Topic: CONTEXTUALIZING MISSION AMONG PEOPLE

GROUPSPresented at the ECD Youth Congress and

University Student Retreat Convention: Dec. 21-28, 2014-UEAB-By Pr. S. Lumwe-EKUC OAM

Definition• Contextualization from the word “context”• Doing mission in a particular context• Recognizing and appreciating that each

mission context has gems of truth to build on• Its about building bridges of understanding

when doing mission• But why?

Definition of Cross-Cultural and Mission

• culture is an integrated systems of ideas, feelings, and values and their associated patterns of behavior and products shared by a group of people who organize and regulate what they think, feel, and do.” (Paul Hiebert, 1985, 30)

• Culture is to a group as personality is to a person.

Components of culture• culture is a composition of; 1. “concepts by which people carve up their

worlds,2. beliefs by which they organize these

concepts into schemes, and 3. values by which they set their goals and

judge their actions.”[1]

• With this understanding, culture defines why people do what they do.

• Charles Kraft gives an illustration of the word culture by likening it “…to a river, with a surface level and a deep level.”[1] He further suggests that the surface level of a given culture is a reflection of what is beneath it. Charles H. Kraft,

• To him the deeper level of a culture stands for, ‘worldview,’ that is, ‘…the culturally structured assumptions, values, and commitments/allegiance underlying a people’s perception of reality and their response to those perceptions.”[2]

• Hence, worldview is the underpinning component of any given community for it forms the general opinion of a particular people group.

Culture is dynamic

• John Mbiti defines culture as “…a pattern of human life generated by man’s response to his environment. This pattern is not static; it is always in a process of renewal, change, decay, interaction and modification.

What should be our approach in mission?

• Believe • Behave• Belong or vis versa

Facts about Mission

• Mission is people driven but “not projects to be accomplished through human engineering.

• Mission is about principles, not pragmatic answers

• Mission deals with both universal and particular (local)

• Mission is a process, not a task to complete.”[1] In other words it has no definite approach and timeline for it is more than disseminating the intellectual knowledge to the receptor. To explain their point, they further argue that mission [1]Paul G. Hiebert, R. Daniel Shaw and T. Tienou, Understanding.

Go Make Disciples Teach them

All one process

What is mission then?

• … is calling people to faith, discipling them, organizing them into living congregations, encouraging them to do theological reflection in their context, and sharing with them the vision of God’s mission to the world.

• cross-cultural mission may be defined as an attempt to communicate the gospel in word and deed to establish the church in ways that make sense to people within their local cultural context by taking into consideration the worldview of the community.

• The main focus of cross-cultural mission is to present Christianity in such a way that it meets people’s heart felt-needs within their worldview allowing them to follow Christ in their own cultural context.[David J. Bosch]

The Culture Onion

Implications of the Culture Concept for Ministry

Culture is a way of life that pervades everythingCulture is a holistic system Culture provides meaning and identity Culture makes communication possible People feel comfortable with their own cultureCulture is deeply ingrained in what feels normal to us

A Learning Story

Think about the Story of The Monkey

What was the monkey’s motivation?How would you described the monkey as he went out on a precarious limb to “help” the fish? Why did the monkey help the fish by taking it out of the water?

Think about the Story of The Monkey (cont.)

What did the monkey assume about fish culture? How do you think the fish felt about the help it received?What advice would you give the monkey for further situations where he would like to help?

Stereotypes

People groups Why Cross-Cultural Mission

TYPES OF UN-REACHED PEOPLE GROUPS

Religious groups: Muslims, Hindu, Buddhists, Traditionalists

Social Groups: Street families, the deaf, the blind, commercial sex workers, the Executives,

Ethnical groups: Maasai, Samburu,Turkana, Njems, Boni, Duruma e.t.c

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting & growth

There are at least eleven types of sociologically defined people groups

1.Socio-linguistic groups Congolese, Sudanese, 2. Socio-geographical groups;

Nigerians, Ghanaians,

3. Socio-political groups–Somali refugees in Eastleigh–Sundanese–Oromos

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting & growth

4. Socio-religious Groups–Muslims –Hindu–African Tradition Religions/Ethnic

religion–Other Christian Denominations

5. Socio-educational Groups–Universities students–College students–High school students

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting & growth

6. Socio-economic groups—Lower income –Street family members–Slum dwellers –Boda Boda

7. Socio-economic groups—the elites–Middle class in –Executive members of the

Society-CEOs’, MPs,

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting & growth

8. Socio-medical groups–AIDS patients –Deaf –Blind –Lepers –Physically challenged

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting & growth

9. Socio-deviant groups–Drug addicts –Commercial Sex workers–Prisoners/Inmates

10. Socio-occupational groups–Doctors–Nurses –Military personnel –Lawyers–Teachers–Business persons e.t.c.

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting & growth

11. Socio Parental groups•Young Parents •Windowed•Older Parents•Middle aged parents•Single parents

Understanding people groups in each city for focused church planting &

growth• Each of these groups needs a

unique strategy• Each of these groups have

very different needs that provide points of contact for ministry

• A people group approach provides all types of ministry possibilities that will allow for maximum involvement

Gospel Workers…

• God's workmen must labor to be many-sided men; that is, to have a breadth of character, not to be one-idea men, stereotyped in one manner of working, getting into a groove,

• and unable to see and sense that their words and their advocacy of truth must vary with the class of people they are among, and the circumstances that they have to meet. --Letter 12, 1887. {Ev 106.1}

• Many efforts, though made at great expense, have been in a large measure unsuccessful because they do not meet the wants of the time or the

• place…God would have us realize constantly that those around us are the purchase of the blood of Christ, and that it depends very much upon our deportment and manner of labor whether these souls are saved. [Gospel Workers, 297-298].

Ministry objectives

Christ method approach in ministry was wholistic; that is, focusing all aspects of life•Social•Emotional•Psychological•Physical •Spiritual

Qualification for the ministry members

• Must be loving• Must be caring• Must be humble and polite• Must be an encourager• Must be prayerful• Passion for soul winning• Must be a woman/man of faith• Demonstrate Christ like character• Keep confidential information• Hospitality• Must be patient

Why Cross-Cultural Mission

1. It is important for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

“Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;”

2. It is effective for communicating the gospel. e.g Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

3. Cross cultural mission must be used for self reliance.

4. Culture would be a viable vehicle in disseminating the gospel truth.

Biblical-Theological Perspective

1. The inheritance-Abraham’s Experience (Gen:12; 15;16;17;21;25)

2. The miracle of incarnation3. The Bible in human expressions4. Paul’s mission strategy

E. G. White Guidelines on Cross-Cultural Mission

• As field after field is entered, new methods and new plans will spring from new circumstances. New thought will come with the new workers who give themselves to the work. As they seek the Lord for help, He will communicate with them. They will receive plans devised by the Lord Himself [Gospel Workers, 297-298].

• Many efforts, though made at great expense, have been in a large measure unsuccessful because they do not meet the wants of the time or the place…God would have us realize constantly that those around us are the purchase of the blood of Christ, and that it depends very much upon our deportment and manner of labor whether these souls are saved. [Gospel Workers, 297-298].

• “Church organization is not to prescribe the exact way in which we should work [Testimonies, vol. 6, 116]

Anthropological Perspectives

• Anthropology- Two Greek words: Anthropos-Man

logos-word (study) =Study of man-

• One of the disciplines in behavioral science subjects

• “…we need to understand the people and their thinking to translate the gospel into their thought patterns, we need also to understand the scriptures within their cultural context, so that we can translate them into the local culture without losing their divine message.” Hiebert

• sharing the gospel is more than just converting people to the truth.

Implications for mission

• The early Missionaries• Agents of the gospel• They packaged the gospel in

their on cultural mind sets

• Regarded African culture as evil and devilish. They demonized most of the existing cultural practices by referring to them as evil.

• Encouraged them to abandon their traditional practices.

• This made the Africans embrace Christianity artificially for it did not address their heartfelt needs which were embedded in their traditional beliefs and practices.

• This is understood since the Africans continued with their traditional practices in secrecy. The effect of this is that, the new converts found it difficult to fit into the foreign culture resulting to some level of syncretism.

Principles of Cross-Cultural Mission

• Be culturally Sensitivity• Use of Local Language• Be a good listener• Be a good leaner • Respect the local church• Identify Biblical analogies

Mission in focus

• In every religion there are practices (forms) which express the underlining beliefs (meanings)

• Most of these beliefs are the expression of their allegiance to a being higher than them

• In the contextualization process one has to identify the forms and their attached meanings in order to establish an objective perception of the practice

For Instance

• Muslims express their belief to a deity called Allah (God). Everything they do is in connection to their obedience to Allah. Their main concern is the day of Judgment It is only Allah who knows the fate of every body; they use the word Inshaallah to express this: So a Muslim will pray five times a day, keep himself clear all the time, fast in the month of Ramadhan, pay Zakat, go for Hijja in the context of seeking God’s favors

Islam

• Islamic faith is based on beliefs and practices• Practices1.Shahada2.Sawum3.Salat4.Hijja5.Zakat

Beliefs

1. Allah2. Books3. Angels4. Prophets5. Day of Judgment

Salat rituals-blution

• Maida (5):6; 4:43, 2222• Wudhu• Ghusl• Tayammum

Women In Islam• Equality-49:13, 4:1, 3:195• Purity-2:222• Hell and paradise• Religious duty• Marriage and Divorce-4:3-10• Inheritance

• These are Buddha Eyes (also known as Wisdom Eyes), and they look out in the four directions to symbolize the omniscience (all-seeing) of Buddha.

http://www.bellaterreno.com/art/a_mindwork/eyes_buddha.aspx

• The small dot between the eyes represents the third eye, a symbol of spiritual awakening. The curly mark between the eyes (where the nose should be) is the Sanskrit numeral one, which symbolizes the unity of all things. The mark also represents the one way to reach enlightenment—through the Buddha's teachings.

BODHI LEAVES

• The Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting under a banyan tree, also known as the bo, pipal, or peepul tree (Latin name: ficus religiosa). That tree was then called a “bodhi tree” (“bodhi” means “awake”), in honor of the Buddha’s liberation, and the leaves of that tree are called “bodhi leaves.”

Noble Truths

• In his first sermon, the Buddha described the Four Noble Truths as:

1.All existence is suffering. 2.The cause of suffering is greed and ignorance. 3.The end of suffering is a state free from greed

and ignorance. 4.The way to end suffering is to follow the

Middle Way of the Noble Eightfold Path.

dharmachakra

• The dharmachakra is a Buddhist emblem of Hindu origin. It resembles a wagon wheel with eight spokes, each representing one of the eight tenets of Buddhist belief. It is drawn from an Indian symbol, but instead of representing Samsara, or endless rebirth, it symbolizes overcoming obstacles.

• Each spoke of the Dharma wheel corresponds to one element of the Noble Eightfold Path:

1.Right Understanding: Comprehending the Law of Cause and Effect.

2.Right Thought: A mind free from greed, anger and ignorance.

3.Right Speech: Speech free from deceit, malice, and idle chatter.

4.Right Action: No killing, stealing, or adultery.

5. Right Livelihood: No occupation, which causes harm.

6. Right Diligence: Sincerely striving to do one’s best.

7. Right Mindfulness: Maintaining constant awareness.

8. Like an ever-turning wheel, these teachings are timeless and will continue to benefit beings on into the future.

• LOTUS (PADMA): The lotus flower was frequently used by the Buddha as an example in his teaching to represent our true nature, which symbolically grows out of the mud of the world and toward the light and purity of enlightenment

http://www.bellaterreno.com/art/a_religion/buddhism/buddhism_symbol.aspx

• KUAN YIN: "She who hears the cries of the world,” is a bodhisattva who is much beloved throughout Asia as well as among Western Buddhists, especially women.

http://www.bellaterreno.com/art/a_religion/hindu/hinduism_dharmawheel.aspx

• Right Meditation: Calming the mind to help and see the truth.

• Like an ever-turning wheel, these teachings are timeless and will continue to benefit beings on into the future.

What are Buddhist beliefs?https://www.youngscot.org/info/33-what-is-buddhism

• Buddhism is based on the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni who lived in Northern India, which is now present-day Nepal, about 2500 years ago.

• Buddhists believe that the essence of Buddha is within each of us and we can all attain our Buddhahood through sincere practice of the eight-fold path,

• which includes virtuous conduct such as compassion and generosity, meditation and the cultivation of wisdom.

• In the Buddhist religion there is no idea of a mighty being or God and there are no ideas of heaven or a hell.

• Followers of Buddhism follow the teachings of Buddha because they wish to reach a state of enlightenment just like Buddha did 2,500 years ago.

• This state will help them reach a kind of freedom, fulfil their wisdom and attain happiness.

• Karma means that everything people do has a consequence and that people’s lives are therefore conditioned by our own past actions. If we do bad then bad will be done to us.

• Many Buddhists are believers in spiritual rebirth but this is understood as a causal connection between lives rather than a soul literally coming back as something else.

AFFRICAN TADITIONAL RELIGION (S)

• Mbiti states that an African is notoriously religious

• There is a general knowledge about God among the African society

• Different names of God

• Akamba they use the name Mumbi meaning Creator, Fashioner, Maker, Moulder, Potter; The Abaluya call Him Nyasaye, Wele or Were which means Creator; The Akan of Ghana call Him Borebore to mean Excavator, Creator, Originator, Inventor, Carver, Architect and Onyame,

• The Creator or Supreme Being; Banyarwanda have several names of God as Creator such as Imana and Nyiribiremwa (Creator) Muremyiwabyose (Craetor of all things),

The Concept of God in Hinduism

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others

"Monotheism"

• is defined by the Encyclopædia Britannica as belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God.[1] The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church gives a more restricted definition: "belief in one personal and transcendent God", as opposed to polytheism and pantheism.[2] A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform monotheism which, while recognising many distinct gods, postulate some underlying unity

panentheism,

• Panentheism (meaning "all-in-God", from the Ancient Greek πᾶν pân ("all"), ἐν en ("in") and Θεός Theós ("God")) is a belief system which posits that the divine – whether as a single God, number of gods, or other form of "cosmic animating force"[1] – interpenetrates every part of the universe and extends, timelessly (and, presumably, spacelessly) beyond it. Unlike pantheism, which holds that the divine and the universe are identical,[2] panentheism maintains a distinction between the divine and non-divine and the significance of both.[3]

polytheism

• "Polytheism" refers to the worship of or belief in multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. In most religions which accept polytheism, the different gods are representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles, and can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or emanations of a creator God or transcendental absolute principle (monistic theologies), which manifests immanently in nature (panentheistic and pantheistic theologies)

Pandeism

• Pandeism (or pan-deism) is a theological doctrine which combines aspects of pantheism and deism.[1] It holds that the creator deity became the universe and ceased to exist as a separate and conscious entity

Monism

• Monism is the philosophical view that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance.[1] The wide definition states that all existing things go back to a source which is distinct from them (e.g. in Neoplatonism everything is derived from The One).[2] A commonly-used, restricted definition of monism asserts the presence of a unifying substance or essence.

Atheism

• Atheism (Sanskrit: नि�री�श्वरीवा�द, nir-īśvara-vāda, lit. "statement of no Lord", "doctrine of godlessness") or disbelief in God or gods has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many of the orthodox and heterodox streams of Hindu philosophies.[1] Generally, atheism is valid in Hinduism, but some schools view the path of an atheist to be difficult to follow in matters of spirituality.[2]

African Traditional Religion: Beliefs and Practices

• Belief in reincarnation, witchcraft, evil• spirits, the protective power of sacrifices

to spirits or ancestors, juju or shrines,• “evil eye” or curses, and the protective

power of spiritual people as well as possession of traditional African sacred objects

• participation in traditional• ceremonies to honor ancestors,

participation in traditional puberty rituals and

• use of religious healers.

God’s relationship with other Spirit Beings

• According to Mbiti the African Traditional Religion (ATR) cosmogony is compressed of the living, the living dead, the ancestors, ghost spirits and the Supreme God. There is an existing interaction among these entities (Mbiti 1991, 1999, 2012).

• In ATR God’s concept of transcendence should be balanced with that of His immanence for both of them are “paradoxically complementary” (Mbiti 1999, 32; Turaki 2006)

• Ancestral veneration: From birth to death an African person is closely connected to the world of the living dead

Rites of passage-

• Birth: Rituals of birth, naming of a child, protection measures

• Initiation• Marriage• Death

Cross-Cultural Mission and the Issue on Syncretism

• Definition of Syncretism

“syncretism.”It is based on a Greek compound root (sunretismos; verb form= sunkretizo). That, the first part of the compound (suy or sun) means “with” or “together.”

• While the latter part (kretismos) means “to act like a Cretan.”

• Edward C. Pentecost defines it as “the amalgamation of content or practice that is unacceptable.”

• As the Church enters more non-Christian areas, the question of syncretism—the blending of religious truth and error—is a constant challenge and threat. It affects all parts of the world and must be taken seriously as we explore the practice of contextualization. June/July 2003

• This topic is highlighted by the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the great controversy between good and evil which explains Satan’s mode of operation-

• —distorting and compromising truth, not by denying it, but by mixing truth and error, thus robbing the gospel of its true impact and power. In this context of danger and potential distortion, critical contextualization is indispensable.[1]

•[1]General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist church (Washington, DC), “Guidelines for Engaging in Global Mission,” Voted by the General Conference Administrative Committee,

Contextualization and Syncretism

• Poor contextualization• Under-contextualization• Over-contextualization• Critical contextualization

Poor contextualization

• This is when the missionary does a selective contextualization of the culture while at the same time leaving room to introduce his/her syncretistic cultural baggage

Under contextualization

• Paul Hiebert refers to this issue as ‘denial of the old’; where the cultural values, beliefs and practices of the community are rejected as a whole as they are regarded to be evil and pagan, hence unacceptable for Christianity

Over contextualization

• Over contextualization is the opposite of under-contextualization. While the latter stands for denial of the old customs, the former stands for the acceptance of the old customs wholesale claiming that all are good. It overlooks the fact that there is no human culture which is pure because all are marred by sin

Critical Contextualization

• Critical contextualization is the middle ground of both under and over contextualization. Hiebert identifies a four step process that could help in establishing a well-balanced contextualization of the Bible and culture.

• Sound contextualization means translating and adapting the communication and ministry of the gospel to a particular culture without compromising the essence and particulars of the gospel itself…it adapts and connects to the culture.

• Yet at the same time challenges and confronts it. If we fail to adapt to the culture or if we fail to challenge the culture-if we under or over contextualize-out ministry will be unfruitful because we have failed to contextualize well (Timothy Keller, 2012, 89)

Under-Contextualization(syncretism)

Over-Contextualization(syncretism)

Healthy Contextualization

A Proposed Three-Part Continuum

The “Ideal”

Low High

Under-Contextualization(syncretism)

Over-Contextualization(syncretism)

Healthy Contextualization

Biblical Examples of Syncretismand Contextualization

The “Ideal”

Low High

Simon the Magician

Balaam

High Places

Baal Worship in Israel

Nicolaitans

Colossian Heresy

The Incarnation

1 Corinthians 9

Daniel 2 and 7

Logos

Hekate and Christ

The Seven Churches

Pharisees

Zealots

The “weak” of Rom 14

CRITICAL CONTEXTUALIZATION

(a)…an individual or church must recognize the need to deal biblically with all areas of life.

(b) “…local church leaders and the missionary must lead the congregation in uncritically gathering and analyzing the traditional customs associated with the question at hand.[1]

(c) …the pastor or missionary should lead the church in a Bible study related to the question under consideration.[2]

(d) … the congregation to evaluate critically their own past custom in the light of their new biblical understandings and to make a decision regarding their use.[3]

•

• Heibert uses the word “uncritically” is used here to mean that the converts should analysis their traditional practices with a view to understand the old ways without evaluating them so as to avoid any criticism. According to him, any criticism made at this stage to the people group may make the indigenous feel afraid to talk about them, hence hiding them from the missionary resulting to syncretism. [1]Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries, 186.

• . According to Hiebert, this is a crucial step for it is where the indigenous is expected to grasp the correct meaning of the bible teaching. Hence, the bible teachers need to present truth of the bible by involving them so that they (indigenous) can be able to interpret the bible in their on context. This will foster a positive spiritual growth. [2]Ibid., 187

• Because uncritical contextualization is as dangerous as non-contextualization, it is not to be done at a distance, but within the specific cultural situation.

• Contextualization is a process that should involve world Church leaders, theologians, missiologists, local people, and ministers. These individuals should have a clear understanding of the core elements of the biblical worldview in order to be able to distinguish between truth and error.

• The examination of the specific cultural element would necessitate an especially careful analysis by cultural insiders of the significance of the particular cultural element in question.

• The examination of all Scriptures state about the issue or related issues is indispensable. The implications of scriptural teachings and principles should be carefully thought through and factored into proposed strategies.

• In the context of reflection and prayer, scriptural insights are normative and must be applied to the specific cultural element in question. The analysis could lead to one of the following results:

1) The particular cultural element is accepted, because it is compatible with scriptural principles;

2) The particular cultural element is modified to make it compatible with Christian principles;

3) The particular cultural element is rejected, because it contradicts the principles of Scripture.

• The particular cultural element that was accepted or modified is carefully implemented.

• After a period of trial it may be necessary to evaluate the decision made and determined whether it should be discontinued, modified, or retained.[1]

• In conclusion the document states that In the end, all true contextualization must be subject to biblical truth and bear results for God’s kingdom.

• The unity of the global Church requires regular exposure to each other, each other’s culture, and each other’s insights that “together with all the saints we may grasp the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love.”—Eph 3:18.[2]

[1]“Guidelines for Engaging in Global Mission,”