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AFMI > |
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2010-07-17 |
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| Facilitating Insider Movements Challenges facing the Outsider |
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| Phil Emmaus |
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Introduction
Each one of us is an insider of our own culture and worldview. Our identity and our values are bound up within them. Culture and worldview also affect the way in which we view our faith. If we are raised in the church, we can simply accept everything unconsciously, without thinking about it.
• Christians acquire a sub-culture and many of them find it difficult to relate to non-Christians even in their own culture.
• The more committed Christians then engage in evangelism, but many do so out of their church paradigm and find it difficult to enter the worldview of the non-Christian.
• Out of this group, a number of believers enter into Missions. However, many are unaware that they carry a package of their faith, culture and worldview along with them.
The result is that many missionaries expect the people they reach to integrate to the Christian package they bring. In essence:
• They extract these converts, expecting them to give up most of their own culture and worldview when they become Christians. In order to become insiders of the Christian faith, they must become outsiders to their own culture.
• They preach a truncated gospel which concentrates on saving only the individual, but does not effect transformation of a culture and worldview. It does not initiate a movement.
• A more post-modern phenomenon even in the evangelical world seems to want to effect transformation, and redress the stark emphasis of the past upon “word” rather than “deed”. However, this movement seems to concentrate so much upon the physical needs of peoples, societies and even the globe that there is again a truncation of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We need to remember that while we are insiders of our own culture, that we are outsiders to the people to whom God has called us. We will never become insiders. However, we can, under God, become facilitators of insider movements. What are some of the challenges facing us as facilitators on the outside?
Outsider facilitators critique their own culture
It is wonderful that we have an Asian Frontier Mission Initiative which seeks to encourage and initiate Asian frontier mission movements. There are wonderful advantages in Asian followers of Jesus reaching other Asian peoples who have not yet turned to Christ. There are similarities in worldview, e.g. the focus on relationships, on the community rather than the individual, being more holistic than analytical in thinking, shame more than guilt orientatedness, and so on.
However, while there are great similarities, there are also rich diversities in Asian culture. There are subtle – and not so subtle – distinctives between Asian cultures, which if ignored can prove to be obstacles to the Gospel. Vinoth Ramachandra disagrees with both western and Asian writes who see “peoples as disparate in historical background and general outlook as the Thais and Singaporeans all come under an all-embracing ‘East Asian culture’”.1
Furthermore, Ramachandra notes that leaders such as Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohammad and Deng Xiao Ping all spoke of the superiority of ‘Asian values’. However, he cautions against the uncritical acceptance of what he calls ‘self-appointed spokesmen for the peoples of Asia.2
Western mission has rightly been critiqued for many years, and needs ongoing critique. We speak of the “de-westernization” of the gospel which is very necessary. However, I feel that the church in Asia also needs to engage in self-evaluation. The church in Asia, while small as far as percentage is concerned, is vibrant and growing in many areas. Why then is the Gospel still so foreign? Hwa Yung argues that a major reason for this is the problem of an “alien Jesus” which comes from an uncontextualized Gospel. “Whenever the gospel has been presented in ways that fail to address the felt needs of the hearers, and/or in manners that they cannot understand because of the foreignness of the language and thought forms, then an alien Jesus is being presented.”3
Has there been a lack of contextualization of the Gospel in many Asian cultures because of an importation of many cultural aspects of the missionaries which first came to Asia? I have seen this among my own people in South Africa, where some congregations still today insist upon a dress code which they consider proper for church attendance, but which is totally inappropriate for the hot African summers. However, we cannot forever lay the blame at the door of western missionaries. The time has come for the non-Western church to grapple with the issues of contextualization in their own settings. We cannot think of reaching out to other
cultures contextually before we have dealt with these issues on our own turf.
My observation is that many Asian Christians have been distanced from their non-Christian
fellows by virtue of the fact that they have become Christian. This is because the individual transformation which they have received has not translated further into a transformation of the culture. There has been an unquestioning rejection of many cultural aspects, which has led to an extraction of Christians from their culture, rather than an attempt on the part of the church to struggle with what the Gospel is saying to its root culture. This has led to a dualism in many Asian Christians, in that their new faith does not speak to their parent cultures. Christianity is still perceived by many Asians as a Western religion. Is this perhaps due, in part, to the fact that the Asian church is not yet truly grappling with the issues of Contextualization within its own cultures?
Outsider facilitators work within a “learning” paradigm, not an “instruction” one
These terms come from the world of education which is itself struggling through a paradigm shift. The instruction paradigm (IP) is highly theoretical, teacher controlled, linear and cumulative. The learning paradigm (LP) is practical, holistic and student orientated. The goal of the LP is the ability to think critically and evaluate complex situations holistically.
We note here that the LP emphasizes the student, and not the teacher. The biblical Barnabas is a good role model. He mentored Paul who was academically and presumably intellectually his superior. He sought not to clone himself, but to bring out the best in him.4 The teacher is not the fount of all knowledge. The teacher is a facilitator who shares his knowledge while allowing students to learn from each other and indeed teach the teacher. The facilitator is a “guide on the side” and not a “sage on the stage”.
Many missionaries have an IP mentality. They are unfortunately driven by home churches which are highly results orientated, and so they are under pressure to produce. The missionary therefore tries to control the situation and sets himself up as the authority figure. He sees himself as the expert who will impart knowledge to the unreached and to the new converts. When missionaries have a LP mentality, they go with the humble expectation that the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of their focus people, just as He is in their own lives. They do not usurp the role of the Parakletos. They place the authority where it belongs – on the Lord and upon His Word. They resist the temptation to teach what they have learned. Rather, they go to the Word of God along with their focus people to see what the Lord is saying to them in their context by His Spirit. “God’s Word reaches [a person] in terms of his own culture, or it does not reach him at all.”5 A learning paradigm is far more amenable to an insider movement than an instruction paradigm.
Outsider facilitators pray and work towards transformation in the movement
We have mentioned earlier that the lack of contextualization will convey a truncated gospel, and that a spiritual movement needs to be a culturally There is sometimes much debate – theological, missiological and philosophical – about insider movements. However, the foundational question remains for each movement – is there a conforming to the pattern of this world, or is there a transformation by the renewal of the mind6?7 Is there a striving to be a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that [they] may declare the praises of him who called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light?8 Can one sense that while in their world, they are no longer of it?9
This challenge is to every Christ-follower whether they may be. After living for a few months in Germany, I penned the following in my journal: What about me needs to change? What needs to be transformed? What needs repentance? What needs growth? Where have I atrophied? What needs stretching? Am I an old or a new wineskin? Another challenge: How can faith be made viable for our young people? How can they be vibrant followers of Jesus in their time and generation? Their challenges and difficulties are different. They face different enemies and different problems. One of their greatest difficulties is that of ‘tolerance’, or at least the post-modern definition of it. We as Christians need to facilitate our younger generation as they seek to define what it means to be a follower of Jesus in their generation.
I was once drawn into a debate about the baptism practiced among a group of Muslim Background Believers. Some theologians questioned the validity of this baptism as those involved were immersing their fellow believers in the name of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The theologians questioned whether these people had a Chalcedonian view of Christ, and whether they truly believed in the Trinity? The challenge to these theologians was that the mere teaching of correct dogma was not going to effect transformation. However, we as practitioners were equally faced with a challenge. Muslims believe in a sovereign, transcendent God. However, for him to become imminent, one needs to enter into relationship with Jesus Christ. This is only enabled by the work of the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 10, Jesus faces a lawyer who asks what he needs to do in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus enters into his worldview and asks him to quote the Law, something this expert could probably do in his sleep. The latter answers with the Sch’ma Israel in Deut. 6:4,5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus then tells the man to go and “do this”. Herein lays the dilemma. How does one “do” it? Interestingly enough, Jesus relates a story which must have had many grinding their teeth. The thought that “doing” love to a neighbor meant touching an unclean Samaritan would have shocked them. Here Jesus was being at his most radical. This kind of “doing” was not covered in any law. In order to engage in it meant total change and thorough transformation.
Each culture has its untouchables. A true movement towards the Lordship of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit will increasingly show healing in these areas, whether these be racial prejudices, gender issues or imbalances in ascribed or achieved status.
Outsider facilitators take a global view of movements and ministry
The world is constantly shrinking. In the past, missiologists spoke eloquently of homogeneous people groups. While this is still a reality, we must not take the mistaken view that homogeneity equates a pristine isolation.
The whole world seems to be in motion. There are 174 million migrant people in the world (living outside their countries). Asians are the largest group and about 50-60 million are Chinese. Since 2000, about 120,000 Chinese have gone abroad to study. If the figures are to be believed then by 2020, the Chinese government plans to increase that number to 300,000 per year10.
The population of many European countries is growing, not by birth, but by increasing numbers of migrants entering. Actually, the native population is dying out. The average age in Germany is 43 years. If lifestyles do not change, this will increase to 63 years in 2050. According to a study done by Andrew Walls11, Germany will need about one million new foreign workers per year. He feels that they will mostly come from China and Indonesia. What lessons does this hold?
We are living in a world of constant change. We have to get used to not only constant change, but that the rate of change is constantly increasing. While modern technology is still not accessible to a large percentage of the world’s population, this is itself a changing trend. What does this mean for insider movements? We will deal less and less with totally homogeneous peoples who have no contact with the outside world. The trend seems to be that migration is on the increase. Perhaps the very people groups we are focusing upon today may be scattered through the globe tomorrow.
It is important therefore for us to take a global view of movements and indeed of our ministry. By “global”, I mean both “worldwide” as well as “holistic”. We can no longer allow ourselves to be bound by geographical perimeters. Neither can we permit that cultural boundaries hem us in. The global movement and shifting trends call us to work together or be condemned to ineffectivity.
I believe that the analogy of the body used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 can be applied not only to individual believers, but also to groups. Paul is speaking of the church, yes. However, the principles apply to believers and workers of different cultures as well. There is no suggestion here that through our alliances and partnerships, that we should all become the same and lose our own unique identity. An Asian organization entering a joint venture with a Western one should not become assimilated by their Western counterparts. Neither should the Westerners be made to feel that they should become more Asian. Each group brings unique strengths and gifts to bear.
There will be clashes and misunderstandings. Westerners with their analytical thinking must learn to understand the Asian holistic way of linking matters. Asians will need to get used to Western directness. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you’”.12
We are speaking here of strategic alliances, partnerships and joint ventures as we seek to cooperate. There is no need for everyone to be part of the same organization. This will encourage flexibility and experimentation. It will also ensure that each group can remain true to the vision, mission and values to which God has called them. Each group’s identity will be preserved, while cross-fertilization, sharing of resources and joint ministry in select areas for specific lengths of time will be enhanced.
Conclusion
This list of challenges – that of critiquing our own culture, working within a learning and not an instruction paradigm, praying and working towards transformation in the movement and taking a global view of movements and ministry – is by no means exhaustive.
However, I hope that by raising these few points for reflection that we will be stimulated to think of more. We live in exciting days, and I look forward to all that God will do in and through all of us as we learn from each other, and grow and work together. (AFMI)
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1 Vinoth Ramachandra, Faiths in Conflict. Inter-Varsity Press, England, ISBN 0-85111-65007, 1999, page 36
2 Ibid
3 Hwa Yung, Missiological Issues in the First Decade of the 21st Century. A Southeast Asian Perspective (2) The Gospel We Proclaim.
4 “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.” (Acts 11:25-26). Note “Barnabas and Saul”, also in 13:2,7. However, as from 13:13, Paul takes precedence.
5 Rene Padilla
6 The word “nous” means much more than cognitive thought or understanding. It speaks also of our consciousness, character and conscience. It does not separate the cognitive from the affective and volition.
7 Romans 12:2
8 1 Peter 2:9)
9 John 17:15,16,18
10 Xinhua News Agency, “The Annual Number of the Chinese Students Who Are Sent Abroad to Study Is Expected to Increase to 300,000 in 2020,” October 17, 2006 u http://www.xinhuanet.com.
11 Andrea Walls was a missionary experience in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. He founded the “centre for the study of Christianity in the non-Western world in Edinburgh”.
12 1 Cor. 12:21
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