Here, I’d like to propose that we start taking more seriously how we deliver than teaching the right content. It is not what the nationals or young believers learn from us, but rather how they learn that’s going to impact their culture and society in the long run. Modern day evangelical workers have focused too much on having the right content (mainly right theological content derived from the western form of Christianity) and assumed wrongly that we know how to deliver best. The main method of delivery was done through one way preaching and teaching. We assumed that the nationals don’t know any better, thus we needed to teach them the right content, our way. This assumption begot the ill fruits of dependency all around the world. The ways that we deliver forced dependency from the very people we have been trying to empower. Speaking of the right content, we didn’t even have the right content because the answers we brought with us derived from our cultural context.

Going with the questions and not with answers is how we at BB need to train ourselves. This is a set of skill that requires counter cultural intuition, actions and convictions. I believe we can move from the pioneering stage to the partnering stage without going through the parental stage. The problem of insisting on the right content (as good as they may be from our perspective) is that it produces unhealthy dependency issues where the nationals and/or young believers are unable to climb out of the parental stage.

We have to learn to teach in a way that empowers the people. The key to how we deliver must be related to how we come along side of the people and empower them to develop their own content that is right for their context. Coming along side of them requires an attitude of humble learning on the part of the workers from the outside. Without first learning from the people (more on this in ethos of lifelong learning), we cannot effectively empower and equip them to make right decisions. Even if they don’t make the right decisions or develop the right content from our cultural and theological point of view (or even our personal preference), we allow them to learn from their mistakes by giving them the necessary room and space. We trust that the Holy Spirit will guide and correct them as they interact with the Scripture. (Related article: See “Empowering Creativity”, AFMI Bulletin No. 2, Jan-Mar 2010, Chong Kim, Band Barnabas)