidence from our current outreach, and try to give some practical advise about proper contextualization.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Beginning of it all...
How does a thing really begin? Is it the moment that the light-blub lights up and you understand, or is it a million things before that that add together and bring you to that point?
Well, I remember this light blub and a few of the things that caused it. I had been in Ghana for about nine months. I wanted to help people see their need of Christ, and I had been trying to accomplish this. Our group went out soul-winning in our community, and we split up in our groups. My wife joined me and Alex (one of the boys from our first church), and we went out door-to-door. After a while, we came to a door, and met a women named Doris. We asked if we could take some time and talk about the gospel. She ushered us right in and seemed to eat up my words. I took the next hour and a half in English and Twi and laid the simple foundation of the gospel, answering questions, and praying. At the end we asked her if she would like to pray and receive Christ as her Saviour. She said that she would. We prayed with her and gave her a few verses of encouragement. I left thinking, "Finally, I have spoken to someone and they really understood!"
The next week, we followed her up, but to my surprise when we asked her what she had done the previous week, she said, " I prayed with you." We asked her what can save her and take her to Heaven, to which she told us, "Going to church, being baptized, and asking for forgiveness!" Let's just say that I was a little crest-fallen. We explained salvation again, and she even offered to pray again, but there was no real understanding.
It was one of those times you either quit, make excuses, or make a resolution. Well, I told God I had to know what I was missing. I did not want to live a lie.
So I made a resolution... so began the journey.
Well, I remember this light blub and a few of the things that caused it. I had been in Ghana for about nine months. I wanted to help people see their need of Christ, and I had been trying to accomplish this. Our group went out soul-winning in our community, and we split up in our groups. My wife joined me and Alex (one of the boys from our first church), and we went out door-to-door. After a while, we came to a door, and met a women named Doris. We asked if we could take some time and talk about the gospel. She ushered us right in and seemed to eat up my words. I took the next hour and a half in English and Twi and laid the simple foundation of the gospel, answering questions, and praying. At the end we asked her if she would like to pray and receive Christ as her Saviour. She said that she would. We prayed with her and gave her a few verses of encouragement. I left thinking, "Finally, I have spoken to someone and they really understood!"
The next week, we followed her up, but to my surprise when we asked her what she had done the previous week, she said, " I prayed with you." We asked her what can save her and take her to Heaven, to which she told us, "Going to church, being baptized, and asking for forgiveness!" Let's just say that I was a little crest-fallen. We explained salvation again, and she even offered to pray again, but there was no real understanding.
It was one of those times you either quit, make excuses, or make a resolution. Well, I told God I had to know what I was missing. I did not want to live a lie.
So I made a resolution... so began the journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)