Anthropology, Missiological Anthropology

Anthropology, Missiological Anthropology. sions, where Willoughby taught from 1919 and The relationship between anthropology and Smith lectured from 1939 to 1943, little was world missions has been a long and profitable done to provide anthropological instruction for one with the benefits flowing both ways. Though missionaries before World War II. Wheaton Col- for philosophical reasons recent generations of lege (Illinois) had begun an anthropology depart- anthropologists have tended to be very critical of ment, and the Wycliffe Bible Translators’ Sum- missionaries, much of the data used by profes- mer Institute of Linguistics, though primarily sional anthropologists from earliest days has focused on Linguistics, was serving to alert come from missionaries. Anthropological pio- many to the need to take culture seriously. neers such as E. B. Tylor (1832–1917) and J. G. Though Gordon Hedderly Smith had pub- Frazer (1854–1954) in England, L. H. Morgan lished The Missionary and Anthropology in 1945, (1818–82) in the United States, and Wilhelm it was Eugene Nida who sparked the movement Schmidt (1868–1954) in Austria were greatly in- to make anthropology a major component in debted to missionaries for the data from which missionary thinking. He used his position as sec- they constructed their theories. Such early an- retary for translations of the American Bible So- thropological pioneers as R. H. Codrington (1830– ciety to demonstrate to missionaries and their 1922), Lorimer Fison (1832–1907), Diedrich Wes- leaders the value of anthropological insight. His termann (1875–1956), H. A. Junod (1863–1934), lectures on anthropological topics in the 1940s and Edwin Smith (1876–1957) were missionaries and early 1950s, published as Customs and Cul- for part or all of their careers. tures in 1954, contributed greatly to an awaken- The first of the numerous Protestant mission- ing within the missionary community to the ary conferences in the English-speaking world to need for and benefits of anthropological insight. include formal discussion of anthropological By the mid-1950s Nida had surrounded himself matters was the World Missionary Conference at the Bible society with four very perceptive, an- in Edinburgh (1910). Roman Catholics led the thropologically oriented translation consultants, way on the Continent, sponsoring several work- W. A. Smalley, W. D. Reyburn, W. L. Wonderly, shops on missions and ethnology. A notable cen- and J. A. Loewen. As these men worked with ter for ethnological research was established in translators around the world, they demonstrated Vienna by Schmidt, who devoted his professional the value of anthropology. In 1955, Smalley took life to researching, teaching, and writing on lan- over the editorship of the bimonthly journal guages and cultures in order to help missionar- Practical Anthropology (PA), which Robert Taylor ies. For this purpose he founded the journal An- had started in 1953 at Wheaton with the aim of thropos in 1906 and the Anthropos Institute in applying anthropology to missions. The writings 1932. of Nida, Smalley, Reyburn, Wonderly, and Loe- Though the influence of professional anthro- wen in PA were formative for a generation of an- pology on missionaries was small during this thropologically oriented missionaries working in era, some impressive anthropological writing the 1950s and 1960s. by missionaries emerged. Fison with A. W. From 1965 on, another stream of missiological Howitt published The Kamileroi and the Kurnai, anthropology was developing under Donald Mc- still considered a basic work on Australian ab- Gavran at Fuller Seminary’s School of World originals. Codrington’s Melanesians contributed Mission. McGavran’s first faculty appointee was to anthro­pology its understanding of mana. Ju- Alan Tippett, an Australian anthropologist who nod’s two-volume Life of a South African Tribe had worked for two decades in Fiji. The Nida was years later still regarded as one of the finest stream merged with this stream under Mc- anthropological monographs. And Schmidt’s Gavran’s next two appointees, Ralph Winter and twelve-volume study of the origin of religion Charles Kraft, both anthropologists strongly in- did much to dissuade the academic community fluenced by Nida and the other PA contributors. from their commitment to an evolutionary These events of the 1950s and 1960s laid the ­explanation. foundations for validating missiological anthro- The most notable early British advocate for pology within the professional subdiscipline of missiological anthropology was Edwin Smith. applied anthropology. Important publications of Born in Africa of missionary parents, Smith for the 1960s included Nida’s Message and Mission three decades wrote and taught widely on Afri- and Louis Luzbetak’s Church and Cultures, can cultures. His most famous book is The which focused helpfully on the dynamics of cul- Golden Stool. Two other British missionary an- tural change. Tippett’s Solomon Islands Christi- thropologists to note are W. C. Willoughby, who anity showed how competent anthropology published The Soul of the Bantu, and Denys could be used to analyze Christian witness and Shropshire, who wrote The Church and Primitive practice. Kenneth Pike’s Language in Relation to Peoples. a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Be- In America, with the exception of Hartford havior, though long and technical, contributed Seminary Foundation’s Kennedy School of Mis- important insights concerning the relationships 1 Behavior Patterns of language and culture. Many of the PA articles brought this topic forcefully to our attention. were collected by Smalley in Readings in Mis- Marvin Mayers, a Wycliffe translator who sionary Anthropology, which was followed by taught at Wheaton and later at Biola, both high- Culture and Human Values, a collection of per- lighted and broadened this theme in his import- ceptive articles by Loewen. ant book Christianity Confronts Culture. A third In 1973, PA, then edited by Charles Taber, an important area of application is the contextual- anthropologist teaching at Emmanuel School of ization or inculturation of Christianity. Kraft in Religion, was merged into Missiology, the fledg- Christianity in Culture creatively used linguistic ling journal of the newly formed American Soci- and Bible translation theory as well as basic an- ety of Missiology. Tippett became the first edi- thropology and Communication theory to pro- tor. This journal has maintained a strong focus duce a cross-cultural­ perspective on theology. on anthropology. This book did much to show both that an an- Currently, anthropology plays an important thropological approach can positively influence part in the majority of missionary training pro- theologizing and that Contextualization should grams in evangelical institutions. The primary be an evangelical issue, not merely an ecumeni- attention of missiological anthropology is di- cal theory. A fourth important area presently in rected toward understanding the nature of Cul- focus is that of Worldview. ture and the pervasiveness of its influence on In addition, we should mention Homer Bar- those we approach with the gospel. A second nett’s psychological anthropology and especially concern is to understand the influence of culture his ideas on cultural change, which have had a on the missionaries themselves. To this has been strong influence on Tippett and Luzbetak. More added the recognition that since the Bible is a recently, the symbolic anthropology of Clifford cross-cultural book, those who would under- Geertz and Mary Douglas has influenced the per- stand and interpret it correctly need cultural in- spectives of Paul Hiebert and Sherwood Lingen- sight. The articles in PA provided understanding felter. Important recent books by missiological of these and many other important areas. anthropologists include Tippett’s Introduction to Over the years, missiological anthropology has Missiology, Darrell Whiteman’s Melanesians and sometimes followed the vogues of secular an- Missionaries, Hiebert’s Anthropological Insights thropology, sometimes resisted them. Missionary for Missionaries and Anthropological Reflections anthropologists have found congenial such secu- on Missiological Issues, Daniel Shaw’s Transcul- lar anthropological insights as the focus on spe- turation (1988), Lingenfelter’s Transforming Cul- cific cultures, the strengths of research based on ture (1992) and Agents of Transformation (1996), participant observation, certain aspects of the Hiebert and Eloise Meneses’ Incarnational Min- functionalist emphasis on the internal workings istry (1995) and Kraft’s Anthropology for Chris- of culture, the dynamics of cultural change, and tian Witness (1996). A lifetime of dealing with the the necessity to understand Worldview. On the Bible in cross-cultural perspective is summa- other hand, certain secular emphases have rized in Jacob Loewen’s masterful The Bible in stirred up the opposition of Christian anthropol- Cross-Cultural Perspective (1997). ogists. Among them are the overextension of evo- Charles H. Kraft lutionary and relativistic thinking. Early on, one of Schmidt’s motivations was to combat the sim- Bibliography. E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Social Anthro- plistic evolutionary theory concerning the origin pology and Other Essays; S. A. Grunlan and M. K. May- and development of religion. His Origin of the ers, Cultural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective; P. G. Idea of God was so successful that most secular Hiebert, Cultural Anthropology; D. L. Whiteman, ed., anthropologists dropped the theory. Christians Missionaries, Anthropologists, and Cultural Change. have not been so successful in convincing the an- thropological establishment that though certain Behavior Patterns. Christian missionaries have aspects of evolutionary and relativistic thinking always concerned themselves with the behavior make sense, they need to be balanced by the rec- of other peoples. Disobedience to even the most ognition that someone started things and estab- basic of God’s laws constitutes evidence of their lished certain absolutes. sinful condition. Prescribed behavioral change There are four general areas in which the in- affords evidence of their conversion. However, sights of anthropology are enabling greater ef- with the development of the social sciences, Ger- fectiveness in Christian ministry. First, the two- man missiology since the latter part of the nine- way flow of influence between missiological teenth century and American missiology since anthropology and Bible Translation continues World War II have reflected increased under- to be significant, especially in the United States. standing of human behavior. Nida has had a lot to do with this. A second sig- Most prominent in this matter have been the nificant application of anthropology relates to contributions of the behavioral sciences—sociol- the influences of culture on the communication ogy, psychology, and cultural anthropology (in- process. Nida’s pioneering Message and Mission cluding linguistics and cross-cultural communi- 2 Biculturalism cation). As part of a process termed socialization is prepared for the encounter with behavioral by the sociologist and enculturation by the an- patterns that have meanings entirely foreign to thropologist (see Culture Learning), people con- her or him. Culture change is most readily initi- sciously and unconsciously learn which behav- ated by discovering what is happening at the in- ioral patterns are expected and which are not formal “imitation of models” level of learning, acceptable in their respective cultures. It is these bringing it to the level of awareness, and intro- learned action patterns, as opposed to reflexive ducing change at that point. Conversion is best and instinctive patterns, that are of special im- understood, not first of all as change at the be- portance to missiologists. Taking many of their havioral outer layer of culture, but at its basic clues from the sciences, missiologists have at- belief system or worldview inner core. tempted to integrate new understandings with David J. Hesselgrave Scripture and the missionary experience. These attempts have not always been completely valid Bibliography. E. T. Hall, The Silent Language; D. J. Hesselgrave, Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally; (indeed, social science theories themselves are in E. A. Nida, Message and Mission. flux), but on the whole this process has resulted in insights into human behavior that have greatly enhanced missionary theory and prac- Biculturalism. Ability to live comfortably in two tice. differing cultural perspectives, crossing freely Reacting to earlier psychological studies that from one to the other as occasion merits. How- emphasized the study of inner experiences or ever, this ability may be conceived as ranging feelings by subjective methods, early in this cen- across a scale measuring the depth of identifica- tury John B. Watson proposed that psychologists tion. On one end, it simply indicates the ability of confine their study to observable behavior that a person to understand both cultures, which can be studied by objective procedures yielding might be termed cognitive biculturalism. At a sec- statistically significant results. While not agree- ond level, it refers to the ability to operate com- ing with Watson’s reductionism, B. F. Skinner fortably and without conscious consideration in nevertheless focused on controlled experiments each cultural setting. This may be called func- and postulated a type of psychological condition- tional biculturalism. At the deepest level is the ing called reinforcement. Skinner’s learning the- ability of the person to truly and naturally identify ory is reflected in certain aspects of Theological at the root level of both cultures emotionally and Education by Extension with its programmed cognitively, which may be called root bicultural- textbooks and learning. Behaviorism as such, ism. however, yielded center stage to the humanism While there is little doubt that short-term of Abraham Maslow and others in the 1950s, and cross-cultural workers experience culture stress Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has exerted a and some may experience changes in the way greater influence in mission theory. they view the world, only rarely if at all will they Of greater missiological importance has been progress beyond cognitive biculturalism. Even the influence of anthropologists such as Ed- though they may have many of the basic facts of ward T. Hall and linguists such as Eugene A. the new culture, they simply do not have the Nida. Hall proposed that human behavior can be time and exposure to internalize those facts as understood in terms of ten “primary message sys- “natural” to themselves. Their biculturalism is tems,” only one of which is verbal. Hall’s overall generally limited to cognitive awareness and theory has not met with widespread understand- emotional attachment to their idealizations of ing or approval, but his ideas on the “silent lan- the new culture, but only time and continuous guage” and the communicative aspects of such exposure enable progress beyond that. things as time and space have captured the atten- Those who grow up in a single cultural envi- tion of American missionaries for over a genera- ronment but who sojourn in another culture for tion. an extended period often reach the stage of func- Among missionary theorists, Nida has perhaps tional biculturalism. However, they can be said exerted the most influence in recent years. In ad- to be bicultural only to the extent that the new dition to his impact on the understanding of lan- culture becomes a second “home” to them and guage learning and translation, Nida has written they are able to identify with both cultures as insightfully on the relationship between belief “natural.” For those who do not leave their cul- systems and behavior, the symbolic nature of re- ture until adulthood, moving beyond the func- ligious behavior, social structure and communi- tional to the deepest level of root biculturalism is cative behavior, and more. unattainable simply because, as recent brain re- As a result of studies such as the foregoing, search indicates, the windows of opportunity to contemporary missionaries can be far better pre- identify at the deepest levels linguistically, psy- pared to deal with behavioral issues encountered chologically, socially, and emotionally with the when working in another culture. Culture new culture have passed. Their level of adapta- Shock can be ameliorated when the missionary tion, which may be truly remarkable and take 3 Bonding decades to accomplish, simply cannot match ple’s perspective in order to draw them into a those of indigenes in the second culture. belonging relationship with God. Simply growing up in a bicultural environ- Bonding is based on an earlier concept—iden- ment, however, does not guarantee the develop- tification—in which the missionary was encour- ment of root biculturalism. Children who do not aged to enter sympathetically into the lives of the grow up bilingual, for example, will miss an es- people in order to understand their way of think- sential element of the culture whose language ing, and discover ways in which the gospel could they do not speak, and will not be bicultural at enter in and transform their patterns of life. It is the deepest level. The children of missionaries also rooted in a belief that the incarnation of are often bicultural at the functional level, but Christ (John 1:14) provides the model for mis- less often at the root level. The same can be said sionary ministry. of immigrant families, whose children likewise Criticism of the bonding concept has centered grow up in a family of one culture but in an envi- around three main areas: (1) questioning whether ronment of another. At times in searching for it is necessary or even possible for the newcomer their own identity they struggle to amalgamate to attempt to bond with the new community; elements of both cultures into a new “third” cul- (2) dislike of the use of the term and of the anal- tural framework unique to them as individuals, ogy with parent/infant bonding; and (3) disagree- giving rise to the term Third Culture Kids ment about the relative importance of living with (TCKs). a family in the early days in a new community. A. Scott Moreau Elizabeth S. Brewster Bibliography. E. T. and E. S. Brewster, Bonding and Bonding. In order to minister effectively in an- the Missionary Task; M. C. Chao, PA 7:1 (1960): 16–17; other culture, one must learn to communicate S. Granberg, EMQ 24:4 (1988): 344–50; D. N. Larson well with the people of that culture. But mean- and W. A. Smalley, Becoming Bilingual; J. A. Loewen, ingful communication requires more than sim- PA 11:4 (1964): 145–60; K. McElhanon, EMQ 27:4 ply being able to speak the language; it also im- (1991): 390–93; W. F. Muldrow, PA 18:5 (1971): 208–21; E. A. Nida, PA 2:4 (1955): 90–95; L. E. Reed, Preparing plies developing meaningful personal Missionaries for Intercultural Communication; W. D. relationships within that cultural context, and a Reyburn, PA 7:1 (1960): 1–15; W. A. Smalley, PA 5:2 willingness to listen and to see life from the oth- (1958): 83–84. er’s point of view. The term “bonding” was coined by Thomas Caste. A hereditary division of any society into and Elizabeth Brewster in 1979 to refer to a mis- classes on the basis of occupation, color, wealth, sionary’s deep sense of belonging in relationships or religion. More specifically, in Hinduism, caste in a second culture and the community’s accep- (jati) is the permanent social group into which a tance of the newcomer as an accepted outsider. person is born, with social and religious obliga- The term was developed by analogy to the bond- tions determined for a lifetime by one’s caste. ing that takes place between an infant and its The beginnings of the caste system in India are parents at the time of birth. thought to date back to the invasion of Indo-­ Bonding with a new community can be facili- European Aryans (or Vedic peoples) who mi- tated by the new missionary’s immersion in the grated into the Indus Valley about 1000 b.c. Varna life of the new community and society—spend- refers to the social divisions believed to have ing as much time as possible with the local peo- been characteristic of these people. One theory is ple upon arrival in the community, preferably that the organization of castes was based on living with a local family for the first few weeks varna (color). Aryans were light, while the in- or months. In this way, the newcomer begins to vaded peoples were dark. Others believe stratifi- enter the community and to enter into the peo- cation resulted in castes developing from social ple’s thought patterns, worldview, and values. It classes or other types of differences. During this also enables the community to begin to know early period, groups and strata of Hindu society and understand the newcomer. began to form. No historical records exist for this Bonding is facilitated by entering with a period, but from the hymns, legends, and other learner attitude. The one who is a learner is will- accounts, it seems that the social system of the ing to be dependent on the people of the commu- newcomers was composed of four major divi- nity and to be vulnerable with them. The learner sions: the brahmana, a sacerdotal or priestly cate- role implies the humility to make mistakes in gory; the rajanya, a chiefly, noble, or warrior cat- language and culture and to receive correction. egory; the vaisya, who were variously perceived By developing relationships and gaining an as commoners, farmers, or merchants; and the empathetic understanding of the people’s feel- sudra, a category of servants or commoners of a ings, desires, and fears, the new missionary can lower status. adopt habits of lifestyle and ministry that can en- Social anthropologists suggest that the per- able him or her to be good news from the peo- sistent feature of Indian society has been the ex- 4 Communication istence of endogamous descent groups (a system setting” than that afforded by alternative words, in which people must marry within their own he chose the word “communication.” group). Over time such groups were integrated From very early days the progress of the gospel into local hierarchical systems of cooperation has been aided by the communication skills of its and interdependence. The caste system typically proponents. One thinks immediately of John the includes the following components: (1) a local Baptist’s preaching in Judea, Peter’s sermon on population composed of the series of mutually Pentecost, and Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. exclusive castes; (2) segments structured by caste Jesus was a master communicator. However, a in endogamous descent groups, ideally related tension is introduced at this point because the unilineally; (3) a dominant caste with political New Testament makes it clear that human wis- and economic power over the others; (4) an oc- dom and communication skills are not sufficient cupational specialty related to each caste; (5) a to draw people to Christ and advance his king- ritual system of exchange of food, goods, and dom (cf. 2 Cor. 2:1–6). Though the Lord Jesus services concerned with purity and pollution as commissioned the apostles to disciple the nations well as economics; (6) a ranking of each caste ac- by preaching and teaching, he commanded them cording to their respective degrees of pollution. to stay in Jerusalem until empowered by the Holy Various movements to reform the caste system Spirit (Acts 1:8). Elenctics, the “science of the have made some impact on the traditional struc- conviction of sin” (Herman Bavinck), deals with ture. Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity have all this tension between human and divine compo- made inroads into caste norms. It is significant, nents in Christian communication and is a piv- however, that most of the reform movements otal, though often neglected, concern in missiol- have resulted in castes of their own, evolving ogy. into exclusive, endogamous sects. Mahatma Augustine was perhaps the first to introduce Gandhi’s programs were aimed at the removal of secular communication theory to the church in a the caste system, but the divisions persist even systematic way. Called as a young man to be the under modern pressures of Westernization. rhetor (legal orator) of Milan, Italy, he was pro- Since caste in India has always functioned as a foundly impressed by the eloquence of the re- powerful religious system of belief, movements nowned preacher of Milan, Ambrose. Converted to lessen the influence or abolish the caste sys- and baptized in 387, he returned to Hippo in tem have so far failed. North Africa where he became bishop in 396. Christian missions have for the most part ig- Augustine questioned the Christian use of the nored caste distinctions. Those who join a Chris- rhetorical knowledge and skills he and various tian church are compelled to join a church com- other church leaders of the time had mastered at munity outside the caste system, automatically the university. Taking his cue from the experi- forcing them downward from all their social and ence of the Israelites who were commanded to family relationships. Indications are that people take clothing, vases, and ornaments of silver and would become Christians more readily if they gold with them upon their exodus from Egypt, he concluded that “gold from Egypt is still gold.” were able to remain in their own social group- Profane knowledge and communication skills ing. And yet many Christians maintain that the can be used in kingdom service. Augustine then freedom found in new life in Christ (Gal. 3:26– proceeded to write On Christian Doctrine, Book 29; Eph. 2) transcends the divisions of caste, and IV, which has been called the first manual of that the gospel challenges injustices associated Chris­tian preaching. with caste. Augustine’s work constituted an auspicious be- Norman E. Allison ginning, but only a beginning. Down through the Bibliography. P. Kolenda, Caste in Contemporary centuries and especially for post-Reformation India: Beyond Organic Solidarity; W. Matthews, World Re- British and then American clergy, classical rhe- ligions; M. N. Srinivas, Caste in Modern India and Other torical theory informed homiletical theory and Essays; R. D. Winter and D. A. Fraser, PWCM, pp. B:193– preaching methodology. Influential pulpits have 212. been occupied by great orators familiar with the likes of Plato, Aristotle, Quintilian, Cicero, and Communication. Communication is the mis- Fenelon. Only recently has the summum bonum sionary problem par excellence. The word comes of ancient classical education, rhetoric, been from the Latin word communis (common). In downplayed to the point that the very word has order to fulfill the Great Commission a “com- lost its original meaning and connotes flowery monality” must be established with the various (and empty?) speech. Historically, both church peoples of the world—a commonality that makes and mission have profited greatly from a knowl- it possible for them to understand and embrace edge of classical rhetoric. the gospel of Christ. Accordingly, when Hendrick It must be admitted, however, that “Egyptian Kraemer sought to place questions having to do gold” came with a price. Ethnocentric rhetori- with the missionary task in a “wider and deeper cians of ancient times believed that if foreign 5 Cross-Cultural Evangelism audiences did not think and respond as Athe- also have to do with the interanimation among nians and Romans did, they at least should be language, cognition, and Worldview; the rela- taught to do so. Until comparatively recently, tionship among form, meaning, and function; Western clergy and missionaries alike have the role of culture in special revelation and tended toward the same provincialism. With Bible Translation, interpretation, and applica- global exploration and then the dawn of the tion; and the relative importance of respondent electric age, however, change became inevitable. understandings and preferences in Contextual- In modern times monoculturalism has been re- izing the Christian message. The significance placed by multiculturalism; “new rhetoricians” accorded to the findings of the various sciences speak of “multiple rhetorics”; speech theory has in these discussions, as well as in missionary been eclipsed by communication theory; and communication theory and practice in general, communication theory takes into account not serves to indicate that Augustine’s “profane only face-to-face or Interpersonal Communica- knowledge” problem is a perennial one. That tion, but Mass Communication and cross-cul- being the case, contemporary theorists stand to tural, Intercultural Com­munication as well. benefit not just from his insight that Egyptian As concerns the Christian mission, post–World gold is still gold, but also from his reminders War II years especially have witnessed great that biblical knowledge is to be considered supe- strides forward in this regard. First came the un- rior both qualitatively and quantitatively, and paralleled number of cross-cultural contacts oc- that secular approaches are to be used with casioned by the war itself. This was attended by moderation. numerous writings on culture, language, and David J. Hesselgrave communication. Among secular writings, The Si- Bibliography. J. F. Engel, Contemporary Christian lent Language and other works by Edward T. Hall Communications; E. T. Hall, The Silent Language; D. J. had the greatest impact. But earlier contribu- Hesselgrave, Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally; tions of Christian scholars such as Hendrick H. Kraft, Communication Theory for Christian Witness; Kraemer and the postwar writings of Jacob Loe- E. A. Nida, Message and Mission; D. Richardson, Peace wen, William D. Reyburn, William Samarin, Eu- Child. gene A. Nida, and others also bore fruit. Nida’s Message and Mission: The Communication of the Cross-Cultural Evangelism. In one sense any Christian Faith, first published in 1960 and then Evangelism involves crossing a cultural divide, revised, augmented, and republished in 1990, since the evangelist must communicate spiritual has perhaps been most influential in shaping truth to spiritually dead people who in their nat- missionary theory and practice. Authors of ural state are unable to comprehend it. Cross-­ widely used texts such as Charles Kraft and cultural evangelism, however, has the added David Hesselgrave readily acknowledge their challenge of communication between people of debt to Nida. Written from his perspective as a different Worldviews and Belief Systems. As marketing specialist, James F. Engel has contrib- such, it is more often considered true missionary uted a comprehensive text highlighting audience witness (whether geographical distance is in- analysis and media communication. At a popular volved or not) than is evangelism between mem- level, Don Richardson’s account of how the gos- bers of the same culture. pel was communicated to the West Irian Sawi Culture, of course, is generally seen as a soci- tribespeople has had a significant impact. ety’s folkways, mores, language, art and architec- Most widely used to illustrate and examine the ture, and political and economic structures; it is communication process are cybernetic models the expression of the society’s worldview. World- based on electronic media. Thus classical catego- view has been described as the way a people ries (speaker, speech, audience) have largely looks outwardly upon itself and the universe, or given way to new categories and nomenclature the way it sees itself in relationship to all else. such as source, message, respondent, channel, For the cross-cultural evangelist, Witness in- encode, decode, noise, feedback, and the like. volves a thorough understanding of one’s own One or another version of Nida’s three-culture culture, the biblical context in which God’s Word model of intercultural missionary communica- was given, and the culture of those among whom tion is widely used to introduce important cul- evangelism is being done. The message must be tural components and highlight the relationship tailored or contextualized in such a way as to re- among cultures of Bible times, the missionary main faithful to the biblical text while under- source, and target culture respondents. standable and relevant to the receptor’s context. For many years theorists and practitioners The late twentieth century has seen, along alike have discussed issues such as the best with widespread acceptance of anthropological starting point for gospel communication (the insights, a flowering of respect for culture in nature and attributes of God or the person and missions and evangelism. James Engel devised a work of Christ) and the establishment of com- scale to measure people’s understanding of the mon ground with the hearers. Current issues gospel and their movement toward Christ. It can 6 Cross-Cultural Ministry be used to gauge the spiritual knowledge and in- Use of Western forms of communication may volvement of both individuals and groups. At one stigmatize the gospel as alien in some cultures. end of the Engel Scale are those with no aware- A cross-cultural approach advocated for Shame ness of Christianity (-7), followed by those aware cultures—some Islamic societies, for example— of the existence of Christianity (-6), followed by is to emphasize the gospel as the answer for de- those with some knowledge of the gospel (-5). filement and uncleanness rather than sin and Conversion is numerically neutral on the Engel guilt. J. Nathan Corbitt distinguishes between Scale. At its far end are incorporation of the be- hard media (media more concrete in format and liever into a Christian fellowship (+2) and active presentation, such as books and films) and soft gospel propagation by the believer (+3). Bridging media (media allowing flexibility during its cre- the knowledge gap often, but not always, in- ation and use, such as storytelling, drama, volves cross-cultural evangelism. music, and conversation). Corbitt says that to At the Lausanne Congress on World Evange- communicate across cultures, evangelists must lism (1974), Ralph Winter argued that 2.7 bil- “soften” their media—using local people and fo- lion people cannot be won to Christ by cusing on the process of Christianity rather than “near-neighbor evangelism” since they have no its specific products—to spark the greatest Christian neighbors. Winter said evangelists amount of understanding and communication must cross cultural, language, and geographical within a community. barriers, learn the languages and cultures of Some critics have questioned the effectiveness these unreached peoples, present the gospel to of popular evangelism tools such as the Jesus them, and plant culturally relevant churches Film and Evangelism Explosion when used apart among them. Winter delineated three kinds of from an adequate understanding of the culture. evangelism: same culture (E-1), culture closely Steffen argues that before the Jesus film is related to one’s own (E-2), and culture different shown, the audience’s worldview must be known, than one’s own (E-3). Winter’s emphasis on the presenters must earn the right to be heard, crossing cultural boundaries to reach other cul- the film must be seen first by the community’s tural groups laid the foundation for the un- information gatekeepers, the presenters must reached peoples movement and the AD 2000 and grasp how the community makes decisions and Beyond Movement. Winter clearly distinguishes must know how to incorporate converts into between evangelism (presenting the gospel to healthy churches, and the audience must have a one’s own people) and missions (crossing cul- significant foundation for the gospel. Not to have tural boundaries). these cultural prerequisites in place, he and oth- At the 1978 Lausanne Committee consultation ers argue, is to invite nominalism or syncretism on “Gospel and Culture,” thirty-three missions with our evangelism. leaders and theologians drafted The Willowbank Stanley M. Guthrie Report, which set down a detailed acknowledg- Bibliography. J. N. Corbitt, EMQ 27:2 (April 1991): ment of the critical role of culture in missionary 160–65; D. J. Hesselgrave, Communicating Christ communication. Included in the document were Cross-Culturally; T. Steffen, EMQ 32:2 (April 1996): evangelical understandings of culture, Scripture, 178–85; idem, EMQ 29:3 (July 1993): 272–76; the content and communication of the gospel, B. Thomas, EMQ 30:3 (July 1994): 284–90; R. D. Win- witness among Muslims, a call for humility, and ter, and S. C. Hawthorne, eds., Perspectives on the a look at conversion and culture. The authors as- World Christian Movement. serted that conversion should not “de-culturize” a convert (see also Cultural Conversion). They Cross-Cultural Ministry. The theological basis also acknowledged the validity of group, as well for cross-cultural ministry lies in its examples as individual, conversions (see also People Move- within both Old and New Testaments, coupled ments). Participants noted the difference be- with the universal nature of the Christian faith tween regeneration and conversion, the dangers and the Lord’s Commission to “disciple the na- of Syncretism, and the church’s influence on cul- tions.” It may be further argued that the incarna- ture (see also Gospel and Culture). tion of Christ demands that we take culture seri- As evangelical understanding of culture has ously in ministry, because it is in the realities of progressed, a number of innovative evangelism the cultural context that the gospel is manifested methods have been advanced. Noting that the (see Incarnational Mission ). Thus Gitari has theology of the Bible is often encased in stories, written, “Jesus did not become a Jew as a conve- Tom Steffen of Biola University and others argue nient illustration of general truths. He came into that Storytelling can be more effective in oral real problems, debates, issues struggles and con- cultures than the Western-style cognitive teach- flicts which concerned the Jewish people.” The ing approach. Baptists working among the Mus- gospel requires specific cultural contexts in lim Kotokoli people of Togo have found that sto- which to be manifested. rytelling can lower cultural barriers to the The missionary expansion of the church from gospel. its earliest days is evidence of the seriousness 7 Culture with which Christians have grasped and imple- The practical expression of the Christian faith mented cross-cultural ministry. In recent times in a culture is a pioneer venture which is liable the Social Sciences have contributed to the con- to the criticism that the true nature of the gospel scious acknowledgment of the importance of may become distorted by Syncretism or compro- culture in relation to this missionary endeavor. mise. In the West there has been a debate be- Eugene A. Nida’s Customs and Cultures stated tween evangelicals and liberal Christians over that “Good missionaries have always been good how best to represent Christianity within a mod- ‘anthropologists’ . . . on the other hand, some ern scientific culture. In the Muslim world, Phil missionaries have been only ‘children of their Parshall’s New Paths in Muslim Evangelism laid generation’ and have carried to the field a dis- out the contextualization of Christian mission torted view of race and progress, culture and civ- among Muslims (see Muslim Mission Work). ilization, Christian and non-Christian ways of This not only covered issues of Communication, life.” “theological bridges to salvation,” but also the The context for much nineteenth-century Prot- forms and practices of a culturally relevant estant missions was that of European colonial “Muslim-convert church.” Others have argued expansion and this resulted in examples of the that the creation of separate convert churches export of European culture and expressions of and the Christianization of Muslim devotional Christianity alongside the gospel (see Colonial- means in “Jesus Mosques” (such as the position ism). The twentieth century witnessed first the of prayer or putting the Bible on a special stand) increasing American missionary endeavor and fall short of the requirements for Christian unity the rise of Two-Thirds World missions (see in Muslim lands where historic Christian com- Non-Western Mission Boards and Societies). As munities exist. This debate is a reminder that a result of the internationalizing of missions and Christian mission needs to be sensitive to a the Globalization of communications (with its broader range of issues than the culture of the own consequences in terms of cultural change), unevangelized. the issues of Culture and mission are today even Patrick Sookhdeo more complex. Complementing the recognition of the importance of culture in missionary com- Bibliography. D. Gitari, Proclaiming Christ in Christ’s Way—Studies in Integral Evangelism, pp. 101– munication has been an examination of culture 21; C. H. Kraft, Christianity in Culture; Lausanne Com- itself from a Christian and biblical perspective. mittee for World Evangelisation, The Lausanne Cove- In the New Testament we find that Paul’s willing- nant—An Exposition and Commentary by John Stott. ness to lay aside personal freedoms and status idem, The Willowbank Report—Gospel and Culture; for the sake of the gospel (1 Cor. 8:9–13; 9:22; H. Niebuhr, Christ and Culture; E. A. Nida, Customs Phil. 3:8) illustrate the primacy of the gospel and Cultures; P. Parshall, New Paths in Muslim Evange- over the messenger’s attitudes and behavior. lism. Bishop Stephen Neill has asserted that there are some customs which the gospel cannot toler- Culture. The word “culture” may point to many ate, there are some customs which can be toler- things—the habits of the social elite; disciplined ated for the time being, and there are customs tastes expressed in the arts, literature, and enter- which are fully acceptable to the gospel. The tainment; particular stages of historical and Lausanne Covenant affirmed that “Culture must human development. We use the term “culture” always be tested and judged by Scripture. Be- to refer to the common ideas, feelings, and val- cause man is God’s creature, some of his culture ues that guide community and personal behav- is rich in beauty and goodness. Because he is ior, that organize and regulate what the group fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it thinks, feels, and does about God, the world, and is demonic.” Bishop David Gitari has welcomed humanity. It explains why the Sawi people of this emphasis that “all cultures must always be Irian Jaya regard betrayal as a virtue, while the tested by the scriptures.” American sees it as a vice. It undergirds the Ko- The relativization of the cultural expressions rean horror at the idea of Westerners’ placing of the Christian faith has resulted in the popular their elderly parents in retirement homes, and acceptance within missions of the concept of Western horror at the idea of the Korean venera- Contextualization, which aims to be faithful to tion of their ancestors. It is the climate of opin- Scripture and relevant to culture. Such an ap- ion that encourages an Eskimo to share his wife proach intends to apply the absolutes to which with a guest and hides the wife of an Iranian Scripture refers within a plurality of culturally fundamentalist Muslim in a body-length veil. appropriate forms. However, disquiet at the The closest New Testament approximation for prominence currently given to contextualization culture is kosmos (world), but only when it refers in missiology was expressed by Christians with a to language-bound, organized human life (1 Cor. Reformed perspective at a Caucus on Mission to 14:10) or the sin-contaminated system of values, Muslims held at Four Brooks Conference Centre traditions, and social structures of which we are in 1985. a part (John 17:11). 8 Culture

Cultures are patterns shared by, and acquired The Dimensions of Culture. All cultures in, a social group. Large enough to contain sub- shape their models of reality around three di- cultures within itself, a culture is shared by the mensions: the cognitive (What do we know?); the society, the particular aggregate of persons who affective (What do we feel?); the evaluative participate in it. In that social group we learn (Where are our values and allegiances?). The and live out our values. cognitive dimension varies from culture to cul- The social and kinship connections that shape ture. Take, for example, the view of time. In the a group of people vary from culture to culture. West time is a linear unity of past, present, and Americans in general promote strong individual- infinite future; in Africa time is basically a ism and nuclear families, usually limited tightly two-dimensional phenomenon, with a long past, to grandparents, parents, and children. Individ- a present, and an immediate future. Similarly, ual initiative and decision making are encour- cultures differ in their conceptions of space, that aged by the belief in individual progress. By is what they consider to be public, social, per- comparison, Asians and Africans as a rule define sonal, and intimate zones. For an American, the personal identity in terms of the family, clan, or personal zone extends from one foot to three feet kinship group. Families are extended units with away, the intimate zone from physical contact to wide connections. And decision making is a so- a foot away. For Latin Americans the zones are cial, multipersonal choice reflecting those con- smaller. Thus when an Anglo engages a Latino in nections: “We think, therefore I am.” casual conversation, the Latino perceives the Cultures are not haphazard collections of iso- Anglo as distant and cold. Why? What for the lated themes. They are integrated, holistic pat- Anglo is the social zone is for the Latino the pub- terns structured around the meeting of basic lic zone. human needs. Their all-embracing nature, in Affective and evaluative dimensions also differ fact, is the assumption behind the divine calling from culture to culture. Beauty in the eye of a to humankind to image God’s creative work by Japanese beholder is a garden of flowers and taking up our own creative cultural work in the empty space carefully planned and arranged to heighten the deliberative experience. To the world (Gen. 1:28–30; see Cultural Mandate). Westerner a garden’s beauty is found in floral Eating and drinking and whatever cultural activ- profusion and variety. ities we engage in (1 Cor. 10:31)—all show the Whom can we marry? In the West that is an mark of interrelationship as God’s property and individual decision; in clan-oriented societies the ours (1 Cor. 3:21b–23). Thus the Dogon people of kinship group or the family decides. Among the central Mali build their homes, cultivate their Dogon a man’s wife should be chosen from land, and plan their villages in the shape of an among the daughters of a maternal uncle; the oval egg. This represents their creation myth of girl becomes a symbolic substitute for her hus- the great placenta from which emerged all space, band’s mother, a reenactment of mythical incest all living beings, and everything in the world. found in the Dogon account of the creation of Among the ancient Chinese the cosmic pattern the universe. Among the kings of Hawaii and the of balance and harmony, the yin and the yang, pharaohs of Egypt, brother-sister marriage was was to be re-created again and again in daily de- practiced to preserve lineal purity and family in- cisions. The yin was negative, passive, weak, and heritance. destructive. The yang was positive, active, The Levels of Cultures. Cultures are also mul- strong, and constructive. Individuality came tilayered models of reality. Like a spiral, they from these opposites. The yin was female, move from the surface level of what we call cus- mother, soft, dark; the yang was male, father, toms through the cognitive, affective, and evalu- hard, bright. The decisions where to live and ative dimensions to the deep level of Worldview. where to be buried were made by choosing a site To illustrate, the Confucian ethic of moral eti- in harmony with these opposites. quette consists largely in making sure that rela- The anthropological theory of functionalism tionships properly reflect the hierarchical scale. underlined this holism; subsequent studies, how- In China and Korea, where cultural backgrounds ever, have introduced modifications. Functional- are shaped deeply by the Confucian ethic, the ism tended to assume that cultures were fully idea of Li (righteousness) makes specific de- integrated and coherent bounded sets. Later mands at different cultural levels: different forms scholarship, wary of the static coloring, admits of speech in addressing people on different levels that this is only more or less so. Cultures are nei- of the social scale; ritual practices; rules of pro- ther aggregates of accumulated traits nor seam- priety; observance of sharply defined under- less garments. There is a dynamic to human cul- standings of the relationships of king to subject, tures that makes full integration incomplete; older brother to younger brother, husband to gaps and inconsistencies provide opportunities wife, father to son. And linking all these together for change and modification, some rapid and is the religious perception of their specific some slow. places, in the Tao (the Way, the rule of heaven). 9 Culture

In this process, cultural forms (e.g., language, they display, to greater or lesser degree, both the gestures, relationships, money, clothing) are in- wisdom of God and the flaws of sin. vested with symbolic meanings conventionally Religion, given this understanding, cannot be, accepted by the community. They interpret the as functionalism argues, simply one of many forms and stamp them with meaning and value human needs demanding satisfaction. As the (see Symbol, Symbolism). Each cultural form, human response to the revelation of God, it per- ambivalent by itself, thus becomes a hermeneuti- meates the whole of life. It is the core in the cal carrier of values, attitudes, and connotations. structuring of culture, the integrating and radi- Clothing can indicate social status, occupation, cal response of humanity to the revelation of level of education, ritual participation. Foot God. Life is religion. washing in ancient Hebrew culture became an In the building of culture, worldview or reli- expression of hospitality (Luke 7:44). In Chris- gion is the central controlling factor: (1) it ex- tian ritual it became a symbol of humble service plains how and why things came to be as they (John 13:4–5). are, and how and why they continue or change; This symbolic arbitrariness can either help or (2) it validates the basic institutions, values, and hinder communication between persons and goals of a society; (3) it provides psychological groups. Jesus’ reproof of hypocrites as a genera- reinforcement for the group; (4) it integrates the tion of vipers (Luke 3:7) would be a great compli- society, systematizing and ordering the culture’s ment to the Balinese, who regard the viper as a perceptions of reality into an overall design; (5) sacred animal of paradise. On the other hand, his it provides, within its conservatism, opportuni- rebuke of the cunning Herod as that fox (Luke ties for perceptual shifts and alterations in con- 13:32) would make good sense to the same Bali- ceptual structuring. This fifth characteristic of nese, in whose fables the jackal plays a treacher- worldview, that is, susceptibility to change, ous part. The Korean concept of Li (righteous- opens the door for the transforming leaven of the ness) can be a point of contact with the Bible, but gospel. The coming of Christ as both Savior and also a point of confusion, as the Confucian focus judge takes every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5). on works confronts the Pauline focus on grace. When that divine work is initiated, people, under At the core of all cultures is the deep level the impulse of the Spirit, begin to change their where worldviews, the prescientific factories and worldview and, as a result, their culture. bank vaults of presuppositions, are generated In the language of Cultural Anthropology, and stored. Here the human heart (Prov. 4:23; the change wrought by the gospel is a threefold Jer. 29:13; Matt. 12:34), the place where our most process: reevaluation (a change of allegiance), basic commitments exist, responds to those di- reinterpretation (a change of evaluative princi- vine constants or universals that are reshaped by ples), and rehabituation (a series of changes in every culture (Rom. 2:14–15). Twisted by the im- behavior). With regard to the change in the indi- pact of sin and shaped by time and history, those vidual, the Bible speaks of repentance (Luke internalizations produce cultures that both obey 5:32) and conversion (Acts 26:20). With regard to and pervert God’s demands (Rom. 1:18–27). In the wider social world, it speaks of the new cre- some cultures, for example, murder is con- ation (2 Cor. 5:17); the age to come, which has demned, but becomes an act of bravery when the already begun in this present age (Eph. 1:21); person killed belongs to a different social group. and the eschatological renewal of all things Other peoples view theft as wrong, but only (Matt. 19:28), the beginnings of which we taste when it involves the stealing of public property. now in changed behavior (Titus 3:5). Thus Native Americans, who see the land as a Peripheral changes run the risk of encouraging common possession of all, as the mother of all Cultural Conversion rather than conversion to life, view the white intruders with their assump- Christ. The goal of missions must be larger, to tion of private ownership as thieves. When the bring our cultures into conformity to the King- Masai of Africa steal cattle, they do not regard dom of God and its fullness. The whole of cul- the act as theft, for they see all cattle as their nat- tural life ought to be subjected to the royal au- ural possession by way of gift from God. thority of him who has redeemed us by his blood Besides reflecting and reshaping God’s de- (Matt. 28:18–20). mands, cultures are also the means of God’s Harvie M. Conn common grace. Through his providential control God uses the shaping of human cultures to check Bibliography. E. Hall, Silent Language; P. Hiebert, the rampant violence of evil and preserve human Anthropological Insights for Missionaries; C. Kraft, Christianity in Culture; S. Lingenfelter, Transforming continuity. They provide guidelines to restrain Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission; J. Loewen, our worst impulses, sanctions of Shame or Guilt Culture and Human Values; L. Luzbetak, The Church to keep us in line. Cultures and worldviews, then, and Cultures: New Perspectives in Missiological Anthro- are not simply neutral road maps. Created by pology; E. Nida, Customs, Culture, and Christianity; those who bear the Image of God (Gen. 1:27–28), B. Ray, African Religions: Symbol, Ritual, and Commu- 10 Cultural Learning nity; J. Stott and R. Coote, eds., Down to Earth: Studies developing one’s vocabulary and deepening one’s in Christianity and Culture. understanding of the daily life of people. Lingen- felter (1996, 43–96) provides a series of research Cultural Learning. The intercultural worker questions that are useful in the collection of data who desires to become competent in the culture on property, labor, and exchange, and in the of ministry must commit to intentional activities analysis and comparison of those data with one’s and to a lifestyle that results in cultural learning home culture. (see also Intercultural Competency). The best Social Relations. Every community structures time to engage in intentional cultural learning is its social relations in accord with principles of during the first two years of ministry (see Bond- kinship, marriage, interest, and other kinds of as- ing). If the intercultural worker establishes good sociations (see Association, Socioanthropology habits of intentional learning, those habits will of). Understanding the nature of authority in carry on throughout the life of one’s ministry and family and community is crucial to framing min- make a person much more effective. This brief istry activities and working in effective relation- essay highlights seven significant steps in the ships with leaders in the community. Several an- cultural learning process. Each can be accom- thropological tools are very helpful in plished within the first two years of living and understanding the structure of social relations. working interculturally. Making maps and doing a census of a particular Language Learning. (See Second Language section of the community will help one learn who Acquisition.) Language learning is essential to is who in a community and how they are con- the whole cultural learning process. Individuals nected (or not) to one another. Doing genealogies who choose to minister interculturally and do of selected members in the community provides a not learn language will always be excluded from conceptual map of how people think about their a deep understanding of the local culture. While relationships with reference to kinship ties. The some cultural practices can be picked up map and the census become extremely useful to through observation of behaviors, the meaning intercultural workers because it provides for them of those practices can only be understood names and locations of people with whom they through the language of the local people. In are certain to interact during the ministry. Lin- many social settings in the world people speak genfelter (1996, 97–143) provides questions on more than one language. Intercultural workers family and community authority that help the re- may be tempted to learn a national language and searcher understand the structure of authority re- then presume that this is enough to work among lationships and compare them with one’s home a local people. While the national language is im- culture and commitments. portant, the deeper understanding of a local cul- Childrearing. At first glance intercultural ture requires learning the local language as well. workers might wonder if observing childrearing The best way to learn a local language is to em- practices has any relationship to intercultural ploy a local language speaker who has some ministry. What they fail to realize is that the chil- training in teaching that language and who is dren are the most precious resource in any com- willing to teach on an intensive daily basis for a munity, and that the parents of children invest period of at least six months. If such a person is much time and effort in transmitting their cul- not available, then Brewster and Brewster (1976) tural values and coaching the next generation to have provided a handbook of activities that the become mature and effective adults in the com- learner can use to pick up the local language. munity. Childrearing practices provide direct in- While some people find this method very helpful sight into the deeper values and commitments and easy to use, others find it quite difficult. that are crucial for acceptance and effectiveness Whatever method you choose, learning the local in the wider society. It is helpful for the intercul- language is central to deeper cultural under- tural worker to have intimate relationships with standing. two or three families with children in which they Economic Relations. Since all intercultural may observe and with whom they may dialogue ministry involves working with people, under- about the process of raising children. Because standing the organization of labor, cultural con- children have unique and distinctive personali- ceptions of property, and social expectations for ties, the childrearing process also helps the inter- payment, borrowing, and exchange is essential cultural worker learn how people in the culture to effective ministry activities. These activities deal with distinctive personalities. This can be are best learned by participant observation in the most useful when one engages these distinctive daily economic activities of people, and by inter- personalities as adults. Recording case studies of viewing the people, seeking their explanation of how parents deal with a particular child over a how and why they do what they do. Participant period of time can be a very useful form of ob- observation can be done while learning lan- servation and learning. Interviewing the parents guage. Inquiry into economic activities, which about their intentions in the process can illumi- are daily and ordinary, provides opportunity for nate further cultural values and understanding. 11 Culture Shock

Spradley (1979) provides very helpful insights on children and draws analogies to learning among structuring interviews, and collecting and ana- adults who are involved in community develop- lyzing interview data. ment or other ministry programs. Learning to Conflict and Conflict Resolution. The careful think analogically about cultural learning and study of Conflict is one of the most fruitful areas ministry is crucial for ministry effectiveness. for research on a culture. In situations of conflict Paul Hiebert and Eloise Meneses (1995) provide people engage in heated exchanges that focus very helpful guidelines for application in the around issues that are of extreme importance to ministries of church planting. Marvin Mayers them. An effective cultural learning program in- (1987) provides valuable insight into the applica- cludes the careful recording of case studies of tion of cultural learning for interpersonal rela- conflict, and the interviewing of participants in tionships and other kinds of intercultural rela- the conflict to understand what people are feel- tionships. ing, what they value, why they are contesting Sherwood Lingenfelter with each other, and what their hopes are with Bibliography. E. T. Brewster and E. Brewster, Lan- regard to resolution. In addition, careful analysis guage Acquisition Made Practical; D. Elmer, Cross-­ of the social processes that people employ for the Cultural Conflict; P. G. Hiebert and E. H. Meneses, In- resolving of conflict is very important. Inevitably carnational Ministry: Planning Churches in Band, each intercultural worker will experience inter- Tribal, Peasant, and Urban Societies; S. G. Lingenfelter, personal conflict with national co-workers. Un- Agents of Transformation: A Guide for Effective derstanding local processes for conflict resolu- Cross-Cultural Ministry; M. K. Mayers, Christianity tion will enable that person to proceed with Confronts Culture; J. P. Spradley, The Ethnographic In- wisdom and with support in the local cultural terview. setting (see Lingenfelter, 1996, 144–68, and Elmer). Culture Shock. The concept of culture shock Ideas and Worldview. Because Christian in- was brought into prominence in missionary cir- tercultural workers are interested in sharing the cles by the reprinting in the journal Practical An- gospel with other peoples, they must seek to un- thropology of Kalervo Oberg’s pioneering articles derstand the ideas and Worldview of the people entitled, “Cultural Shock: Adjustment to New with whom they work. These ideas are best un- Cultural Environments.” In this article the condi- derstood by careful research in the language, by tion is described as the result of “losing all our recording and studying the stories, and by ob- familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse” serving and understanding the significant life as we interact in a foreign cultural environment. cycle rituals of the local community. Research on Culture shock is the condition, experienced by funerals is probably one of the most profitable nearly everyone at the start of life in a different activities that the intercultural worker can do for culture, in which one feels off balance, unable to an understanding of the ideas and deeper values predict what people’s reactions will be when one of the local culture (see also Death Rites). Funer- does or says something. It is a real psychological als engage the widest circle of family and friends response to very real perceptions and must be of any particular individual. At these events peo- taken seriously. ple discuss issues of life and death, and act to- Though the condition can be serious to the ex- gether on the beliefs that they hold with regard tent of debilitation, it is an overstatement to to the causes of death and the transition from label it “shock” (in the medical sense), as if every life to after life. Other life cycle activities such as case were crippling. Many prefer the term “cul- marriage, naming, and birth of children provide ture stress” with the recognition that serious similar fruitful insights into the belief system of cases can approach a condition similar to that a culture (see Lingenfelter, 1996, 165–205, and labeled shock by the medical profession. The Elmer 1993). good news is that most people can survive long Application for Ministry. Cultural learning enough in another society to overcome at least for its own sake is interesting and helpful, but the worst features of culture stress if they are de- for the intercultural worker it is important to termined enough and work hard at adapting to practice the discipline of application. Each of the the new cultural world they have entered. areas outlined above provides very useful infor- Four major stages have been identified as reac- mation that the intercultural worker may apply tions to culture stress in the adjustment process. to build more effective ministries. However, ap- The first of these may be labeled the honeymoon plication must be learned and practiced. The ap- or “I love everything about these people” stage. plication of cultural learning to ministry typi- This period may last from a few weeks to several cally works through analogy. One finds a months if the person stays in the foreign environ- particular structure of authority and organiza- ment. This is a good time to commit oneself to a tion in a community, and thinks about the anal- rigorous program of language and culture learn- ogy of that structure to a growing body of believ- ing, before the realities of the new situation ers. One observes patterns of learning among thrust one into the next stage. Unfortunately, 12 Decision-Making many return home before this period is over and With developing facility in the language and write and speak very positively about an experi- culture, however, and an increasing sense of be- ence that was quite superficial. longing, one may move to the fourth or “ad- If they stay, they are likely to enter the second justed” stage. Though many of the problems of stage which can last from months to years. This the third stage may remain, the determination to is the period in which the differences and the succeed and to master the language and culture insecurities of living in an unpredictable envi- coupled with encouraging success enable one to ronment get on their nerves, sometimes in a big keep growing without giving in to discourage- way. For some this is an “I hate everything” ment. The key is to continue learning and grow- stage. People in this second stage of culture ing, accepting the fact that you are attempting to stress are often overly concerned about cleanli- learn in a few years a whole way of life that has ness, food, and contact with those around them. taken the insiders many years to learn. Curiosity, They often have feelings of helplessness and loss a learning attitude, enjoyment of the process, of control, may become absent-minded, and fre- and just plain determination are your best allies quently develop fears of being cheated, robbed, as you give yourself to the task. or injured. Not infrequently physical and spiri- Some (e.g., Dodd, 1995, 213–16) have seen the tual problems can accompany these psychologi- whole spread of reactions observed among hu- cal difficulties and the cross-cultural worker’s mans under stress in the way different people go life becomes very difficult. about the process of adapting to a new culture. As Oberg points out, “this second stage of cul- Especially in stage two, they note that some dis- ture shock is in a sense a crisis in the disease. If solve in fright and never get over it. Others react you overcome it, you stay; if not, you leave be- by flight and return home. Still others develop fore you reach the stage of a nervous break- one or another filter approach by moving into down.” Or, as many have done, you stay but the escapism posture in which they resort to un- spend all your time with your kind of people, ef- healthy attitudes such as denying differences, liv- fectively insulating yourself against the people ing in exaggerated memories of their home cul- that surround you and their culture. Unfortu- ture or going native. Others are determined to nately, many mission compounds and institu- fight and may do this constructively, conquering tions have provided just such a refuge for mis- the obstacles, or destructively by developing a sionaries who never got beyond this stage of negative, belligerent attitude toward the new cul- culture stress. To survive this stage you need to ture. Those with constructive, fighting determi- feed your determination, force yourself to be nation, however, learn to flex by accepting, learn- outgoing, in spite of many embarrassing situa- ing and growing into effective functionaries in tions, and plug away at your language and cul- the new cultural world. These are the ones who ture learning even though nothing seems to be succeed. coming together. Charles H. Kraft Those who survive the second stage begin to Bibliography. C. H. Dodd, Dynamics of Intercultural “level off,” accepting that things are going to be Communication; A. Furnham and W. J. Lonner, Culture different and difficult to predict while they are Shock; K. Oberg, PA 7 (1960): 177–82. beginning to be able to function in the language and culture. They develop an ability to laugh at Decision-Making. A decision begins with an themselves and to endure the frequent embar- unmet need, followed by the (1) awareness that rassing situations in which they don’t under- there is an alternative to the situation, an (2) in- stand what is going on. They begin to recognize terest in the alternative, and (3) consideration of that the people they are living among and their the alternative. This consideration reviews both way of life are neither totally good nor totally utilitarian and nonutilitarian issues involved. A bad but, like their own people and their way of (4) choice is made, and (5) action must follow to life, some of each. By this time a person has at- implement the decision. Action will require tained enough facility in the language to func- (6) readjustment. That, in turn, may create the tion reasonable well in several situations so that awareness of further necessary changes, and the sometimes, at least, things look hopeful. decision cycle is repeated. Even with this improvement in attitude, how- Decision-making in practice, however, seldom ever, discouragement may take over and lead to a happens in a simple, circular fashion. There are kind of truce with the cross-cultural situation pauses and rapid skips forward and backward. that issues in a “plateauing” or holding pattern There is no clear beginning or end in the deci- rather than continuing growth and adaptation. sion process. Each of the identified stages must Many stop at this point, having learned to func- be expanded to gain a clear picture of the com- tion reasonably in most social situations, espe- plexity of decision-making. cially those they can control, and having learned Improving Quality of Decisions. A Decisional to assert and maintain control regularly. Balance Sheet lists all known alternatives with 13 Dependency the anticipated positive and negative conse- Group judgment is not better than individual quences of each. The Decisional Balance Sheet judgment, unless the individuals are experts in will lead to improved decisions when seven crite- the area under consideration. Ignorance cannot ria for information processing are met: be averaged out, only made more consistent. A lack of disagreement in group discussion in- 1. Consider a wide range of alternatives. creases the possibility of “groupthink” (an un- 2. Examine all objectives to be fulfilled by challenged acceptance of a position). A lack of the decision. disagreement may be construed as harmony, but 3. Carefully weigh the negative and posi- contribute to poorer-quality decisions. tive consequences of each alternative. Higher-quality decisions are made in groups 4. Search thoroughly for new information where (1) disagreement is central to deci- relevant to each alternative. sion-making, (2) leaders are highly communica- 5. Assimilate and use new information or tive, and (3) group members are active partici- expert judgment. pants. Clearly, achieving social interdependence 6. Reexamine all known alternatives in the group is prerequisite to quality decisions. before making a final decision. However, mere quantity of communication is not 7. Make careful provision for implement- sufficient; the content of intragroup communica- ing the chosen decision. tion affects the quality of decision. The more time spent on establishing operating procedures, Personality and Decisions. Individuals have the lower the probability that a quality decision been categorized as sensors or intuitors in their will result. Gaining agreement on the criteria for decision-making approaches. Sensors analyze the final decision and then systematically consid- isolated, concrete details while intuitors consider ering all feasible solutions increases the proba- overall relationships. Intuitors have been found bility of a good decision. to have better predictive accuracy in decisions. Consensus decision-making groups show more Other studies have suggested four personality agreement, more objectivity, and fewer random styles in decision-making: or redundant statements than nonconsen- Decisive, using minimal information to reach a sus-seeking groups. Achievement of consensus is firm opinion. Speed, efficiency, and consistency helped by using facts, clarifying issues, resolving are the concern. Flexible, using minimal infor- conflict, lessening tension, and making helpful mation that is seen as having different meanings suggestions. at different times. Speed, adaptability, and intu- Cultural Effects on Decision-Making. A ition are emphasized. Hierarchic, using masses group must have decision rules, explicitly stated of carefully analyzed data to reach one conclu- or implicitly understood, to function. These rules sion. Association with great thoroughness, preci- vary with culture; thus a decision model effective sion, and perfectionism. Integrative, using large in societies of an American or European tradi- amounts of data to generate many possible solu- tion will probably not function well in Asian or tions. Decisions are highly experimental and African groups. For example, probability is not often creative. normally seen as related to uncertainty in some It cannot be assumed, however, that individual cultures. For these cultures, probabilistic deci- decisions are the fundamental level of deci- sion analysis is not the best way of aiding deci- sion-making. In most societies of Central and sion-making. South America, Africa, and Asia, no significant Perception of the decision required by the de- decision (individual or group) is reached apart cision-maker must be considered. What is per- from a group process to achieve consensus. In ceived depends on cultural assumptions and pat- the more individualistic orientation of North terns, previous experience and the context. The American and European societies, group deci- problem as presented is seldom, if ever, the same sion is often achieved through a process of argu- as the perception of the problem. The greater the mentation and verbosity, with the sum of indi- differences in culture, the greater the differences vidual decisions expressed in a vote. in perception. Group Decisions. A group decision is reached Donald E. Smith by accumulating emotional and factual informa- Bibliography. R. Y. Hirokawa and M. S. Poole, Com- tion in a cyclical fashion. Beginning with a posi- munication and Group Decision-Making; I. L. Janis and tion accepted by consensus, new possibilities are L. Mann, Decision Making: A Psychological Analysis of tested. If accepted, those ideas become the new Conflict, Choice, and Commitment; D. K. Smith, Creat- “anchored” (consensus) position; if rejected, the ing Understanding; G. Wright, ed., Behavioral Decision group returns to the original position, reaching Making. out again as new possibilities emerge. The final stage of group decision is the members’ public Dependency. Dependence is a necessary part of commitment to that decision—the essence of life, an inborn tendency which cultural, social, consensus. and psychological conditions shape. The real 14 Dependency problem of dependence is not its existence or university students and leadership are trained in nonexistence, but the manner of being depen- a few foreign sites, and a considerable portion of dent. the aid is spent on purchases from abroad. The Overdependency of any kind (financial, physi- economic top 20 percent receive most of the cal, emotional, or intellectual) may result in ero- funds, which reinforces their position, and the sion of self-respect, inhibiting initiative in using bottom 40 percent almost none. existing resources and leading to imitative be- Christian ministries unwittingly perpetuate havior that destroys cultural integrity. But de- economic dependency when they plead “just pendency also may build relationships and knit a send money,” separating funds from fellowship society together, strengthening individual and contrary to the example and teaching of 2 Corin- group security and sense of identity. thians 8 and 9. “It continues to make the na- One-way dependency is negative, ultimately tional church dependent. . . . It often robs the destroying healthy relationships. The person or national church of its natural potential. When society depended upon feels exploited, and the easy money . . . is available, very few want to ex- dependent individual or group grows to resent plore indigenous ways of fund raising.” the other. Dependency is also created by imported struc- Such dependency reduces self-respect because tures, methodologies, and institutions that are of an apparent inability to do anything other suitable for churches of one culture but not for than receive. Lacking self-respect, the receiver another area. By placing inappropriate and even may reject familiar cultural patterns and imitate impossible demands on the churches, those the person or group that is the source of help. churches become dependent on the guidance of The consequent change is often not appropriate, outsiders who understand the imported system. creating a need for more help. A downward spi- A form of Christianity is created that cannot be ral results that leads to psychological or social reproduced. Paternalism and its mate, depen- dysfunction. The group helped is crippled in dence, thus may grow from the very structures of their ability to care for their own affairs. mission and church, not from some weakness in One-way dependency is an addictive process in either the new believers or the missionaries. which participants become co-dependents who In cultures of North America and Europe inde- are unable or unwilling to see people and things pendence is considered an absolute good. A cen- realistically. The addictive process takes control tral therapeutic assumption in Euro-American of participants, pushing participants to think psychology is that healthy behavior is self-reli- and do things inconsistent with their values, in- ant, self-sufficient, and independent. The in-born cluding deceptive behavior, in the attempt to jus- tendency to dependency, either individually or in tify dependency and yet maintain the illusion of independence. the social structure, is to be removed as quickly As with any addiction, everything comes to as possible. center around satisfying a craving. More and Very different assumptions are present in more is needed to create the desired effect, and many cultures of Asia, Africa, and South Amer- no amount is ever enough. Perception of infor- ica concerning dependency. It is two-way, part of mation is distorted and relationships become mutual support, obligation, and reciprocity that subservient to the addiction. There is an aware- binds the society by building relationships of in- ness that something is wrong, but addictive terdependency. Life requires cooperation at thinking says that it is somebody else’s fault. No every point. Dependency is not weakness but a responsibility is accepted. Addicts tend to be de- part of the natural order where help always pendent and to feel increasingly powerless. The moves in circles, not in a straight line. What is idea that they can take responsibility for their given will return. lives is inconceivable to them. In a basic way, most of the world’s people are This pattern of thinking is equally applicable dependent. Peoples as widespread as the Japa- to individuals and groups. Either can be ad- nese, American Indians, Matabele (Zimbabwe), dicted to dependency systems (economic, struc- and the Malagasy (Madagascar) all accept de- tural, and psychological) as strongly as to drugs. pendency as necessary and positive. A reward is Economic dependency has been shown to in- expected for relying on another, because you hibit national development, yet economic depen- have given by receiving. Amae is a fundamental dency has been repeated in church-mission rela- concept in Japanese social psychology, an auto- tionships. Both national and church dependency matic good expressed supremely in the role of are characterized by a very few sources invest- the emperor who depends on others to rule and ing/giving heavily through an indigenous con- carry out every task yet is honored as the ulti- trolling elite. Fundamental decision-making is mate expression of the nation. Dependency is implicitly the prerogative of the donor not the pivotal in the Worldview that underlies Mala- recipient. Foreign assistance is large relative to gasy society, and the dependency systems of the receiving economy. A large proportion of its India affect nearly every transaction. 15 Disciple, Discipleship

Missions function within these two opposing bly belonging to one of the academic institutions. concepts of dependency. Euro-American mis- The Pharisees centered their activities on study sionaries tend to regard all dependency as bad, and strict application of the Old Testament, de- and Asian-African-South Americans regard it as veloping a complex system of oral interpreta- necessary and good. Failure to recognize these tions of the Law. The “disciples of John the Bap- fundamental differences in attitudes to depen- tist” (John 1:35; Mark 2:18) were courageous dency leads to misunderstanding and alienation. men and women who had left the status-quo of Gurian and Gurian provide a model that de- institutional Judaism to follow the prophet. scribes destructive extremes and the desirable What then is different about Jesus’ disciples? balance. They note that a one-way dependency Jesus’ disciples were those who heard his invita- may result in entrapment, enslavement, helpless- tion to begin a new kind of life, accepted his call ness, suppression, surrender, submission, and to the new life, and became obedient to it. The submergence. Total independency, on the other center of this new life was Jesus himself, because hand, can result in abandonment, estrangement, his disciples gained new life through him (John selfishness, narcissism, withdrawal, alienation, 10:7–10), they followed him (Mark 1:16–20), they and isolation. True interdependency, a position were to hear and obey his teachings (Matt. 5:1– in tension between the two poles of dependency 2), and they were to share in Jesus’ mission by and independency, can lead to continuity, bond- going into all of the world, preaching the gospel ing, reciprocity, mutual and healthy obligation, of the kingdom and calling all people to become trust, commitment, and involvement. Jesus’ disciples (Luke 24:47; Matt. 28:19–20). In Scriptures teach the interdependence of be- the Gospels the disciples are with Jesus, the reli- lievers within the Body of Christ, not crippling gious leaders are those who are against Jesus, dependency nor extreme individualism. Chris- and the crowds or multitudes are those who are tian workers from every cultural heritage are ob- curious, but have not yet made a commitment to ligated to build that interdependence within the Jesus. The word “disciple” when referring to international church, avoiding patterns that lead Jesus’ followers is equivalent to “believer” (cf. to either extreme. Acts 4:32; 6:2) and “Christian” (Acts 11:26). Donald F. Smith We should distinguish between the disciples in Bibliography. M. P. Gurian, and J. M. Gurian, The a narrow and broad sense. In the narrow sense Dependency Tendency; W. Lustbader, Counting on Kind- we recognize especially those twelve who literally ness: The Dilemmas of Dependency; A. W. Schaef, When followed Jesus around and later became the Society Becomes an Addict; G. Schwartz, EMQ 27:3 apostles. We also recognize a broader group of (1991): 238–41; R. Wood, Mission Frontiers, 19:1 Jesus’ disciples which was composed, among oth- (1997): 7. ers, of the large group of people who had become Jesus’ followers (Luke 6:13), a variety of individ- Disciple, Discipleship. During Jesus’ earthly ual men and women (Luke 8:2–3; 23:49, 55; ministry, and during the days of the early 24:13, 18, 33), tax-collectors (Luke 19:1–10), church, the term most frequently used to desig- scribes (Matt. 8:18–21), and religious leaders nate one of Jesus’ followers was “disciple.” A cen- (John 19:38–42; Matt. 27:57). The term “disciple” tral theme of Jesus’ earthly ministry, discipleship designates one as a believer in Jesus; all true be- likewise is a central theme that is to occupy the lievers are disciples (cf. Acts 4:32 with 6:2). The mission of the church throughout the ages as Twelve were distinguished from the larger group they make disciples of all the nations (Matt. by a calling to become “apostles” (Luke 6:13). 28:18–20) and then help new disciples advance The Twelve were both disciples (i.e., believers) in their discipleship in following Jesus. and apostles (i.e., commissioned leaders) (Matt. Disciple. In the ancient world the term “disci- 10:1–2). ple” was used generally to designate a follower Discipleship. The initiative of discipleship who was committed to a recognized leader or with Jesus lies with his call (Mark 1:17; 2:14; teacher. In Jesus’ day several other types of indi- Matt. 4:19; 9:9; cf. Luke 5:10–11, 27–28) and his viduals were called “disciples.” These disciples choice (John 15:16) of those who would be his were similar to, yet quite different from, Jesus’ disciples. The response to the call involves recog- disciples. nition and belief in Jesus’ identity (John 2:11; The “Jews” who questioned the parents of the 6:68–69), obedience to his summons (Mark 1:18, man born blind (John 9:18ff.) attempted to scorn 20), counting the cost of full allegiance to him the blind man by saying that, although he was a (Luke 14:25–28; Matt. 19:23–30), and participat- disciple of Jesus, they were “disciples of Moses” ing in his mission of being a “light to the Gen- (John 9:28). They focused on their privilege to tiles” (Acts 13). His call is the beginning of some- have been born Jews who had a special relation thing new; it means leaving behind one’s old life to God through Moses (cf. John 9:29). The “disci- (Matt. 8:34–37; Luke 9:23–25), finding new life in ples of the Pharisees” (Mark 2:18; Matt. 22:15– the family of God through obeying the will of the 16) were adherents of the Pharisaic party, possi- Father (Matt. 12:46–50), and being sent by him to 16 Disciple, Discipleship the world as the Father had sent Jesus (John pleship also means loving one another as Jesus 20:21). loved his disciples (John 13:34–35). Love is a dis- When Jesus called men and women to follow tinguishing mark of all disciples of Jesus, made him, he offered a personal relationship with him- possible because of regeneration—where a self, not simply an alternative lifestyle or differ- change has been made in the heart of the be- ent religious practices or a new social organiza- liever by God’s love—and because of an endless tion. While some of the sectarians within supply of love from God, who is love (cf. 1 John Judaism created separations between the “righ- 4:12–21). Third, Jesus also said that the true dis- teous” and the “unrighteous” by their regulations ciple will bear fruit: the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. and traditions, Jesus broke through those barri- 5:22–26), new converts (John 4:3–38; 15:16), ers by calling to himself those who, in the eyes of righteousness and good works (Phil. 1:11; Col. sectarians, did not seem to enjoy the necessary 1:10), and proclamation witness to the world qualifications for fellowship with him (Matt. 9:9– (John 20:21). 13; Mark 2:13–17). Discipleship means the begin- No matter how advanced Jesus’ disciples ning of a new life in intimate fellowship with a would become, they would always be disciples of living Master and Savior. Thus discipleship also Jesus. In other master-disciple relationships in involves a commitment to call others to such a Judaism the goal of discipleship was one day to relationship with Jesus Christ. become the master. But disciples of Jesus are not Jesus’ gracious call to discipleship was accom- simply involved in an education or vocational panied by an intense demand to count the cost of form of discipleship. Disciples of Jesus have en- discipleship (cf. Luke 9:57–62; 14:25–33). The de- tered into a relationship with the Son of God, mand to count the cost of discipleship meant ex- which means that Jesus is always Master and changing the securities of this world for salva- Lord (Matt. 23:8–12). Therefore, this relationship tion and security in him. For some this meant with Jesus is a wholistic process—involving sacrificing riches (Matt. 19:16–26), for others it every area of life as the disciple grows to become meant sacrificing attachment to family (Matt. like Jesus—and it lasts throughout the disciple’s 8:18–22; Luke 14:25–27), for still others it meant life. abandoning nationalistic feelings of superiority The church therefore is a community of disci- (Luke 10:25–37). For all disciples it means giving ples, the family of God (cf. Matt. 12:46–50), of one’s life for gospel proclamation in the world. composed of all those who have believed on Jesus declared that to be a disciple is to be- Jesus for salvation. In our day we have lost that come like the master (Matt. 10:24–25; Luke perspective. Often people of the church feel as 6:40). Becoming like Jesus includes going out though discipleship is optional, that perhaps it with the same message, ministry, and compas- is only for those who are extremely committed, sion (Matt. 10:5ff.), practicing the same religious or else it is for those who have been called to and social traditions (Mark 2:18–22; Matt. 12:1– leadership or ministry. We must regain the bibli- 8), belonging to the same family of obedience cal perspective: to believe on Jesus draws a per- (Matt. 12:46–49), exercising the same servant- son into community, a community which de- hood (Mark 10:42–45; Matt. 20:26–28; John fines its expectations, responsibilities, and 13:12–17), experiencing the same suffering privileges in terms of discipleship. (Matt. 10:16–25; Mark 10:38–39), and being sent Mission and Discipleship. We have seen in the same way to the same world (John 20:21). above that a primary goal of discipleship is be- The true disciple was to know Jesus so well, was coming like Jesus (Luke 6:40). This is also under- to have followed him so closely, that he or she stood by Paul to be the final goal of eternal elec- would become like him. The ultimate goal was to tion (Rom. 8:29). The process of becoming like be conformed to Jesus’ image (cf. Luke 6:40; Jesus brings the disciple into intimate relation- Rom. 8:28–29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 4:19) and then ship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and, as such, is live out a life of witness in word and deed to the the goal of individual discipleship. But disciple- world that Jesus is Lord. ship is not simply self-centered. In a classic in- John’s Gospel carries three challenges of Jesus teraction with two of his disciples who were to his disciples. These challenges offer the means seeking positions of prominence, Jesus declares by which a disciple grows in discipleship to be- that servanthood is to be the goal of disciples in come like Jesus. First, true discipleship means relationship to one another (Mark 10:35–45). abiding in Jesus’ words as the truth for every The reason that this kind of servanthood is possi- area of life (cf. John 8:31–32). Abiding in Jesus’ ble is because of Jesus’ work of servanthood in words means to know and to live in what Jesus ransoming disciples. He paid the price of release says about life. Instead of listening to the world’s from the penalty for sin (cf. Rom. 6:23), and values, disciples must listen to what Jesus says. from the power of sin over pride and self-cen- This begins with salvation (cf. Peter’s example in tered motivation. The motivation of self-serving John 6:66–69), but involves every other area of greatness is broken through redemption, and life as well (Matt. 28:19–20). Second, true disci- disciples are thus enabled to focus upon others 17 Enculturation in servanthood both in the church and, with Mathetes; idem, Following the Master: A Biblical Theol- other Christians, servanthood in the world. This ogy of Discipleship; idem, Reflecting Jesus. is very similar to Paul’s emphasis when he points to Jesus’ emptying himself to become a servant: Enculturation. Learning of a culture through Jesus provides the example of the way the Philip- growing up in it. Enculturation is the process pian believers are to act toward one another that begins from the moment of birth in which (Phil. 2:1–8). the cultural rules and pathways, values and Through his final Great Commission Jesus fo- dreams, and patterns and regulations of life are cuses his followers on the ongoing importance of passed on from one generation to the next. Every discipleship through the ages, and declares the human being is born without culture but with responsibility of disciples toward the world: they the innate need to learn how to live as a member are to make disciples of all peoples (Matt. 28:16– of a culture. Learning how to communicate, the 20). To “make disciples” is to proclaim the gospel rules and regulations of social behavior, evaluat- message among those who have not yet heard ing events and values as positive or negative, as the gospel of forgiveness of sins (cf. Luke 24:46– well as connecting to God (or the transcendent) 47; John 20:21). The command finds verbal ful- are all part of the enculturation process. fillment in the activities of the early church (e.g. The chief means of enculturation are the nor- Acts 14:21), where they went from Jerusalem to mal everyday patterns of life, which every person Judea, to Samaria, to the ends of the earth pro- observes, interprets, and internalizes while grow- claiming the gospel of the kingdom and calling ing up. The way our parents raise us, the way the peoples of the world to become disciples of siblings respond to us, our spiritual and physical Jesus Christ. In the early church, to believe in environments, the values we see in relationships the gospel message was to become a disciple (cf. and social institutions, and the media to which Acts 4:32 with 6:2). To “make disciples of all the we were exposed were all factors in our own en- nations” is to make more of what Jesus made of culturation processes. them. Missionaries have the tendency to forget their A person becomes a disciple of Jesus when he own enculturation and how deeply their own or she confesses Jesus as Savior and God and is cultural values are embedded in them, and they regenerated by the Holy Spirit (cf. John 3:3–8; are tempted to criticize inappropriately the pro- Titus 3:5). The participles “baptizing” and “teach- ing” in Matthew 28:18 describe activities through cess of enculturation as they observe it in a new which the new disciple grows in discipleship. culture, often because what they see does not Growth includes both identification with Jesus’ “feel” right to them. Understanding the encultur- death and resurrection (baptism) and obedience ation process is important for successful Con- to all that Jesus had commanded the disciples in textualization, for it provides crucial insights his earthly ministry (teaching). Baptism im- needed for success in the process of helping peo- merses and surrounds the new believers with the ple of a new culture understand the message of reality and presence of the Triune God as they the gospel. dwell within the church. Obedience to Jesus’ A. Scott Moreau teaching brings about full Christian formation Bibliography. S. Grunlan and M. K. Mayers, Cul- for disciples. tural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective; L. J. Luzbe- Jesus concludes the Commission with the cru- tak, The Church and Cultures. cial element of discipleship: the presence of the Master—“I am with you always, to the very end Ethnocentrism. The term “ethnocentrism” may of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Both those obeying the simply be defined as the belief that one’s own command and those responding are comforted people group or cultural ways are superior to by the awareness that the risen Jesus will con- others. An ethnocentric person generally has an tinue to form all his disciples. The Master is al- attitude/opinion of prejudice (prejudging others ways present for his disciples to follow in their as inferior). This internal orientation may be mission to the world throughout the ages. manifested in individual action or institutional- Michael J. Wilkins ized policy toward others as in the case of an- Bibliography. D. Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Disciple- ti-Semitism, apartheid, bigotry, fascism, and rac- ship; A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve; J. D. G. ism. Dunn, Jesus’ Call to Discipleship; M. Hengel, The Char- Prejudice or discrimination in a scientific ismatic Leader and His Followers; R. N. Longenecker, sense can be both positive and negative. How- ed., Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament; ever, in the social sciences, including missiology, D. Müller, NIDNTT, 1:483–90; K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT, 4:415–61; F. F. Segovia, ed., Discipleship in the New Tes- the terms are generally used with a negative con- tament; G. Theissen, Sociology of Early Palestinian notation. It is necessary to distinguish between Christianity; M. J. Wilkins, The Concept of Disciple in the two: prejudice is an attitude; discrimination Matthew’s Gospel: As Reflected in the Use of the Term is action or social interaction unfavorable to oth- 18 Ethnocentrism ers on the basis of their religious, ethnic, or ra- gelization. At any of these points ethnocentrism cial membership. can curtail or cripple efforts in missions. Prejudice is the subjective prejudgment of oth- Persons with an ethnocentric orientation have ers to be inferior, whereas ethnocentrism is the difficulty developing a genuine social relation- subjective presumption that one’s own peo- ship with members outside their group. While ple-group or cultural ways are superior. Bigotry we must recognize that no one is entirely with- (i.e., narrow-mindedness or intolerance due to out prejudice or ethnocentrism of some kind, differences between self and others) and racism ethnocentrism in the Christian inhibits obedi- (i.e., the presumed cultural superiority or inferi- ence to the Great Commandment (“love your ority as caused by genetically inherited physical neighbor as yourself”) and the Great Commis- characteristics such as facial feature, skin color, sion. Ethnocentrism is a significant obstacle to etc.) are two general forms of prejudice. missionaries serving as messengers of the “gos- Institutionalized manifestation of ethnocen- pel of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5). trism and prejudice can be found in specific The ethnocentric Western Christian has the cases historically. Fascism (i.e., authoritarian na- tendency to presuppose a “guilt feeling” in the tionalism) of Benito Mussolini, which emerged audience in talking about justification, atone- in the 1920s in Italy, and Adolf Hitler’s control of ment, and so on. People from a shame culture Germany in the 1930s are cases in point. Hitler’s (see Shame; avoid embarrassment and “losing belief in the superiority and purity of his own face” at all cost and acquire honor and “save kind gave impetus to anti-Semitic measures that face” by all means) may be more ready to appre- led to the holocaust of the Jews. The black and ciate and accept Christ as the “Mediator, Shame- white racial conflicts in the United States and bearer, Reconcilor” (Rom. 5; 2 Cor. 5; Eph. 2; South Africa are examples of institutionalized Heb. 9; etc.). manifestation of ethnocentrism and prejudice. Some Western Christians are predisposed to Ethnocentrism is Contrabiblical to Mission. the use of informational/impersonal evangelistic Mission is the divine design of bringing spiritual means of the technological society as compared blessings to all nations, reflected in God’s cove- to oral and mostly relational cultures of the tar- get group. The understanding of “limited cul- nant with Abraham (Gen. 12) and Christ’s Great tural relativism” (viewing cultural ways as rela- Commission to bring the gospel to all nations. tive, an antidote to “ethnocentrism”) will enable God’s desire is that none should perish but all Christians to adapt to new cultural contexts with should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). the relevant gospel message and flexible evange- Ethnocentric pride of many Jews prevented listic methods. them from performing their duties as God’s Ethnocentrism Still Inhibits Missions. Mar- choice instruments of grace to the nations (Rom. tin Luther despised the Book of James as “the 7–9). The apostles had difficulty in following the straw epistle” and preferred Romans and Gala- resurrected Christ’s command to bear witness to tians. This is a historical example showing the the nations (Acts 1:9) Even during persecution power of prejudice. His pattern of preferential they persisted in evangelizing only their own treatment of different books of the Bible can still kind (Acts 11:19). be found in modern missions in prioritizing Bible The detailed description of the Holy Spirit’s di- books for translation. In a similar manner, recting Peter toward the Roman official Corne- cross-cultural church planters may disregard the lius in Acts 10 is very telling regarding ethnocen- cultural context of the target ethnic groups and trism and mission. The Holy Spirit prepared persist in imposing their own Christian tradition Peter personally by leading him to lodge at Si- on new converts in terms of worship and preach- mon’s house (cf. the Jewish ceremonial law of ing style, discipleship programs, and church pol- Lev. 11) prior to giving visions and directions to icy. both Peter and Cornelius. Later Peter came to a At a personal level, missionaries may not be new understanding: “I now realize how true it is completely free from ethnocentrism in their atti- that God does not show favoritism and accepts tude, etiquette, and action. All missionaries must men from every nation” (Acts 19:34–35). When be willing to ask themselves on a regular basis if witnessing the “Gentile pentecost,” the Jewish they are displaying ethnocentric attitudes in Christians “were astonished that the gift of the what they communicate by the very way they Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the live. Gentiles” (10:44–45). Enoch Wan Ethnocentrism is Counterproductive in Mis- sions. “Missions” are the ways and means Bibliography. W. Allport, The Nature of Prejudice; J. D. Dovidio and S. L. Gaertner, Prejudice, Discrimina- whereby the Christian church fulfills its mission tion, and Racism; P. Jackson, ed., Race and Racism: Es- of world evangelization. Intercultural Commu- says in Social Geography; D. Kitagawa, Race Relations nication, Cross-Cultural Ministry, and Church and Christian Mission; R. A. LeVine and D. T. Camp- Planting are parts of the process of world evan- bell, Ethnocentrism: Theories of Conflict, Ethnic Atti- 19 Evangelism tudes, and Group Behavior; V. Reynolds, et al., eds., The tend to answer every curious question of Sociobiology of Ethnocentrism. humankind, but what is written does show God’s way of salvation to an honest heart. Not surpris- Evangelism. Evangelism announces that salva- ingly, then, theological systems that compromise tion has come. The verb “evangelize” literally Scriptural verities do not produce evangelism. means to bear good news. In the noun form, it The revelation makes us see how we have all translates “gospel” or “evangel.” The angels’ turned to our own way. Such arrogance cannot proclamation of Christ’s birth is typical of the be ignored by a just God, since it is an affront to more than 130 times the term in its various his holiness. Inevitably, then, the sinner must be forms occurs in the New Testament: “Behold, I separated from God. Furthermore, his wrath bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall upon iniquity cannot be annulled as long as the be to all people. For there is born to you this day cause of evil remains. Since life is unending, all in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the the spiritual consequences of sin continue on Lord” (Luke 2:10–11). forever in Hell. The Hebrew term translated in the Septuagint Knowing, therefore, what is at stake, evange- by the same word appears in the writings of Isa- lism strikes at the heart of Sin. Though the dis- iah: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the closure of human rebellion and its result may be feet of him that brings good news . . .” (Isa. bad news, still the gospel shines through it all, 52:7). Again, speaking of the ministry of the for God judges so that he might save. coming Messiah, the prophet writes, “The Spirit Incarnate in Christ. The redeeming work of of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord the Trinity focuses in the person of the Son. In has anointed Me to preach good tidings . . .” Jesus Christ evangelism becomes incarnate. (Isa. 61:1, 2). Jesus is not God apart from the human, nor the Jesus interpreted his mission as fulfillment of human apart from God; he is God and mankind this promise (Luke 4:18, 19). He saw himself as united in one Personality. In this perfect union of an evangelist, announcing the coming of the eternal consciousness, Christ becomes the recon- Kingdom of God. This message was to be pro- ciling center of the gospel. All that took place in claimed in the context of demonstrated compas- salvation before his coming was in anticipation sion for the bruised and forgotten people of the of him. All that has taken place since his coming world. is accomplished in his Name—the only “Name At this point, there is often confusion among under heaven given among men by which we Christians today. Some contend that evangelism must be saved” (Acts 4:12). involves only the gospel declaration, while others The apostolic gospel does not minimize the ex- identify it essentially with establishing a caring clusive claims of Christ. He alone is Lord, and presence in society or seeking to rectify injustice. with “all authority” (Matt. 28:18), he stands It should be clear that both are necessary. One among us, and says, “I am the way, the truth, without the other leaves a distorted impression and the life. No one comes to the Father except of the good news. If Jesus had not borne the sor- through me” (John 14:6). rows of people and performed deeds of mercy His mission reaches its climax on the hill of among them, we might question his concern. On Calvary. There in the fullness of time Jesus bore the other hand, if he had not articulated the gos- our sins in his own body on the cross, suffering pel, we would not have known why he came, nor in our stead, “the just for the unjust, that he how we could be saved. To bind up the wounds might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). of the dying, while withholding the message that Christ’s bodily resurrection and subsequent as- could bring deliverance to their souls, would cension into heaven bring the cross forcibly to leave them still in bondage. Mere social concern our attention. For when one dies who has the does not address the ultimate need of a lost power to rise from the grave, in all honesty we world (see also Evangelism and Social Responsi- must ask why he died in the first place. To this bility). penetrating question the gospel unequivocally A Revelation of God. What makes the an- answers, “Jesus . . . was delivered for our of- nouncement so compelling is its divine source. fenses, and was raised again for our purification” Contrary to the opinion of popular humanism, (Rom. 4:24, 25). evangelism does not originate in the valiant Experiencing Grace. In confronting the reality groping of persons seeking a higher life. Rather, of the cross, we are made supremely aware of it comes as a revelation of God who is ever seek- God’s love. It is “not that we loved God, but that ing to make a people to display his glory. he loved us,” and “gave himself” for us (1 John The deposit of this divine quest is the canon of 4:10; Gal. 2:20). Perhaps we could understand inspired Scripture. As the Word of God, “without one giving his life for a righteous person, or for a error in all that it affirms” (The Lausanne Cove- friend, but “God demonstrates his own love to- nant, Section 2) the Bible is the objective au- ward us, in that while we were still sinners, thority for the gospel. To be sure, it does not pre- Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). 20 Evangelism

Heaven is the wonder of the gospel. Nothing Wrapped up in this lifestyle is his plan to evan- deserved! Nothing earned! In our complete help- gelize the world. For disciples—learners of lessness, bankrupt of all natural goodness, God Christ—will follow him, and as they learn more moved in and did for us what we could not do of him, they will grow in his likeness, while also for ourselves. It is all of Grace—unmerited love. becoming involved in his ministry. So they, too, From beginning to end, salvation is the “gift of will begin to make disciples, teaching them in God” (Eph. 2:8). turn to do the same, until, through the process of The invitation is to all. “Whosoever will may multiplication, the whole world will hear the gos- come” (Rev. 22:17). Though the enabling power pel. to believe is entirely of grace, the responsibility to Bringing people to Christ is not the only ex- respond to God’s word rests upon the sinner. We pression of the church’s ministry, of course. But must receive the gift in true repentance and faith. it is the most crucial, for it makes possible every It means that we choose to turn from the pre- other church activity. Without evangelism the tense of self-righteousness, and with a broken church would soon become extinct. and contrite spirit, trust ourselves unto the loving The Way of the Spirit. Let it be understood, arms of Jesus. Until there is such a Conversion, however, that this work is not contrived by no one can enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. human ingenuity. God the Holy Spirit is the en- 18:3). abler. What God administers as the Father and Through this commitment, the believer is in- reveals as the Son, he accomplishes as the Third troduced to a life of forgiveness, love and true Member of the Trinity. So the mission of Christ freedom. “Old things have passed away; behold, through the church becomes the acts of the all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). There Spirit. He lifts up the Word, and as Jesus is glori- is an actual partaking of the divine nature, so fied, convicted men and women cry out to be that a regenerated person begins to live in the saved. Evangelism is finally God’s work, not Savior. It is this inward dynamic of sanctifica- ours. We are merely the channel through which tion that makes Christianity a saving force for the Spirit of Christ makes disciples. holiness in the world. Out of it flows compas- That is why even to begin the Christian life sionate deeds of mercy and bold evangelistic out- one must be “born again” (John 3:3). “It is the reach. Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” A Ministering Church. Faithful witness of the (John 6:63). Likewise, it is the Spirit who sus- gospel calls forth the church. All who heed the tains and nourishes the developing relationship. call and live by faith in the Son of God—past, He calls the church to ministry. He leads us in present, and future—become part of this com- prayer. He dispenses gifts for service. Through munion of the saints. the Spirit’s strength faith comes alive in obedi- As the church is created by evangelism, so it ence and by his impartation of grace, we are becomes the agent of God in dispensing the gos- being conformed to the image of our Lord. pel to others. Unfortunately, our mission to the Everything, then, depends upon the Spirit’s whole world may be forgotten, and we accept the possession of the sent ones, the church. Just as same delusion as did the self-serving religious those first disciples were told to tarry until they community of Jesus’ day. Their attitude was seen received the promised power, so must we (Luke in bold relief at the cross when they said in deri- 24:49; Acts 2:4). The spiritual inducement at sion, “He saved others; himself he cannot save” Pentecost, by whatever name is called, must be a (Mark 15:31). What they failed to realize was reality in our lives, not as a distant memory, but that Jesus had not come to save himself; he came as a present experience of the reigning Christ. to save us; “The Son of Man did not come to be Hindrances that obstruct his dominion must be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ran- confessed, and our hearts cleansed so that the som for many” (Mark 10:4); he came “to seek Spirit of holiness can fill us with the love of God. and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Though we can never contain all of him, he Those who take up his cross, as we are bidden, wants all of us—to love and adore him with all enter into this mission. In this service, whatever that we are and all that we hope to be. Any evan- our gifts, every person in the church is “sent” gelistic effort that circumvents this provision will from God, even as we are called into Christ’s be as lifeless as it is barren. The secret of New ministry (John 17:18; 20:21). Testament evangelism is to let the Holy Spirit Underscoring this mission, before returning to have his way in our lives. the Father in heaven, Jesus commanded his The Glorious Consummation. Whatever may church to “go and make disciples of all nations” be our method of presenting the gospel, and (Matt. 28:18). The Great Commission is not some wherever God may place us in his service, we special assignment for a few clerical workers; it labor in the confidence that his world mission is a way of life; it is the way Jesus directed his will be finished. Evangelism, as the heartbeat of life with a few disciples while he was among us, Christian ministry, simply directs our energy to and now the way he expects his church to follow. that goal toward which history is moving, when 21 Extent of Missionary Identification the completed church will be presented “faultless ing that the final decision for Christ lies with the before the presence of his glory with exceeding hearer, not the advocate, early concepts for mis- joy” (Jude 24). sionary identification called for the missionary Indeed, in Christ the Kingdom of God is al- to work in light of human social institutions and ready present in the hearts of those that worship the associated means to make decisions in the him, and the day is hastening when his kingdom local setting when presenting the gospel. will come to fruition in the new Jerusalem. The Contemporary missiology presents missionary church militant, like an ever-advancing army, identification based on an incarnational model will at last shatter the principalities of Satan and for ministry (see Incarnational Mission). The storm the gates of hell. In the councils of eternity model functions within three main arenas: the the celebration has already begun (Rev. 7:9, 10: life of the missionary, the message itself, and the 11:15). Anything we do which does not contrib- medium or forms that convey the message. ute to that destiny is an exercise in futility. The first arena, the missionary’s lifestyle, fos- Our work now on earth may seem slow, and ters the most powerful means of identification. sometimes discouraging, but we may be sure The missionary seeks to become a full partici- that God’s program will not suffer defeat. Some- pant in the host society. Recognizing the reality day the trumpet will sound, and the Son of Man, of misunderstanding, the missionary enters the with his legions, shall descend from heaven in new culture as a learner rather than teacher. He trailing clouds of glory, and he will reign over his or she is open to genuinely sharing his or her people gathered from every tongue, every tribe, own cultural background. Thus, the missionary every nation. This is the reality which always becomes a type of culture-broker living between rings through evangelism. two worlds, transmitting information from one The King is coming! While it does not yet ap- to the other, bringing the gospel from without pear what we shall be, “we know that, when he is and giving from one cultural context to contem- revealed, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). And porary yet culturally different recipients. The before him every knee shall bow and “every goal of identification is to achieve a cross-­ tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the cultural understanding in order to effectively glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11). communicate the message of Christ. The result Robert E. Coleman of participating deeply in another culture forces one to think in new ways and recognize differing Bibliography. R. E. Coleman, The Master Plan of views of reality. In doing so, the missionary be- Evangelism; J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sover- comes a “bicultural” person with a broader vi- eignty of God; E. L. Towns, Evangelism and Church sion that enables the ability to pull away from Growth: A Practical Encyclopedia; Equipping for Evan- the home culture and work meaningfully in the gelism. new one (see Biculturalism). Incarnational mis- sionaries thus develop a new cultural framework Extent of Missionary Identification. Mission- based on the two cultures known to them, allow- ary identification pervades all levels of the mis- ing more effective ministry in the host culture. sionary task. A complex concept, effective mis- Additionally, they often find new perceptions sionary identification lies at the heart of making about their home culture. Christ known across cultures and involves all Inherent to the goal of living in two worlds as that we are as human beings. A superficial mis- a bicultural person is the danger of rejection of sionary identification merely imitates the local one of our two worlds. We may either reject the customs of a people hoping to gain access for a culture in which we are ministering or reject our hearing of the gospel. With time, however, the re- own culture by “going native.” Neither of these ceiving culture will recognize such identification options is helpful to the missionary personally or as a gimmick. As Nida notes, the goal is not to professionally. The first option denies the valid- “propagandize people into the kingdom” but to ity of the people with whom we are ministering. identify with them so as to communicate more The second option denies the fact that we will clearly with them. This can only come about by always be seen as outsiders. Our goal is to learn being with them where they are and working to accept what is true and good in all cultures with them rather than for them. and to critique what is false and evil in each of Historically rooted in anthropological research them based on deeply rooted biblical truth. techniques where the researcher studied his or The practice of incarnational missionary iden- her “subjects” in their own context, identifica- tification functions on three levels: (1) lifestyle— tion was recognized as a means of increasing in- external identification in terms of language, sights, sympathy, and influence among the peo- dress, food, patterns of courtesy, use of local ple under study. The sensitive missionary, transportation, and housing; (2) willingness to however, goes further and benefits more deeply serve alongside and eventually under a local by becoming subjectively involved with the peo- leader; (3) inner identification, the deepest of all ple among whom he or she ministers. Recogniz- levels. Attitudes of dignity, respect, and trust 22 Forgiveness of Sins speak of our genuine love for the people with cation of the Faith; P. Parshall, New Paths in Muslim whom we minister. Genuinely deep love forms Evangelism; A. Tippett, Introduction to Missiology. both the foundation and capstone for all levels of identification. Forgiveness of Sins. The forgiveness of sins is The second arena for missionary identification at the very heart of the Christian message. It is a deals with the content and presentation of the profoundly complex doctrine that ultimately in- message. Drawing from Communication theory, cludes our idea of God, of God’s relation to the the missionary is encouraged to adopt the recep- world, of the nature of humankind, of sin, of the tor’s frame of reference where one becomes fa- incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus, of miliar with the conceptual framework of the re- the last judgment, and of our eternal state in ceptor and attempts to fit communication of the heaven or hell. The concept of forgiveness was at message within the categories and felt needs of the core of Israel’s worship in both tabernacle the receptor’s Worldview. Thus, the message is and temple, centering upon sacrifices—some presented in a way that “scratches where the even being named sin-offering, trespass-offering, hearer itches.” Jesus demonstrated this when he and peace-offering. These offerings dealt with spoke to the woman at the well about living the problem of sin and restored peace with God water and her background. He also dealt with by affirming the reality of forgiveness through a Nicodemus on his own Pharasaic terms. He in- God-appointed religious practitioner. teracted differently with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1– But forgiveness of sin is not just a national or 10), the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21), and the a theological issue. It is also a very personal demoniac (Luke 8:38–39). Furthermore, the issue, lying deep within the human heart. We all apostle Paul followed Jesus’ example when he struggle with the realization that something is determined to be Jewish or Greek depending on drastically wrong that we cannot put right. We his audience (1 Cor. 9:19–22), clearly seen in his have offended God and his moral laws and justly address to the Athenians (Acts 17:22–31). deserve judgment. Yet also deep within us we The third arena for missionary identification know that God can forgive us our sins, so we cry lies in the development of the forms and media out to him for that remission. In the New Testa- for conveying the gospel message. The mission- ment, the message of forgiveness was brought by ary who has not learned the beliefs, feelings, and John the Baptist (Luke 3:3), by Jesus in his values of a culture will often fail to recognize the earthly life (Mark 2:5, 7, 10) and in his post-­ most appropriate methods for communicating resurrection state (Luke 24:45–47), by Peter at Christ. There is the continued danger of simple Pentecost (Acts 2:38), and by Paul as he traveled translation of Western books, songs, drama, and on his missionary journeys (Acts 13:38, 39). In films. As Tippett suggested, “the first step in the Book of Revelation the redeemed of God are identification is to accept as many indigenous those who conquered through the blood of the forms and procedures as can legitimately be re- Lamb (Rev. 5:9; 7:14; 12:11) and Jesus is symbol- tained as Christian.” Although the cost in time ically seen as the triumphant slain Lamb who and effort to pursue such Contextualization of can unfold the destiny of the nations and is wor- the gospel is great, it does not match the cost thy of all praise (Rev. 5:6–10). The Christian mes- and threat of miscommunicating the gospel. A sage is a message of forgiveness and the re- syncretistic acceptance of the gospel and stilted deemed who spend their eternity with God are or stunted churches easily result from lack of those who have been forgiven of their sins. identification on this level. The Biblical Doctrine of Forgiveness. Theo- Missionary identification today is not an op- logically speaking, there are three basic compo- tion: it is an imperative. Historically, one of the nents to the doctrine of forgiveness: the nature of results of poor missionary identification has been humankind, the nature of God, and the provision the national outcry of “Missionary go home!” We that God has made to restore the broken rela- must learn from our mistakes and move ahead tionship between himself and his fallen world. with greater determination, especially in light of The Fallen Nature of Humankind. It is not modernity’s more complex degree of multicultur- necessary to consider every aspect of the human alism. In spite of our tendency to work at external person in order to discuss the nature of forgive- identification, people still need to experience love ness; one alone is necessary, the fact of human on deeper levels. Missionaries must incarnate sinfulness (see Sin). It is this negative quality, themselves by recognizing and working within oddly enough, that lifts us most clearly above the the individual needs and social contexts of peo- rest of our earthly, created order and shows us ples. most decisively what we are not to be, even Roberta R. King though that is what we are. This is true because Bibliography. K. Bediako, Christianity in Africa: The sin is a moral category and only moral, responsi- Renewal of a Non-Western Religion; P. Hiebert, Anthropo- ble beings may sin. And because guilt attends logical Insights for Missionaries; C. H. Kraft, Christianity our sin, we are painfully aware that sin ought in Culture; E. Nida, Message and Mission: The Communi- not to be there even though it is and it is unques- 23 Forgiveness of Sins tionably ours; we cannot honestly blame anyone that is most offended by sin would be to slice else. All the major religions of the world have God up into categories as though God were some concepts of morality, sin, guilt, and responsibil- internally unrelated collection of qualities, rather ity (see also Human Condition in World Reli- than a unified, personal Being. Having said that, gions). The Bible, in particular, speaks with great however, the holiness of God does stand out as force and clarity here, emphasizing the inherent the quality most obviously violated when human nature of our sinfulness, its gravity, and its con- beings sin (Josh. 24:19; Pss. 5:4; 92:15; Hab. 1:13; sequences. Sin is not simply something that we Rev. 6:10). The Bible is replete with affirmations have done wrong or some hurt we have inflicted of God’s holiness and of the demand that we be upon someone else; sin is an offense against God holy (Exod. 15:11; Lev. 11:44, 45; Isa. 6:3; 1 Peter and God’s moral requirements, requirements 1:15) and when we fail to live up to God’s stan- that derive from his very nature. Were the moral dards we fall under the just judgment of God. nature of the universe simply the result of God’s God’s justice and impartiality decree that every- decisions, they would not have ultimate ontic re- one be treated fairly and equally, which trans- ality and could be changed at will. Rather, the lates into everyone being equally under the judg- moral categories—the violation of which makes ment of God, since every one of us has violated sin sinful—are expressions of the very nature of God’s commands. reality as God has created it, with ourselves as Were this the end of the story, humankind God intended us to be, and with God himself as would be in a sorry state, for there could be no he eternally is (see Divine Attributes of God). such thing as forgiveness. However, God’s love Hence, David cries out, “I know my transgres- and his mercy work alongside his holiness and sions and my sin is always before me. Against justice in such a way that all aspects of his being you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil are satisfied. The Scriptures reveal a God, who in your sight” (Ps. 51:3, 4). As the contemporary although he is holy, also delights in mercy and psychologist Karl Menninger puts it, sin is “An forgiveness (Deut. 4:31; Neh. 9:31; Ps. 78:38; Isa. implicitly aggressive quality—a ruthlessness, a 55:7; Dan. 9:9; Luke 6:35). “Who is a God like hurting, a breaking away from God and from the you?” asks Micah, “Who pardons sin and for- rest of humanity, a partial alienation, or act of gives the transgression of the remnant of his in- rebellion. . . . Sin has a willful, defiant or disloyal heritance?” Who, indeed? There is no other God quality. Someone is defied or offended or hurt” who can forgive the sins of lost humanity. (Whatever Became of Sin? p. 19)—and that some- The Provision of God for Forgiveness. There one is God. The Bible presents an unremitting was only one way that the totality of God’s being picture of universal human sinfulness, sur- could be satisfied that the demands of his holi- rounded by the apostle Paul in Romans 3:10–18, ness and justice be met while at the same time concluding with “All have sinned and fall short expressing God’s love and mercy. To do that God of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). devised a plan of salvation that met his infinite Among the many dire consequences of sin, the demands and offered full salvation to the lost, at most devastating is alienation from God, which no cost to them, since they were in no position to results in eternal condemnation. The sinful mind pay anything. No human being could do such a is hostile to God (Rom. 8:7), sinners are the ene- thing, yet it had to be done on the human plane, mies of God (Rom. 5:10), we are dead in our because it was for the sake of human beings. The trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), the wrath of God infinite demands of God could only be met by abides upon us (John 3:36), and sinners will not the infinite God himself. This line of reasoning inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9) but “will underlies the New Testament’s doctrine of the in- be punished with everlasting destruction and carnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. shut out from the presence of the Lord and from Only God could meet the demands of God, so the the majesty of his power” (2 Thess. 1:8). second person of the Trinity became one of us in The radical nature of our sinfulness renders us order to pay the price of sin, freeing God up to incapable of rectifying the situation. We are inca- offer forgiveness of sin to the lost (2 Cor. 5:21). pable of bringing anything of sufficient value or As Paul put it, “God was in Christ, reconciling ultimacy to God of such a nature as to atone for the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). In this way our sins. We are, in fact, lost in our sins and to- God could be both just and the One who justifies tally unable to find a way out of our hopeless situ- the person who has faith in Jesus, because all the ation. requirements of his holiness, justice, love, and The Nature of God. As has already been seen, mercy have been met (Rom. 3:25, 26). Specifi- sin is, in essence, a violation of the nature of cally, the redemptive work of God is the death of God, but what is it in God that is violated? Scrip- Jesus Christ on the cross. There the punishment turally speaking, it is the totality of God’s infinite due us was paid for by God himself in the person perfections or attributes. All that God is recoils of his Son (Rom. 5:6–10; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:4; from that which is less than morally perfect and Eph. 2:13). Jesus ties the forgiveness of sins di- the attempt to single out one attribute or another rectly to his coming death, when at the last sup- 24 Friendship Evangelism per he says, “This is my blood of the covenant, Friendship Evangelism. Evangelism that em- which is poured out for many for the forgiveness phasizes the crucial role that relationships play of sins” (Matt. 26:28). in constructing a platform from which the gospel The Missiological Implications of Forgive- can be communicated effectively. In this ap- ness. When considering the missiological impli- proach, friendships are not conceived of as sup- cations of forgiveness, what stands out most planting the gospel. They are bridges over which prominently in the New Testament is the Unique- the gospel may be delivered and received. ness of Christ, who he is and what he has done. This approach is also commonly known as Because there is only one God, there is only one Lifestyle Evangelism. It highlights the necessity Son of God, who died for sin once for all. There of living out the Christian life in a consistent and is only one plan of salvation and one Savior who winsome manner in the context of family and must be proclaimed to all the earth for “Salva- friendships. This is foundational to the compan- tion is found in no one else, for there is no other ion step of proclaiming the gospel. A living name under heaven given to men by which we demonstration of the gospel must go together must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The fact of Christ’s with its proclamation. This is particularly true in uniqueness and that forgiveness of sin may be friendship evangelism. The foundational premise found nowhere else lays a moral imperative is that a lifestyle of obedience to the lordship of upon the church to make his name known. There Christ makes one’s verbal witness credible. are not many saviors for many people, but only The biblical basis for sharing the gospel along one savior for all peoples and that is the incar- lines established by friendships and intimates is nate Son of God who died and rose again. It is strong. The example of Jesus is instructive. He this fact that underlies the command of God was known as a friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19). himself to us that repentance and forgiveness of Yet for that reason the multitudes heard him sins be preached in Jesus’ name to all nations gladly. The earliest disciples of Jesus were won (Luke 24:47). Where else can salvation be found along such webs of relationships. John the Bap- tist pointed two of his disciples and friends to except in Jesus? Because of this, those who had the Lord. One of these, Andrew, immediately experienced the forgiveness of their sins were to sought his brother, Peter. Philip, a likely friend of be empowered by the Holy Spirit and then be- Andrew and Peter, was the next convert. In turn, come “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea Philip found his friend Nathanael and brought and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts him to the Lord (John 1:35ff.). After Jesus had 1:8). Peter began this on the day of Pentecost in healed the Gadarene demoniac he instructed Jerusalem offering his countrymen forgiveness him, “Go home to your family, and tell them how of their sins in Jesus’ name (Acts 2:38), continu- much the Lord has done for you, and how he has ing this to the Gentile Cornelius in Caesarea had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19 [niv]). In the (Acts 10:43), then reaching others in Asia Minor Book of Acts the account of the Gentile centu- (1 Peter 1:1, 2), ultimately giving his life for the rion Cornelius illustrates this same principle. gospel in Rome during the Neronian Persecu- This seeker gathered together his extended fam- tion. Others went elsewhere. Paul traveled exten- ily and close friends to hear the message that sively across the Roman world, John went to Peter was commissioned to share with him (Acts Ephesus, Titus went to Crete, Mark went to 10:24). Egypt, and Thomas, according to some records, The advantages of friendship evangelism are went to India. significant. First, it makes use of the most natu- What motivated these early believers was cer- ral avenue for the spread of the gospel. The close tainly the uniqueness of their message, coupled emotional and physical proximity of unbelieving with the command of God, but they had also ex- intimates provides ample opportunities for wit- perienced the love of God in their own forgive- ness. Second, the unbeliever who has observed a ness and hence wished to share that sense of re- wholesome Christian witness from a personal lease with others (2 Cor. 5:14). For whatever friend is much more likely to receive the mes- reason, the early church realized that the forgive- sage of salvation and become a disciple. ness of sins must be at the heart of their message Dangers are also inherent in this method. It is (Acts 10:43; 13:38, 39; 26:17, 18), just as it must possible to allow the friendship factor to sup- be today. plant a clear presentation of the demands of the Walter A. Elwell gospel. A good testimony, as invaluable as it is, can never take the place of the gospel message in Bibliography. E. M. B. Green, The Meaning of Salva- tion; H. D. McDonald, The Atonement of the Death of the process of salvation (Rom. 1:16). Also, one Christ; H. R. Mackintosh, The Christian Experience of might be tempted to neglect strangers or slight Forgiveness; K. Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin?; acquaintances who need the gospel in favor of H. Vorländer, NIDNTT 1:697–703; J. R. W. Stott, The investing exclusively in closer friends. Cross of Christ, pp. 87–110; V. Taylor, Forgiveness and The Christian has no right to limit obedience Reconciliation; W. Telfer, The Forgiveness of Sins. to the Great Commission to a select circle. Never- 25 Gender Roles theless, believers should be cognizant of their re- and nurturers, both being necessary for the sponsibility to share the gospel with their friends well-being of society. and intimates. Even more, Christians of all cul- The Bible clearly states that all humans are tures should be intentional in cultivating genu- created in God’s image, both male and female ine friendships with unbelievers. (Gen. 1:27). Furthermore, humans, both male Jeffery B. Ginn and female, have been given salvation and made ambassadors for God (2 Cor. 5:17–20). However, Bibliography. J. Aldrich, Life-Style Evangelism: Crossing Traditional Boundaries to Reach the Unbeliev- there are a variety of interpretations of what the ing World; D. Owens, Sharing Christ When You Feel You Bible teaches concerning the relationships of Can’t: Making It Easier to Tell Your Friends and Family men, women, and God. On the one hand, a hier- about Your Faith in Christ; T. Stebbens, Friendship archical arrangement is perceived with woman Evangelism by the Book; C. Van Engen, You Are My Wit- under man who is under God (Mickelsen, 1983). nesses. On the other hand, equality between male and female is perceived with both being equally re- Gender Roles. The term “gender” refers to the sponsible to God (Spencer, 1985). Yet another nonbiological, social, cultural, and psychological interpretation focuses on complementarity with aspect of being male or female. Gender roles re- male and female using their God-given strengths flect the cultural norms of the society and can be for honoring and serving God (Hull, 1987). defined as the learned or socialized differences The institutionalized Western church has gen- in behavior between male and female. Society’s erally reserved the positions of authority, decision definition of feminine and masculine gender role making, and top leadership for males. However, expectations has changed throughout history from the very beginning of the modern mission and there continues to be pressure for the rede- movement women have played an active role. Be- fining of gender roles. Few areas of inquiry are sides providing home-front support, they re- so fraught with personal biases as the gen- sponded to God’s call and went to the field, first der-role related characteristics of men and as wives and mothers but later as teachers, women. Though formerly research in this area nurses, and nannies. Once on the field they be- was done primarily by men, a large number of came church planters, evangelists, preachers, and research-trained women are now involved and administrators. Their choice to become mission- new insights have resulted. aries reflected their deep Christian commitment All societies provide institutionalized gen- and their search for a structure that would allow der-appropriate roles. In some societies moving them to unite the spiritual with practical needs in into womanhood requires special ritual and cele- the world. In the early decades of the twentieth bration for girls, often perceived as preparation century women outnumbered men on the mis- for marriage. Gilmore (1990), who has re- sion field by a ratio of more than two to one. searched the approved way of being an adult They have been the “guardians of the great com- male in many societies around the world, sees mission” (Tucker, 1988). Though there were for- manhood as generally needing to be achieved. It ty-four women’s missionary boards sending both is a precarious state that boys must win against men and women to the field in 1910, today the powerful odds and that can be diminished or lost authority structure and decision-making power as well. It involves conceptually separating adult in mission organizations is mostly in male hands. males from the women and girls in society. It is important for missionaries to understand Womanhood, in contrast, he sees as a natural the fact that differences in gender roles are so- condition that happens through biological matu- cially defined. In cross-cultural work the ten- ration and is culturally refined or augmented dency is to impose the cultural patterns of the through body ornamentation or cosmetic behav- carrier of the gospel on the assumption that they ior. are biblical without even investigating what it Though male domination is a universal with means to be male or female in the receptor soci- men filling the positions of authority and power, ety. The Bible, however, shows God working ac- women have great influence. Men and their val- cording to the gender role definition of each bib- ues, status, and work, tend to be “in focus” while lical society. In divided societies where women women have much responsibility and work hard function in the women’s world and men in the in the background, more “out of focus.” In many men’s world, it is usually best that the carrier of societies a woman’s status depends on her hus- the gospel be the same sex as the hearer. Women band’s status in society. In others, a woman’s sta- need to reach the women and the men the men tus depends almost totally on her position in such a society. If one gender creates and sings among the other women. Another way of con- the songs of the society, then that sex should be trasting men’s and women’s status is to see men’s tapped as a key resource for that role in the position as “public” and women’s as “private” (in church. Division of labor according to gender as the home). Men are most often seen as protec- prescribed by the society does not have to tors and providers and women as childbearers change when people become Christian. Leader- 26 Indigenization ship training in the church for males and fe- our sovereign Lord who is in complete control and males should be related to the roles they play in who is building his church. Missionaries must al- society. Brusco (1995) has done an excellent an- ways remember that they cannot serve God and thropological study on the effect of conversion to mammon, regardless of the noble reasons for try- evangelical Protestantism on gender roles in Co- ing. lombia. Her work shows how allegiance to Christ As in many such issues, the understanding of brings gender role changes. honesty will vary from culture to culture. There- Dealing with these and other changes is im- fore it is very important that the missionary be portant to crosscultural communicators of the sensitive to the cultural definitions and to the gospel. Often legislation allows for change long standards of honesty in culture. In order to do before there is a change in attitude and practice. this, the missionary must have a clear under- For instance, in areas where the women’s role standing of this issue within the three cultural has been traditionally in the home and then they horizons of missions: the biblical culture, his or are given the option of training for a career, her own culture, and the host culture. In the when they are working outside the home they study of Scripture, the missionary will gain a continue to be unconsciously evaluated by soci- Christian ethic with a biblical understanding of ety on how well they run their homes. New tech- honesty. This may not be as easy as it seems nologies, urbanization, education, war, and in- when one considers God’s blessing of the He- dustrialization all result in subtle changes in brew midwives for lying to Pharaoh about the gender roles. There needs to be sensitivity not Hebrew women giving birth in Exodus 1:15–21; just to the logistics of what is happening, but to or of God caring for Rahab because she lied to the meaning of what is happening to both gen- protect the two spies as seen in Joshua 6:25. ders. Changes affecting the women also bring With this biblical understanding of honesty, the change for the men, and vice versa. All of these missionary must judge his or her own culture. changes influence the structure and program of The missionary may find that he or she is labor- the church and development programs. Often a ing under misconceptions of true honesty. different approach is needed to reach those Having done this, cross-cultural missionaries choosing to retain traditional role definition are able to look more fairly at the host culture. from those who choose change. The missionary must be able to answer cultural Marguerite G. Kraft questions related to honesty such as ownership Bibliography. E. E. Brusco, The Reformation of Ma- of property or work ethic or what is considered chismo: Evangelical Conversion and Gender in Colom- polite. They must gain an understanding of com- bia; D. D. Gilmore, Manhood in the Making: Cultural munity and of what is considered proper within Concepts of Masculinity; G. G. Hull, Equal to Serve: the host culture. Every culture has an under- Women and Men in the Church and the Home; A. Mick- standing of what is honest and what is dishonest. elsen, Authority and the Bible; A. B. Spencer, Beyond the The missionary must always let Scripture be the Curse: Women Called to Ministry; R. A. Tucker, GGC; judge of whether that understanding is correct M. S. VanLeeuwen, Gender and Grace: Love, Work, and or incorrect. As the Holy Spirit sharpens the Parenting in a Changing World. Conscience of the people and as the Scriptures inform them of their cultural inconsistencies, Honesty. The issue of honesty and mission calls they will develop a more biblical understanding for a critical look at two sets of relationships. of honesty (as well as other moral issues) and First of all, it needs to be understood in the rela- their application of it. In this way the culture will tionships involving the missionary, the mission, move toward a Christian culture in context, and the donor. Second, it needs to be understood rather than a missionary culture. in the relationship between the missionary and Thomas L. Austin the host culture. In today’s missions, when the amount of finan- Bibliography. R. J. Priest, Missiology 22:3 (1994): cial support available for a particular ministry or 291–316. project is often tied proportionately to the level of productivity, what is communicated to donors or Indigenization. In the broadest sense, indigeni- potential donors about the ministry’s level of suc- zation is a term describing the “translatability” cess or failure may prove to be the deciding factor of the universal Christian faith into the forms in whether the support, and possibly the ministry, and symbols of the particular cultures of the is continued or not. Under such circumstances, world. Still widely accepted among evangelicals, honesty in communication becomes a very import- the word validates all human languages and cul- ant factor between the missionary and his or her tures before God as legitimate paths for under- mission and donors and also between the mission standing his divine meanings. and its donors. Honesty becomes an issue of Chris- Indigenization provided the freedom for the tian conscience in being straightforward in these Greek translators of the Hebrew Old Testament relationships, and it becomes an issue of faith in (the Septuagint) to take a word like theos from 27 Indigenization the idolatrous world of polytheism and use it to connections to draw a picture of the covenant describe the only Creator of heaven and earth, made between Creator and creature, Redeemer the God (theos) and Father of our Lord Jesus and redeemed (Exod. 20:1–17). He encloses his Christ. eternal Word in the limiting wrappings of the Indigenization enabled first-century Christian Hebrew language, his own coming in the God- Jews in Gentile-dominated Antioch to cross a man Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate as massive cultural barrier and begin preaching to a first-century Palestinian Jew. the Greeks (Walls, 1996, 17). They knew that In the fullness and power of his Holy Spirit he their time-honored word Christ would mean lit- breaks through that Hebrew sociocultural world tle to their neighbors. So they used another to proclaim Christ both across and within the name to identify their Messiah in this new cul- global borders of cultural diversities and linguis- tural setting: “the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20). tic expressions (Acts 1:8). Pentecost transforms The same process of indigenization allowed the Babel curse of diversity into global blessing; freedom for the emerging churches of the world we are called to be all things to all people in to wrestle with infusing traditional cultural and order to save some at any cost (1 Cor. 9:23). The social practices with new Christian meaning. world’s cultures become home where the gospel Patterns of worship and music, of initiation, takes root. And the gospel becomes the leaven in marriage, and funeral rites, even of church struc- which those cultures are judged, transformed, ture and leadership could be adapted or trans- and liberated. formed by the gospel. The Rocky Road of Indigenization. This apos- The Boundaries of Indigenization. Indigeni- tolic balance did not always appear in the centu- zation is born out of the tension created by two ries that follow. Within the Roman Catholic realities. One is the recognition that Christians Church, Accommodation grew as a middle ground bring with their faith the particulars of their cul- of gradualism. The imperfections of the pagan ture and social group and best appropriate that world of nature were to be supplemented by the faith in terms of those particulars. The other is perfections of grace. Thus, in the seventh century the recognition that this new Christian faith Pope Gregory the Great could advise Augustine, brings with it a universalizing factor that extends his evangelist laboring in England, “to destroy the Christian community past the particular bor- the idols, but the temples themselves are to be ders of culture and group. sprinkled with holy water, altars set up, and relics Indigenization as a process asks, How can the enclosed in them.” church be a universal, global Christian commu- Later Jesuit experiments particularly in China nity and also a particular community, shaped moved in a similar direction. Matteo Ricci saw within its own culture and society? How can the the Chinese homage to Confucius and to the an- gospel flower be planted in new soil without also cestors as ritual expressions of gratitude not inim- planting the foreign flower pot? ical to the Christian faith. He “found in Confucius Working within these boundaries is not easy. the natural theology, the preparatio evangelica, of How do the churches keep the balance between China as his theological training had given him freedom to develop on their own path and alle- this for the West in Aristotle” (Allen, 1960, 39). giance to the transcultural gospel uniting all the In Europe observers often matched Jesuit en- churches? What should be the relation of a thusiasm. The philosopher Leibnitz could argue, Christian church to its non-Christian past? When “I almost think it necessary that Chinese mis- does indigenization in the name of Christian lib- sionaries should be sent to us to teach us the erty slip into over-indigenization or Syncretism? aim and practice of natural theology, as we send When does hesitation over indigenization slip missionaries to them to instruct them in re- into legalism and traditionalism? vealed religion.” Toward a Biblical Framework. The legiti- In the face of mounting opposition by the Do- macy of this process flows from the “accommo- minicans, confusion, and misunderstanding, in dations of God himself” (Battles, 1977, 19–38). 1744, the papacy said enough was enough. Such Revelation itself comes with a sensitivity to the experiments in accommodation were con- time, place, culture, and literary genres of its re- demned and Roman Catholic missionary ceptors but never with capitulation to error. churches found themselves required to reflect in There is a history to special revelation; the con- every detail the Catholic customs of the moment. descending Father communicates truth to us in a Not until 1938 was that ban lifted. And not until form suited to our particular human situations the years following the Second Vatican Council (see Bible; Vos, 1948, 11–27). (1962–65) did Roman Catholic missiology seek Out of the reservoir of ancient Near Eastern to reclaim and correct features of the accommo- metaphors God paints himself as the divine war- dation model in what is now called Incultura- rior (Exod. 15:1–3) come to deliver his people tion (Luzbetak, 1988, 82–83). from Egypt. He reshapes the treaty language of Protestant models in the nineteenth century the ancient Hittite codes from their polytheistic promised more freedom but often practiced a 28 Individualism and Collectivism similar reluctance toward indigenization. There strong in the United States, Canada, Great Brit- were many reasons for the hesitancy: a long his- ain, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and Western tory of Ethnocentrism that identified things European societies. Collectivism dominates else- Christian with the superiority of things Western; where. However, even in predominantly collec- the shaping role played by the missionary “out- tivist nations exposure to Western individual- sider” in the receptor culture; the sense that the ist-oriented media may shift urban groups “native church” was still too immature to be “let toward individualism. go”; the emerging national churches’ own identi- Individualism assumes that a person is the es- fication of the shape of Christianity with its Eu- sential unit of society; collectivism assumes that ropean models. a group is the basic unit. Ties between individu- The promotion of the “indigenous church for- als are loose in an individualist society, but in a mula” (see Indigenous Churches) in the latter collectivist society people are woven into a cohe- half of the nineteenth century began to break sive unit to which they give lifelong loyalty. through those patterns. Developed by the mis- A person has significance in a collectivist soci- sionary community to identify the emerging ety only as a member of a group. In contrast, one church, the “three-self” understanding of the person in an individualist culture has signifi- church as self-governing, self-propagating, and cance that is expressed through individual self-supporting became a stepping stone to other choices and actions with only secondary refer- questions that would expand into the twentieth ence to the group. century. The “group” in a collectivist society may be the The indigenous church began to ask, What extended family, the work group, caste, or entire were the implications of selfhood beyond the tribe. Whatever the particular group, its survival “three-selfs”? Could the local church possess all is paramount. Group goals control social behav- three selfs and still look and sound “foreign”? ior, and loyalty to that group is fixed. Loyalty The recall of foreign missionaries during World means the sharing of resources, whether for liv- War II and the breaking up of Western Colonial- ing expenses or for special group efforts. It is ex- ism gave the global church the long promised pressed and reinforced in obligatory participa- freedom to press these questions. tion in funerals, weddings, and other ritual Indigenization became the slogan word under occasions as well as in group crises. which such questions were asked. How could the On the other hand in an individualist society, church now be itself, responsible to the Lord and the group is used to achieve individual objec- to its own cultural world (Beyerhaus and Lefe- tives. There is a loose loyalty to the group, which ver, 1964)? How could the church now planted may be disavowed if individual preferences seem on six continents be a viable, prophetic force in its own culture, reflecting the full power of the to be better served elsewhere. Sharing of re- gospel in every part of its social context? sources is not expected, since individuals are re- sponsible for meeting their own needs and de- Since the 1970s the term Contextualization has also been used to include these discussions sires. Participation in ritual occasions is and to add other topics. What of the self-theolo- expected, but not compulsory, to maintain good gizing of the global church? Indigenization is standing in the group. being seen as more than what is happening on Variation along this individualism—collectiv­ “the mission field out there.” It is a reflection ism continuum is perhaps the single most signif- process that does not exempt the West from icant dimension of culture differences. It is re- self-analysis. Indigenization/contextualization lated to major differences in cultural values and now places the burden of initiative and responsi- patterns, social systems, morality, religion, and bility “squarely on Christians in the local con- economic development. text” (Taber, 1991, 177). Leadership and Change. In a collectivist soci- Harvie M. Conn ety the leader often “embodies” the characteris- tics of the group. The group identifies with the Bibliography. E. L. Allen, Christianity Among the Re- leader, so that the character, beliefs, wealth, and ligions; F. Battles, Interpretation 31 (1977): 19–38; power of the leader are seen as an expression of P. Beyerhaus and H. Lefever, The Responsible Church and the Foreign Mission; V. Cronin, The Wise Man From the group. When the leader changes, the group the West; L. Luzbetak, The Church and Cultures; changes. C. Taber, The World is Too Much with Us; G. Vos, Bibli- Change in a collectivist society may also come cal Theology; A. Walls, The Missionary Movement in when a large part of the group changes, catalyz- Christian History. ing change in the remainder of the group. Deci- sion is reached by consensus rather than by vot- Individualism and Collectivism. A minority of ing, which is the sum of individual choices (see the world’s peoples live in cultures where indi- Decision-Making). Group opinion is dominant, vidual interest (individualism) prevails over and personal opinions either do not exist or are group interest (collectivism). Individualism is not tolerated. The person who does not speak or 29 Individualism and Collectivism act in harmony with group opinion is considered factionalism that fragments some nations origi- to have a bad character. nates in the collectivist cultures of their many To understand an individualist culture, study constituent groups and tribes. of individual beliefs and values gives the best The individualist is expected, in contrast, to be picture. Leaders may reflect opinions and beliefs able to function independently. Children are of a majority of members in an individualist so- taught to observe, think, and act by themselves. ciety, but their authority rests on gaining or los- Depending on others is considered a weakness, ing support of individual members. The leader’s reducing the need for a strong supportive group. view does not necessarily express the views of Outsiders are not normally treated with suspi- the society as a whole. cion simply because the distinction between in- Authoritarian behavior is more acceptable in sider and outsider is much less important. Con- collectivist cultures, and a greater social distance sequently, cooperation with other groups is exists between leaders and those they lead. In relatively easy if that cooperation is seen to ben- contrast, individualists are most comfortable in efit individual members. horizontal relationships with minimal social dis- Values. Harmony, family relationships, equal- tance between employer and employee, or lead- ity in use of wealth, and modesty are high-values ers and group members. Individualists will seek in collectivist societies. The possibility of bring- to reduce social distance, often only reluctantly ing Shame to the group is a strong control on be- recognizing vertical relationships, while collec- havior. The shame is in others knowing, not in tivists are more likely to increase social distance the action itself. It is very important to meet the and reinforce a higher status for leaders (vertical expectations of others, thus maintaining “face.” relationships). Education concentrates on preparation to be a Cooperation and Confrontation. Within the good group member, so it emphasizes tradition, in-group of a collectivist society, cooperation is rote memory, and the ability to quote respected extensive. Confrontation is unacceptable. Mem- scholars. bers will often mediate any conflict within the Freedom, self-fulfillment, recognition, honesty, group that threatens group stability and har- and distribution of wealth according to individ- mony. Any perceived threat to the group’s exis- ual effort are high values among individualists. tence is dealt with severely by the power of the Rather than group-centered shame, the individ- group, rejecting the person or cause of the ual feels individual Guilt when standards are vi- threat. Loss of group membership is similar to olated. Education is valued when it enables indi- exile, being made a non-person without rights or viduals to cope with demands, be productive, essential support for survival. and maximize individual abilities. In an individualist society, individuals compete Business Dealings. Among collectivists, per- with and confront other individuals. Status is sonal relationships are essential. Business is con- achieved through individual accomplishments, ducted by first establishing a social relationship, rather than by group membership. Confronta- then proceeding to details of the task, and the tion is encouraged to achieve understanding and exchange of goods, services, and money. Legal clarify the rights and limits of individuals. Group contracts are secondary to knowing the groups membership is relatively unimportant, allowing involved and establishing rapport and trust. great freedom for a variety of individual choices. Management focuses on groups as the basic unit. Communication. Collectivist societies utilize It is almost compulsory that persons in the in- their total context for communication—includ- group be given advantages in hiring, assignment ing space, time, body motion, objects, taste and of jobs, and other realms of business. Failing to smell, touch—giving a strong emotional content do this is considered disloyalty to the group. to acts of communication. The verbal content is Individualist societies approach social and of less importance and silence can be satisfying. business relationships in an impersonal, factual Group togetherness is of greater importance manner that centers on the task to be accom- than anything that might be spoken. plished. Knowing and liking among the partici- In comparison, individualist societies are pants is secondary to agreements carefully highly verbal, avoiding silence as empty, even drafted to specify each party’s obligations. Busi- hostile. Content must be specifically stated be- ness is primarily controlled by law; personal re- cause the group’s relative unimportance makes lationships are secondary. Management focuses communicating through the context much less on individuals as the basic unit. Rewards are dis- certain. tributed according to the work completed, inde- Inter-group Relationships. Relationships with pendently of personal relationships. To act other- outsider groups are primarily competitive in col- wise is considered unfair and even dishonest. lectivist cultures, even confrontational and often Some Implications for Missions. Contempo- marked by distrust and hostility. Support of the rary evangelical missions have predominantly in-group is considered necessary in dealing with originated in individualist societies, and gone to outsiders, an “us against them” approach. The collectivist societies. Differing assumptions and 30 Intercultural Communication expectations have led to frequent misunder- limited to the technology and transfer of infor- standings and antagonism. The continuing resis- mation without regard to national borders. tance of some people groups to the Christian Two general categories of communication message may well be a serious consequence. models, mechanistic and humanistic, are useful Individualist–oriented missionaries have ex- to more fully understand the dominant, but dif- pected individual acceptance of the gospel, over- fering, approaches to intercultural communica- looking the value of a favorable group response tion, before individuals are discipled. Antagonism and Mechanistic Models. Mechanistic models are resistance often come from a perceived threat to most clearly seen in the development of “infor- stability and security of the group. Anything that mation theory” used in telephones, computers, would fragment the group is not acceptable, al- and related devices. The behavioristic perspec- lowing no place for individual choice where sur- tive (from behavioristic psychology) stresses vival of the group is thought to be involved. An stimulus and response. The transmissional per- individual who responds apart from group ap- spective (Berlo and DeVito) suggests ten compo- proval is a threat to unity, who must be dealt nents of communication: source, encoding, mes- with by social exile or even death. sage, channel, noise, receiver, decoding, receiver Missionary focus must be on the group in a response, feedback, and context. collectivist culture, rather than attempting to Use of a mechanistic model has led to empha- “extract” individuals from the group. The result sis on sending out a message without great atten- of an “extraction” approach is most likely to be tion to who is actually receiving and compre- the creation of a new group which will be con- hending the message. It has also stimulated sidered an “out-group” by the main society. development of electronic translation units that Thus, the new Christian group is to be con- are said to make intercultural communication fronted and opposed. Potential ministry bridges possible. Equivalent words from one language to the larger society are destroyed. are given in a second language. Applied to inter- In a collectivist society, the pastor and church cultural communication, a mechanistic model authorities are much more likely to be authori- frequently overlooks significant areas, such as tarian, with considerable social distance between cultural assumptions, context, and experience. themselves and their congregations. Selection of Though frequently followed in intercultural min- istry, mechanistic approaches to communication leadership often depends more on group affilia- have little, if any, biblical support as a pattern for tion than on objective criteria, coming through either evangelism or discipling. discussion and agreement rather than election. Humanistic Models. Humanistic models em- Following the biblical pattern to become ser- phasize the human element in communication. vant-leaders is a major challenge within a collec- The transactional view of communication recog- tivist society. nizes that knowledge of the receiver or listener is Donald K. Smith part of shaping the message form. Communica- Bibliography. G. Hofstede, Cultures and Organiza- tion is seen as sharing. Symbols are used to stim- tions: Software of the Mind; idem, Culture’s Conse- ulate the formation of meaning in another per- quences: International Differences in Work-Related Val- son, and consequently the sharing of meaning ues; S. Lingenfelter, Agents of Transformation: A Guide through a context-sensitive process. The interac- for Effective Cross-Cultural Ministry; H. C. Triandis, tional approach recognizes the reciprocal nature R. W. Brislin, and C. H. Hui, Intercultural Communica- of communication, in which a circle that in- tion: A Reader, pp. 370–82. cludes feedback and alteration represents the communication process. Both the transactional Intercultural Communication. Interaction and interactional views of communication are among people of diverse cultures. Since cultures consistent with biblically based Incarnational have different symbols, different contexts, differ- Mission. A Christian view of communication ent social rules, and different expectations, devel- must also recognize the presence and work of opment of shared understanding is often exceed- the Holy Spirit in the communicative process. ingly difficult. Thorough study of Communication Most humanistic models developed in the patterns to identify these differences and adapt to Western world assume that sharing of informa- them is the foundation of effective Cross-­ tion is the primary aim of communication. How- Cultural Ministry. ever, East Asian societies that are deeply influ- Intercultural communication is distinct from enced by Confucianism (China, Korea, Japan cross-cultural communication, which compares especially) view communication as primarily to a particular behavior or behaviors in differing establish and maintain harmony. Balance and cultures. International communication deals harmony in human relationships are the basis of with comparative mass media communication in society. Interpersonal communication is guided different nations and to communication between by social rules specific for each situation, de- nations. Global communication is a term usually pending on age, status, and intimacy. Thus, com- 31 Intercultural Communication munication is an “infinite interpretive process” of communication emphasizes the implicit as- (Jandt, 1995, 29) where everyone concerned pect. seeks to develop and maintain a social relation- Western Perspectives. By contrast, the Western ship. Communication is a way to seek consensus, perspective on communication emphasized its not essentially to transmit information. Difficul- role in establishing and maintaining individual ties in intercultural communication will arise political, social, and economic freedom. Commu- from the fundamentally different purposes in nication is used to manipulate circumstances and communicating between East and West, as well people so that personal goals can be achieved. as from the more obvious differences in style, Communication is utilized to reach personal or context, and vocabulary. group goals, the explicit or utilitarian approach. Communication and Culture. Is communica- Intercultural communication is difficult at the tion synonymous with culture, or an aspect of explicit or utilitarian level because of language culture? Culture is a code we learn and share, difference, nonverbal misinterpretations, and and learning and sharing require communica- personal attitudes. These problems can be identi- tion. Every act and every cultural pattern involve fied and overcome, but mature understanding communication. It is not possible to know a cul- may still not be achieved. Effective intercultural ture without knowing its communication, and communication demands recognizing and over- communication can only be understood by knowing the culture involved. If culture existed coming difficulties at both the explicit and im- without communication, culture would be un- plicit levels. knowable. Communication, on the other hand, Signal or Symbol System. Twelve systems of functions only as an expression of culture. Cul- signals are used by every culture. In fact, almost ture and communication are inseparable, This all of human communication occurs by use of one fundamental level is implicit to communication. or more of the twelve systems: verbal (or spoken It is a part of being alive, of being in any kind of language), written, numeric, pictorial, artifactual community. (three-dimensional representations and objects), Communication arts focuses on specific com- audio (including silence), kinesic (what has been munication modes such as graphic and fine arts, called “body language”), optical (light and color), drama, music, journalism, and literature. Spe- tactile (touch), spatial (the use of space), temporal cific ways a particular mode (communication (time), and olfactory (taste and smell). art) is developed depends on the purpose and Even though the same signal systems are used cultural context. This is explicit or utilitarian in every culture, the many significant differences communication, a skill to be acquired and used in their usage make clarity of understanding be- for particular purposes. tween members of different cultures difficult to Problems in intercultural communication achieve. One culture may emphasize the impor- occur at both implicit and explicit levels of com- tance of the verbal (the spoken word), while an- munication. It is difficult implicitly because of other emphasizes the unspoken use of body lan- differing assumptions about God, humanity, the guage, the kinesic system. Another culture may world, and the nature of reality as well as differ- have highly developed pictorial communication, ent values and different experiences, When these while still another has an intricate system of differences are ignored, assuming similarity in- communication involving numbers. The individ- stead of difference, communication across cul- ual signals may have totally different significa- tural boundaries will be ineffective or even nega- tion in different cultures, for example, a gesture tive in its effects. may mean approval in one culture and be consid- Eastern Perspectives. The Eastern perspective ered obscene in another or a word may indicate on communication is historically based on the appreciation in one setting but rejection in a dif- goal of achieving harmony between humanity ferent culture. Effective intercultural communi- and nature. Through communication the indi- vidual seeks to rise above personal interests to cation at the explicit-utilitarian level demands become one with the “universal essence” by use learning both the relative importance of the vari- of ritual, meditation, and myth. Today’s patterns ous signal systems in different cultures as well as of communication used in Eastern nations as learning the meaning intended by various signals. different as communist China, Japan, and Korea In summary, intercultural communication is a derive from this common background. Kincaid process depending on increasing involvement of and Cushman point out three characteristics the parties seeking to communicate. Only shared by Eastern social and political systems: through involvement can both implicit and ex- (1) subordination of the individual to a strong hi- plicit communication contribute to shared un- erarchical authority, (2) a subjugation main- derstanding. Such involvement is demonstrated tained by a symbolic perception of harmony, and in the life of Christ, who became flesh and lived (3) a belief that events have meaning as evi- among us (John 1:14). It is also the pattern for dences of universal principles. An Eastern view missionary service (John 17:18). Paul clearly 32 Intercultural Competency modeled this kind of intercultural communica- Mastering the Basics of Conflict Resolution. tion as he explains in 1 Corinthians 9:19–23. Conflict is inevitable in any kind of community. Donald K. Smith Every community also has its basic assumptions and requirements for conflict resolution. An in- Bibliography. W. B. Gudykunst and Y. Y. Kim, Com- municating with Strangers An Approach to Intercultural tercultural worker cannot hope to be effective Communication; G. Hofstede, Cultures and Organiza- unless she or he masters the patterns of conflict tions: Software of the Mind; F. E. Jandt, Intercultural resolution that are practiced within the local Communication: An Introduction; D. L. Kincaid, Com- community. munication Theory: Eastern and Western Perspectives; Understanding Basic Values and Personal- L. A. Samovar and R. E. Porter, Intercultural Commu- ity. The bringing up of children is one of the nication A Reader; D. K. Smith, Creating Understanding: most important activities in any culture. A Handbook for Christian Communication Across Cul- Through this process adults impart to children tural Landscapes. the basic values that are essential in the cultural setting, and channel the unique personalities of Intercultural Competency. To live and work ef- children into proper cultural behaviors. Under- fectively interculturally, a person must engage in standing this process of shaping children into Cultural Learning with the goal of becoming mature adults is crucial for competency in a cul- effective in the broad range of behaviors that are ture (see Enculturation). Learning the values part of becoming competent in any culture. that parents impart to their children and the pro- Since the members of a culture have a whole cess through which they channel unique person- lifetime in which to learn its inner workings and alities into appropriate adult behavior is crucial complexities, an intercultural worker will never for effective cultural learning. have the competency of someone born in that Understanding Beliefs and Worldview. All culture. Yet, with careful and intentional learn- human beings actively reflect on their cultural ing, a missionary can master a broad range of experience and articulate the meaning of these skills required for effective Communication, inter- experiences in their beliefs and Worldview. personal relationships, and continuous learning Once an intercultural worker has a good working in a ministry setting. knowledge of the language, and has acquired The goal of intercultural competency is to gain competencies in the other aspects of culture sufficient understanding of the broad range of above, then exploration of beliefs and worldview required cultural behaviors so that one is sensi- is essential to gaining a whole picture of culture. tized to intercultural tensions, aware of cultural Effective Communication and Contextual- expectations and practices, and continually ization of Work and Ministry. The desired out- learning the finer points of communication in come of intercultural competency is effective each area of cultural practice. communication in every area of culture. The There are seven distinctive areas in which a goal of cultural competency is to contextualize cross-cultural worker should seek to achieve work and ministry in the cultural system that is competence in any culture. known and practiced by people in the local com- Language Fluency. The mastery of a language munity. The intercultural worker must intention- of a culture is essential to effective communica- ally frame communication and ministry within tion. Intercultural workers should master the the cultural systems available to local cultural grammatical structures of the local language, participants. This requires that intercultural and vocabulary in all the areas of communica- workers rethink what they do and how they do tion that are essential to their work. it, and reframe it into the language, economic, Understanding the Rules of Labor and Ex- social, and value systems of the local culture. change. Every culture has adopted economic Many missiologists define cultural competency practices and values that govern the organization with reference to incarnational ministry (see In- of labor and exchange within a community. carnational Mission). The example for incarna- Since all intercultural workers are involved in tional ministry is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Phi- some form of labor and exchange relationships lippians 2:6–7, Paul speaks of Jesus as being “in with people in the community, understanding very nature God,” yet not clinging to that iden- their rules and values with regard to work are es- tity, but “taking the very nature of a servant, sential for effective intercultural service. being made in human likeness.” Lingenfelter and Understanding Authority Relations in Fam- Mayers (1986, p. 15) characterize Jesus as a ily and Community. Every community defines “200% person.” They then draw the analogy that structures to govern relationships between indi- the intercultural missionary must become at viduals and groups. The intercultural worker least a 150% person—ideally, retaining their own should seek to understand the rules and roles cultural identity at least at the level of 75%, and that are significant in family and community yet adding a new identity of 75% of the culture structures, and know how these are practiced by in which they serve. The challenge of incarna- members in the indigenous community. tional ministry is becoming more than we are, 33 Interpersonal Communication and learning and incorporating the culture of from person to person, meanings reside only in our hosts into our lives, and participating effec- persons, never in the vehicles used to convey the tively in ministry within their cultural context. messages. Meanings are created by receptors on Yet incarnational ministry is not enough. As the basis of their perceptions of what the com- Christians we are engaged in lives of pilgrimage; municator intends by the messages he or she is as Peter says, “as aliens and strangers in the sending. world, . . . live such good lives among the pagans What goes on within the receptor(s) mind is, that, though they may accuse you of doing therefore, the most important part of any com- wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify municational interaction. Once the communica- God on the day that He visits us” (1 Peter 2:11– tor has spoken or written a message, it is up to 12). the receptor(s) to interpret the meaning. And Sherwood G. Lingenfelter this interpretation is done on the basis of the re- Bibliography. P. G. Hiebert, Anthropological Insights ceptor’s own understandings, whether or not for Missionaries; S. G. Lingenfelter and Marvin K. May- these correspond with the understanding of the ers, Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational source. This fact creates difficulties in interper- Model for Personal Relationships. sonal communication, even between people who live in the same culture and speak the same lan- Interpersonal Communication. Though com- guage. It is, however, complicated greatly when munication may be intrapersonal (talking to the source and the receptor(s) are from different oneself), it is usually interpersonal communica- cultures. For people’s patterns of perception and tion (communication between persons) that we interpretation are strongly affected by their cul- refer to when we speak of “communication.” ture. Intercultural communication is a form of Whether the communication is between mem- interpersonal communication, for it always in- bers of the same family or between those of dif- volves one or more communicators attempting ferent language communities (Intercultural to convey messages to one or more receptors Communication), it always involves persons and from another culture. thus is interpersonal. Even public communica- This understanding of communication has tion, such as lectures or sermons, can be seen as enormous implications for the communication interpersonal, since they consist of a large num- of the gospel and the Contextualization of ber of one-to-one (i.e., speaker to each listener) Christianity. It means that we need first to learn interactions. Though communication via elec- as much as possible about how our receptors are tronic or print media is not usually seen as inter- perceiving the messages we are attempting to personal, there are important interpersonal as- communicate. Then we need to do our best to pects to these forms as well, especially if the formulate our messages in such a way that the receptors know the communicator(s) personally. receptors can perceive and interpret what we are Since Eugene Nida first introduced the con- saying accurately and reconstruct the meanings cept into missiology in Message and Mission appropriately. Failures in this area have led to (1960, rev. ed. 1990), it has been customary in heretical understandings of Christian doctrines missiological circles to speak of communica- even though the missionaries were orthodox and tional interaction as consisting of a source (or doing their best to speak the truth. communicator) conveying a message to one or Missionary history is full of examples of mes- more receptors. This is often referred to as the ­ sages that were spoken accurately in terms of S-M-R theory of communication. The key in- the communicator’s perspective but were per- sights brought by this perspective concern the ceived inaccurately by the receptors. When mis- place of the receptor in the communication pro- sionaries to India, for example, invited people to cess. be “born again,” they were not heard accurately All interpersonal communication involves gaps by people who are seeking to escape from the between people and the techniques used to endless cycle of rebirth. Nor are those in Asia bridge those gaps. Traditional approaches to for whom the number “four” is Taboo attracted communication have tended to focus attention to a message that focuses on “four spiritual either on the source of messages or on the vehi- laws.” Latin American Christo-Paganism, Mela- cles used to convey them. The primary vehicle, of nesian Cargo Cults, many African-Initiated course, is Language, and much attention has Church Movement doctrines, and a plethora of been devoted to the place of language in the com- other aberrant forms of Christianity are the munication process, as if words contained the products of receptor understandings of mission- meanings people attempt to communicate. But, ary messages that did not correspond with what as Berlo and others have demonstrated, mean- was intended by the communicators. ings reside neither in the external world nor in On the other hand, exciting People Move- language or other vehicles we use in the commu- ments have often resulted when messages of nication process. Though we can pass messages God’s love and power have been presented in 34 Kinship ways that were accurately interpreted by the re- for membership. These are often based on kinship ceptors from within their frame of reference. (nuclear family, extended family, clan), territory Charles H. Kraft. (neighborhood, city, state), economic position (caste, occupation), or language (dialect, tribe). As Bibliography. D. K. Berlo, The Process of Communi- cation; J. F. Engel, Contemporary Christian Communi- with kinship relations, each group has an identity cations; C. H. Kraft, Communicating the Gospel God’s (terminologically defined), a status (set of ex- Way; idem, Communication Theory for Christian Wit- pected behavior patterns), and roles (the actual ness; E. A. Nida, Message and Mission; D. K. Smith, patterns of the group’s behavior). A group’s under- Creating Understanding; V. S øgaard, Media in Church standing of themselves and others—how far the and Mission. boundaries extend before others are recognized as being outside the group—can be of great assis- Kinship. Kinship relations have long been a tance to missionaries attempting to discover how major part of anthropological study. For kinship many translations of Scripture should be made (interpersonal) relations and social (intergroup) within a particular region or which groups will in- relations combine with the economic, political, teract with a newly founded church. and religious aspects of culture to structure To build an effective missiological strategy, it human behavior. The relative importance people is important to determine whether a given soci- from different cultures (kinship, peasant, indus- ety places greater value on individual or group trial, and postindustrial) place on these relations identity. One should also analyze whether the so- will vary widely and impact their behavior. ciety is tightly or loosely structured. Societies fall Despite this diversity, all human relationships into four general categories: (1) authoritarian— can be understood within a framework of iden- individual-oriented and tightly structured; (2) tity, Status, and role. Identity is specified by the individualist—individual-oriented and loosely use of a kinship term to designate particular in- structured; (3) hierarchist—group-oriented and dividuals—the term serves as their identity. Sta- tightly structured; and (4) collectivist— tus relates to the cultural expectations associated group-oriented and loosely structured. Deter- with particular identities—how people expect mining the nature of a particular society is vital those so identified to behave. Role is the actual for sound development and implementation of behavior of people with a particular identity; this an evangelistic strategy. Should the approach behavior reflects the basic nature of the relation- focus on individuals or whole groups (see Indi- ship. Thus kinship terms define cultural sets of vidualism and Collectivism)? And if groups, rights and duties that are acted out in real life which ones would make the most appropriate through specific behavior patterns. targets, and why? Should Christianity be pre- By fitting into relationships with people on the sented as a means for people to relate more ef- basis of cultural expectations, missionaries serv- fectively with other groups or as a means of ing in a particular society may be able to remove building interpersonal relationships? much of the mystery associated with their pres- An understanding of relationships will also ence. By adapting to local cultural expectations, give insight into the nature of Leadership pat- outsiders can learn much about appropriate be- terns within a society. What determines who is to havior and use that knowledge to build relation- be a leader—a general election, appointment ships that may serve as a launching pad for com- (and by whom?), or a birthright? How is leader- municating the gospel. In kinship societies, with ship expressed? What are the responsibilities of their focus on close egalitarian relationships, out- leaders within the group and beyond? How do siders must build intragenerational relationships leaders actually perform their duties? The frame- with members of the society and use that bond- work of identity, status, and role is once again ing to communicate. In peasant societies rela- helpful for understanding rights and duties as tionships are more hierarchical and intergenera- people exercise leadership. Is leadership the pre- tional, often resembling a family structure. In rogative of an individual, such as a judge, or is it industrial societies, which focus on individuals, delegated to a group, such as the panchayat communication often springs from the interac- under an Indian banyan tree or a palaver in Af- tion between individuals—friends, business asso- rica? Understanding the leadership patterns ciates, people with common interests. Postindus- within a society is crucial as a church selects a trial societies, with an emphasis on team pastor or gives responsibilities to a group of el- building, demand complementary skills; each ders. What gives them the right to serve, and person contributes to the whole, which may be a what are the implications of following cultural neighborhood, club, association, or group bound patterns in contrast to ignoring them? by occupation. Throughout Scripture there are many patterns Similarly, an appreciation for the nature of of kinship and social interaction as well as ex- groups within a society can be utilized in present- pressions of leadership. Therefore we should not ing the gospel and assisting church growth within argue that there is a biblical pattern since there a cultural context. Each group has its own criteria are many. Rather, Scripture can be brought to 35 Lifestyle Evangelism bear (both positively and negatively) on the sta- the gospel message to those he was trying to tus and roles of individuals and groups within reach. each cultural context. Clearly research in the This emphasis on affirming the gospel mirrors area of kinship and social structure is important the often-practiced strategy of using social minis- for the introduction of the gospel and its ongoing try as a bridge to share the gospel. Social ministry impact as the church develops and grows. can help break down suspicion, open doors for R. Daniel Shaw ministry in closed countries, and provide a hear- ing for the gospel. The construction of dams by Bibliography. T. Brewster and B. S. Brewster, Bond- the Basel missionaries in northern Ghana pro- ing; M. Douglas, In the Active Voice, pp. 183–254; W. H. vided an opportunity for the gospel to be shared Goodenough, The Relevance of Models for Social An- to the people there. Other missionary efforts thropology; S. Lingenfelter, Transforming Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission; R. D. Shaw, Missiology through medicine, agriculture, engineering, nutri- 18 (1991): 291–304. tion, and education have illustrated this principle. Proponents cite many benefits to utilizing the approach of lifestyle evangelism. They note there Lifestyle Evangelism. “You’re the only Jesus is a greater possibility for on-going follow-up, some will ever see.” “People don’t care how much not only in continually clarifying the gospel mes- you know until they know how much you care.” sage over a period of time but also in discipling “You have to ‘earn’ the right to be heard.” These persons who trust Christ as their Savior. Lifestyle sample statements help explain the evangelistic evangelism advocates also argue that a consis- strategy known as lifestyle evangelism. Advo- tent Christian lifestyle helps break down the ac- cates argue that Evangelism must be seen as a cusation of “hypocrisy” and encourages nonbe- process of planting the seeds of the gospel lievers to consider the reality of Christ, noting through verbal Witness, watering and cultivat- how recent visible scandals in the Christian com- ing through Christian example and lifestyle, and munity have caused many people to wonder: finally reaping the harvest of new converts. “Does Christ really make a difference? Is there Great emphasis is placed on the role of the any substance to all this talk?” witness’s life in the evangelism process. Propo- While affirming the benefits of a “lifestyle” nents point to the incarnation as an illustration approach, some people caution against letting of the importance of this approach to ministry. the pendulum swing too far away from an em- When God wanted to communicate with hu- phasis on verbal witness. They warn against the mans, they argue, God did not send tracts from danger of lifestyle evangelism becoming all life- heaven. Instead, God communicated with us by style and no evangelism, all deeds and no becoming a person and living among us (John words. They are concerned that Christians fol- 1:7). lowing a lifestyle evangelism approach may The focus of lifestyle evangelism, then, is using place great effort in building relationships with the channels of relationships to share the gospel nonbelievers but never get around to sharing through both words and deeds. The latest phase the gospel verbally. Some are concerned that an of the movement, stimulated by Steve Sjogren’s overemphasis on deeds could lead in the direc- Conspiracy of Kindness, emphasizes utilizing acts tion of the social gospel of the 1920s, where an of service to give an opportunity for verbal wit- emphasis on repentance and faith might be lost ness of salvation in Jesus Christ. altogether. Perhaps the strongest critique of the While not the first book to appear on the topic, lifestyle evangelism movement has come from Joseph Aldrich’s book Lifestyle Evangelism has Mark McCloskey, in Tell it Often—Tell it Well. popularized the concept of lifestyle evangelism McCloskey notes that while lifestyle evangelism in American evangelicalism. Related terms used certainly has strengths, the New Testament by other proponents include friendship evange- would seem to point toward a more comprehen- lism, incarnational evangelism, and relational sive approach to evangelism, including taking evangelism. Since the early 1980s numerous the initiative to share the gospel message with books have been written and witnessing pro- persons with whom you have no prior contact. grams developed around the basic concept of He argues that there are too many lost people to lifestyle evangelism. Jim Peterson, missionary to depend primarily on evangelism which is rela- Brazil, argued in 1980 for the importance of life- tional in approach. Not everyone has Christian style evangelism on the mission field. He empha- friends or neighbors who can live out the mes- sized a twofold missionary strategy: (1) the proc- sage in deeds as well as share with words. lamation of the gospel to nonbelievers; (2) the Therefore, he advocates a comprehensive evan- affirmation of the gospel, which involves a pro- gelistic strategy that includes witnessing cess of modeling and further explaining the through existing relationships but that goes be- Christian message. Peterson found that in his yond them to include any person with whom we mission field context, deeds of love helped clarify might come into contact. 36 Love

To summarize, the lifestyle evangelism move- and wholesome sentiment. It expresses joy in ment has reminded the church of the importance being with or involved with someone or some- of living a Christian life before others, that the thing. walk of believers matters as well as their talk. In agapem the idea of sacrifically giving oneself Concerns raised by friendly critics need to be on behalf of another is the primary emphasis. heard as well, in that Christians should guard This form of love is not an emotional response to against overstressing the walk whereby they be- a person, place, or thing, but rather a volitional come “silent witnesses.” Some have taken the act toward a person or group of persons who may principles of lifestyle evangelism to an extreme, or may not be lovely. This is the word used to de- saying “I just let my life do the talking.” A Chris­ scribe God’s attitude toward the world (John tian’s life can only reinforce the message; it can- 3:16) and toward the sinners whom he redeemed not substitute for it. Verbal witness gives clarity (1 John 4:9). The love was not simply a verbal ex- to believers’ walk by pointing people past them pression but a dramatic demonstration of selfless to their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians giving on behalf of those who were cut off from cannot expect the nonbeliever to know that God and even declared to be his enemies (Rom. Christians are a reflection of the good news until 5:8). This love is beyond human capacity but is to they know what the good news is. As Paul af- be exhibited by those who call God Father firmed, “For we do not preach ourselves, but (1 John 4:7). Jesus also indicated that this love Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your ser- would fulfill all the law when exercised toward vants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). If believers do God with all of one’s heart, soul, and mind, and not point people toward Christ, they are only toward one’s neighbor (Matt. 22:36–40; Gal. calling attention to themselves. Overall, the life- 5:14). The reason for this sweeping statement is style evangelism movement has helped provide that if one is sacrificially giving himself/herself to an apologetic for Christianity to an increasingly God and neighbor, then one’s acts would not do secular world, thus following the command of anything offensive or harmful. This fits within Christ in Matthew 5:16, “let your light shine be- the intent and heart of what the law was all fore men, that they may see your good deeds and about. praise your Father in heaven.” In missions, the declaration of God’s love must Timothy K. Beougher be demonstrated and not just verbalized. Bibliography. J. Aldrich, Life-Style Evangelism; Whether in wholesome affection or sacrificial J. Peterson, Evangelism as a Lifestyle; C. Van Engen, giving, the message of God’s character and action You are My Witnesses. toward sinful humankind must be demonstrated. Those who carry God’s love must illustrate this Love. Biblical love is often a concept that has through acts consistent with the loving behavior been confused with cultural views of “love.” In of the culture in which the message is being pre- Scripture, love is a description of God, a sacrifi- sented. cial act toward the undeserving, a fulfillment of Since Jesus placed the act of loving one an- the Law, and the trademark of a true disciple of other as living testimony to identify the true dis- Christ. Love should be characteristic of Christian ciples, those in ministry must protect the love relationship among fellow workers. Interper- mission. The Old Testament word is ’ahab. In the New Testament, two major concepts of love are sonal relationships among missionaries are cer- expressed in two different words: philos and tainly observed by those hearing the message of agapem. John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. But if those who pro- Philos expresses fondness or an attraction to claim the message do not reflect such attitudes someone or something. It is a highly emotive among themselves, the verbal witness can be un- word which is similar to the English terms fond- dermined. Since loving one another is a com- ness or appreciation or affection. Older women mand (John 15:17), it is evident that it is not left are to teach (or train or advise) younger women to human emotions nor is it merely a good thing. to be “husband lovers” (philandrous) and children It is a moral obligation to give of oneself to oth- lovers (philoteknous) indicating that affection to- ers. To do this is to be a witness of one’s connec- ward the husband and children was to be devel- tion with Jesus and to verify that one is truly on oped and thus was to exceed the conditional type a mission for Jesus Christ who came as a demon- of emotion related to familial relationships. Scrip- stration of God’s love for sinners. This love, how- ture declares that the Father loved the Son in this ever, is not from human effort but flows from a way (John 5:20) and believers are to love in this Spirit-filled life (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22). same affectionate manner (John 16:27). Philos is Ed Glasscock not a lesser type of love than agape mbut is of a dif- Bibliography. J. P. Baker, NDT, pp. 398–400; ferent nature. It entails feeling good toward an- W. Günthern and H.-G. Link, NIDNTT, 2:538–51; G. B. other person or a thing. One may be fond of Funderburk, ZPEB; 3:989–96; J. Stott, The Mark of the someone or something and it can be a healthy Christian; C. Van Engen, God’s Missionary People. 37 Marriage, Marriage Practices

Marriage, Marriage Practices. Marriage is a ture interact meaningfully about marriage prac- nearly universal cultural institution. Marriage tices with members of another culture? practices, forms, and rituals are also universal Biblical Marriage in Contemporary Settings. concerns. In considering this topic, therefore, it The biblical paradigm of marriage from the cre- is particularly important to begin with a biblical ation account is the ideal to which all marriage understanding of marriage. practices ought to be compared. It is the ideal What Is Biblical Marriage? The creation ac- par excellence. But the ideal was disrupted by count culminates in God’s creation of human be- the fall. Therefore, against the ideal of relation- ings in his own image (Gen. 1:27). This initial ship, partnership, oneness, and difference, are creation of man and woman together as the em- the real-life crises which confront modern mar- bodiment of the Image of God functions as the riages. foundational paradigm of marriage. Three basic patterns of marriage are recog- God’s creation, humankind, is first spoken of nized by anthropologists: monogamy, polygyny singularly and inclusively, “him,” this “him” (commonly called polygamy), and polyandry. A meaning both man and woman. But “him” gives fourth pattern is finding acceptance in limited way to “them,” a plural which unites and distin- communities, that of same-sex marriage. guishes “them” as “male” and “female.” These Monogamy, the marriage of one man and one few words eloquently describe human beings as woman, with an exclusive sexual relationship, is creatures made in God’s own image, as alike and the most common idealized form of marriage. similar (“him”) and as unique and individual Cultural variations of its enactment include reli- (“male” and “female”). A biblical understanding gious rituals, civil ceremonies, and common law of marriage addresses each of these aspects. acceptance. The choice of partner may be up to God blesses and provides for the man and the individual or at the discretion of the ex- woman, and pronounces his work to be “very tended family. Monogamy is generally recog- good.” The instruction to be fruitful presupposes nized to uphold the creation model of one hus- the sexual union of the man and the woman and band and one wife restated by Jesus (Matt. the complementary nature of “maleness” and “fe- 19:4–6). Polygamy, one man with two or more maleness.” Alone, neither the man nor the wives, is attested to in the Old Testament and woman accomplishes the apparent intentions of continues to be practiced in some cultures today. God in creation. It is together that they are Polyandry, one woman with two or more hus- blessed and together that they are commissioned bands, is the least common of the traditional for productivity in raising children and working marriage patterns. Same-sex marriages, involv- in God’s world. This point is reinforced in Gene- ing two males or two females, have recently been sis 2, where God explicitly pronounces, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” The cre- suggested as analogous to monogamous relation- ation of woman completes the creation of hu- ships, though there is no biblical support for this mankind and cannot be separated from the cre- type of marital union. ation of the man. The man and woman are Several principles can be offered as founda- joined; they are “one flesh.” They are created in tions for the challenges related to marriage and relationship and for relationship. the diversity of marriage practices found in the What Went Wrong? God’s ideal for a harmoni- world today. ous relationship for man and woman, however, 1. An initial acceptance of observed marriage quickly broke down through the fall (see also patterns. The monogamous standard of Western Fall of Humankind). The initial and fundamental culture has not always existed and is currently sin in Genesis 3, involving a declaration of inde- threatened by high divorce rates and multiple pendence from God, set off a cycle of human marriages resulting in what some have called se- power struggles. It resulted in the eviction from rial polygamy. Previously accepted marriage pat- an ideal community and the introduction of con- terns in the West have included polygamy, ar- flicting hierarchy replacing complementary har- ranged marriages, common-law marriages, and mony. marriages of convenience. It is important to re- The difficulty of marital relationships, there- member that God works over time in the trans- fore, along with other human relationships, formation of all cultures and their practices. began with the loss of the ultimate community. A 2. Understanding. The marriage practices of a marital relationship cannot occur in isolation culture have a significance for that culture which from the community at large. must be understood if that culture is to be fully Therefore, some missiological questions arise understood. How men and women relate to one concerning marriage and marriage practices. another, and the meaning of their interactions How can we recover the ideals of marital rela- provide important insights about individuals as tionship without the ideal community of Eden? well as cultures (see Gender Roles). It is likely What interplay takes place between the biblical that some aspects of the relationships we ob- text and culture? How may members of one cul- serve will be useful in evaluating and critiquing 38 Pre-evangelism our own relationships and practices. We must genuine lack of materialism. Additionally, that learn before we would be teachers. the missionary may live a truly incarnate lifestyle 3. Issues of justice and mercy. In understanding does not remove the fact that such a lifestyle is and appreciating expressions of marital commit- by the missionary’s choice, and such a type of ment in our culture as well as in other cultures, choice is unavailable for the poor. we must not overlook the critical issues of justice The fact of such disparity may subvert the very and mercy. We must remain sensitive to the fact gospel message the mission agencies and mis- that around the world women tend to be op- sionaries bring, and often leads to hidden resent- pressed by men. The gospel is liberating good ment and eventually open conflict. As the gap news of God’s justice to those who are oppressed. between the rich and the poor continues to grow, Mercy recognizes that change is difficult, and and as Indigenous Churches begin to find their often can occur only slowly with much hardship. own authentic voices, it will become an increas- When practices must be changed in order to con- ing problem that Western missionaries who form to the creation ideal, then special care must work in areas of endemic poverty will of neces- be taken to protect those who might be injured sity have to face more realistically if they are to or experience hardship as a result. Established be true partners in the global missionary task. families should never be divided. Rather, we A. Scott Moreau should enable change to occur over generations Bibliography. J. J. Bonk, Missions and Money: Afflu- and with the full knowledge, consent, and partic- ence as a Western Missionary Problem. ipation of those affected. Missionaries working within polygamous con- Paternalism. In a generic sense, all that is posi- texts have learned this lesson over the years, tive in familial relationships, in particular that of many times through trial and error. For example, father to child. When paternalism exists in adult when a man with many wives becomes a Chris­ or institutional (such as church-mission) rela- tian, what direction does the missionary provide tionships, however, the considerable literature concerning the man’s many wives (see Polygamy shows it has negative connotations. Paternalism and Church Membership)? The issues are ex- might be thought of as the use of coercion to ceedingly complex, and missionaries must be pa- achieve a good that is not perceived as such by tient and loving in processing these and other those persons for whom it is intended. related issues. Paternalism, the concept of intervening ac- Adrienne Forgette and Young Lee Hertig tively for the perceived well-being of another, has Bibliography. J. Chittister, There is a Season. long existed in mission. People with knowledge, skills, funds, or power (the older missions) have Missionary Affluence. A relatively unexamined used them to get new churches to follow their element of recent missionary life and work has demands. An example of paternalism is a mis- been the affluence of Western missionaries in sion keeping control of a work because it feels comparison with the majority of the world’s peo- that the locals are unqualified and would do ples among whom they work. The development themselves and the cause of Christ harm by tak- of great personal wealth in the West over the ing leadership. Paternalistic attitudes assume su- past few centuries and the cultural assumptions perior knowledge, wisdom, and skills. While well inherent with that wealth have been paralleled intentioned in some cases, they fail to recognize by the development of like assumptions and ex- the work of the Holy Spirit in young churches and their leaders. pectations of appropriate missionary lifestyles While the connotations of paternalism are and capabilities. Wealthy missionaries, as Bonk often negative, churches or missions sometimes rightly points out, find it difficult at best to truly develop rules (by-laws, covenants, mission and incarnate Christ among the destitute of the purpose statements) with the positive result of world, as the gap between them is simply too big producing mature Christian behavior. and the wealthy have too much to lose by letting Paternalism is a complex issue. Mission lead- go of that to which they cling. ers must face the tension involved in deciding It does not matter that missionaries, by West- how much or how little influence to exert, either ern standards, are generally on the lower end of actively intervening or passively withholding the socioeconomic scale. What does matter is something, for the perceived good of emerging that all too often those among whom they work missions, churches, and their leadership. see the missionaries as having access to personal Mikel Neumann and institutional wealth of which the indigenous population can only dream. Often, however, it is Bibliography. J. Kleinig, Paternalism; D. VanDeVeer, not just a question of the amount of income; Paternalistic Intervention. even missionaries who live at low income levels can still communicate a materialistic worldview, Pre-evangelism. Many well-intentioned wit- and those who have wealth can communicate nesses for Christ employ evangelistic strategies 39 Race Relations that assume every unbeliever is potentially ready our witness to persons as they are along the con- to respond to the gospel upon first hearing. Such version continuum. Instead of immediately urg- strategies encourage Christian witnesses to get ing someone to make a definite decision for right to the point to attempt to bring unbelievers, Christ, it is often more appropriate first to em- without delay, to repentance and faith in Christ, ploy a variety of pre-evangelistic techniques, regardless of their background or lack of prior helping him or her gradually to move along the exposure to Christian truth. scale to the point where he or she is fully ready In contrast to this direct approach, others pre- to follow Christ. fer a more indirect style of evangelism, employing Raymond P. Prigodich strategies that assume most unbelievers are ini- tially not ready to respond meaningfully to the Bibliography. J. F. Engel, Contemporary Christian Communications: Its Theory and Practice. Nashville; gospel. Proponents of the indirect approach are J. F. Engel and W. H. Norton, What’s Gone Wrong with convinced that, in most instances, they need first the Harvest? A Communication Strategy for the Church to establish a relationship of trust with those to and World Evangelism. whom they are witnessing and to demonstrate their own credibility. They also argue that it gen- Race Relations. The reality of race and race re- erally takes time for unbelievers to become fully lations has been central to the missions move- convinced that the gospel is true, relevant, and ment in the United States from at least the early worth accepting, no matter what the cost. It is felt nineteenth century. The combinations of in- that unbelievers need first to process the new in- creased scientific interest in race as a category formation they have received, to seek clarifica- (as evidenced in books as disparate as David tion, to abandon previously held views and pre- Hume’s Of National Characters in 1748 and suppositions, and to weigh the potential Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859) and ramifications of a decision to follow Christ. Oth- erwise, the new converts may make only a super- the growing American dilemma of dealing with ficial, premature decision for Christ that fails to the enslavement of Africans and their descen- result in authentic conversion. Advocates of the dants in this country helped focus the attention indirect approach often characterize direct evan- of people interested in missions, especially with gelism as a one-size-fits-all strategy that treats ev- respect to Africans and their descendants in the eryone essentially alike and thus fails to demon- Western Hemisphere, on how to—and even strate appropriate respect for human dignity and whether to—evangelize people of other races. individuality. Race as an ethnic designation has a rather re- Over the past generation, James Engel had cent history. By the dawn of the nineteenth cen- greater impact than any other person on evan- tury, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach’s fivefold gelical thinking about the need for what is often typology of races—Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethi- called pre-evangelism. Elaborating on a model opian, African, and Malayan—had not only first advanced by Viggo Sögaard, Engel devel- gained ascendancy, but also reified racial cate- oped what has come to be known as the Engel gorization into a static, biological system, rather Scale, which sees conversion as an often lengthy than a dynamic movement within human his- process, only one part of which is the actual mo- tory. If race were to be seen as a static category, ment of regeneration. As Engel notes, recipients then race mixing could be rightly deemed “un- of Christian witness frequently begin their spiri- natural” and for Christians “sinful.” Because of tual journey from a point at which they lack even the presence of Africans and their descendants an awareness of the existence of a supreme in the Western Hemisphere due to chattel slav- being. Then, often quite gradually and tenta- ery, these concerns took on special significance tively, they begin to move from initial exposure for black-white relations in the United States. to Christianity to a vague awareness of their own Christians engaged these issues in the early personal spiritual need. Eventually, they may missions movement by (1) evangelizing Africans begin to develop at least a measure of interest in and African American slaves as equal members the gospel, but it often takes time for them to be- of the human family; (2) evangelizing Africans come fully aware, first of its essential details, and African Americans slaves, but limiting their and then of its implications for them personally. Christian freedom to the “spiritual realm” and Typically, it takes additional time for unbelievers denying their full human capacities and rights; to develop a fully positive attitude toward the (3) ignoring, denying, and even fighting against gospel and to recognize that it is indeed capable efforts to Christianize blacks out of a denial of of meeting their deepest felt needs. It is only their humanity and even fear of the power of the after they reach this point that they are ready to gospel to breed insurrection against the slavoc- make a meaningful decision to repent and place racy. Of course, some slave missionary efforts their faith in Jesus Christ. reflected a basic compatibility between Christian The Engel Scale helps us to see, therefore, that faith and slavery, noting in a threefold defense of we really need to adjust the content and focus of Christian slavery: “Abraham practiced it, Paul 40 Repentance preached it, and Jesus is silent on the issue.” In- The latter word speaks of turning from sin to deed, some missionary efforts to slaves revolved righteousness (2 Chron. 7:14). Through Israel, around the text “Slaves, obey your earthly mas- God calls all nations to repent. ter” (Eph. 6:5). The key New Testament terms are metamelo- In the evangelization of Africa, race relations mai, metanoeom, and epistrephom. Metamelomai played a crucial role. Early efforts to send black stresses the emotional aspect of care, concern, Americans to Africa combined with efforts to re- and regret. It can refer to genuine repentance patriate freed blacks to Africa in colonization ef- (Matt. 21:29, 32) and may also refer to a regret forts was resisted by some free blacks who and remorse that is not accompanied by an claimed America as their home. In the late nine- abandonment of sin (Matt. 27:3). Metanoeom is teenth century, some missionary agencies de- used to note the need to “have another mind” by clined to send blacks on African missions for fear changing one’s opinion and purposes (Matt. 3:2; of intermarriage with white missionaries. Others Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38). The dominant idea of epis- were concerned that blacks’ interpretation of the trephom is a change of mind that may result in ac- recent Civil War in the United States as God’s companying emotions and consequent reforma- judgment against slavery would be dangerous tion. baggage in evangelizing colonized Africans. As Elements of Repentance. True repentance has segregation became part of American denomina- intellectual, emotional, and volitional elements. tional life, black denominations formed their own Intellectually it involves a change of mind about separate mission agencies and the work of mis- God, sin, Christ, and oneself. The resultant sions became another reflection of American seg- change of mind views God as good and holy; sin regation. as evil and injurious before God and people; The impact of the Civil Rights Movement and Christ as perfect, necessary, and sufficient for the changing patterns in American race relations salvation; and oneself as guilty and in need of affected missions work in bringing more blacks salvation. Such repentance is an essential ele- into the mainstream of home and foreign mis- ment of missionary proclamation. sions, and making visible to the larger society Repentance involves a change of view, a the steady stream of missionary activity spon- change of feelings and a change of purpose. The sored by black churches at home and abroad. emotional aspect may be seen in the passionate Contemporary efforts at racial reconciliation are pleas found in David’s repentance (Ps. 51:1, 2, building on the work of intergrationists in the 10, 14), and in Jesus’ testimony of the tax-gather- 1950s and 1960s. The reconciliation accords er’s feeling of remorse that led to faith (Matt. reached between black and white Pentecostals in 21:32). However, when the emotional element 1994 as well as ongoing conversations between stands by itself it is not true repentance (Matt. the National Association of Evangelicals and the 27:3; Luke 18:23, cf. 2 Cor. 7:9–10). The sorrow National Black Evangelical Association reflect that leads to repentance is a sorrow for sin, not the churches’ sense that racial reconciliation is a only for its consequences. The volitional aspect part of kingdom work. Some missions organiza- of repentance is seen in the turning to God in tions, such as Youth With a Mission, have even faith (1 Thess. 1:9), and is an anticipated out- incorporated notions of identificational repen- come of the church’s mission among the nations. tance and reconciliation as part of their missions Elaboration of Meaning. Repentance may be strategies, noting the need for contemporary defined as a change of mind that is produced by Christians to confess the sins of their forbears as the Holy Spirit leading to trust in God. Repen- tance is a part of true faith (Acts 20:21). It is not part of the healing process. meritorious in itself, for Christ’s death fully satis- Harold Dean Trulear fies God’s righteousness (Rom. 3:25). While re- Bibliography. G. Myrdal, An American Dilemma: pentance may lead to such outward acts as con- The Negro Problem in American Democracy; T. Sowell, fession of sin and restitution, these are evidences Race and Culture: A World View; W. Williams, Black of repentance and not the repentance itself. Re- Americans and the Evangelization of Africa: 1877–1900. pentance is an inward act that results in outward manifestations. Psalm 51 is an illustration of Repentance. Repentance is the central message true repentance. The resulting attitude of repen- that the church is to bring to the world (Luke tance is reflected in Jesus’ call to become like a 24:47). It is a characteristic of the life of the child (Matt. 18:2–4) as well as in the first four church, and is one of the primary goals of the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3–6). church’s mission. Subjects and Objects of Repentance. God has The key terms in the Old Testament are nâham commanded the world to repent in order to and shûbh. The former word carries the root avoid his judgment (Acts 17:30). His patience idea of “to pant, sigh, or groan.” It speaks of and kindness move him to be slow to wrath lamenting and grieving and when it is aimed at (Rom. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). God does not repent in one’s own character it has the idea of repenting. the sense of changing his immutable perfection 41 Sexual Mores

(1 Sam. 15:29), but his roused emotion may longer reflect the light of Christ (Rev. 2:5) that prompt him to a different course of action in alone can lead the world to repentance. carrying out his sovereign plan (Exod. 32:14; William D. Thrasher Jonah 3:10). It may imply God’s sorrow or grief Bibliography. J. Goetzmann and F. Laubach, NID- over humanity’s sin (Jer. 6:6). NTT, I:353–59; V. P. Hamilton, TWOT, II:909–10; O. Mi- Unbelievers and believers may be appropriate chel, TDNT, IV:626–29; E. Würthwein and J. Behm, subjects of repentance. The mission of the TDNT, IV:975–1009. church is to carry out God’s declaration to the world to repent and trust in Christ. The church is Sexual Mores. The student of cross-cultural to exemplify a repentant lifestyle (Ps. 119:128). phenomena confronts a bewildering array of Jesus’ command to take up one’s cross is another ideas about and practices of sexuality. Many of way of describing this attitude, elaborated in Ro- these ideas and practices will conflict with the mans 6:11–13. cross-cultural worker’s own socially conditioned Repentance may have a variety of objects. beliefs and practices. Some of these ideas and Scripture speaks of repenting from trusting in practices may well conflict with biblical revela- money (Acts 8:22) as well as from a lack of trust tion. in God’s Word (Zech. 1:6). It also speaks of repen- The dual nature of this conflict sets the stage tance from dead works (Heb. 6:1), idols (Ezek. for missionary involvement in the sexual mores 14:6), and leaving one’s first love (Rev. 2:4–5). Re- of the receptor culture. The cross-cultural pentance involves dealing with anything that hin- worker may support mores that differ from his ders one from living under the authority of God or her own socially conditioned views but that (James 4:1–10) and being reconciled to other be- do not violate either biblical teachings or princi- lievers (Luke 17:3–4). Biblically, missionary proc- ples (i.e., bride price). The missionary may be lamation must include a call to unbelievers to compelled to advocate to local innovators “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; changes in sexual mores that actually conflict 26:20). with or violate biblical teachings or principles Preaching of Repentance. Repentance is a key (i.e., female genital mutilation). In any case, the theme in the proclamation of the church to a lost cross-cultural worker must seek to understand world that stands in need of the Savior. It was fully the meaning of the cultural practice and the characteristic of the prophetic preaching (Jer. biblical principles involved. Any proposed 8:6; Ezek. 14:6), John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2), change in mores will proceed from this dual per- spective. Jesus (Matt. 4:17), the Twelve (Mark 6:12), Peter Ebbie C. Smith (Acts 2:38), and Paul (Acts 20:21). It is a message that is to be proclaimed to all peoples (Luke 24:47). Shame. In order to inculcate and motivate mo- Reformed theology stresses the fact that re- rality in its members, a society may seek to in- pentance is a gift of God and a result of regener- still Guilt for violating persons or moral rules. ation (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:22). Arminian Or it may seek to instill shame for moral failure. Rather than motivating by the threat of punish- theology stresses the human element in repen- ment, such a society motivates by threatening tance and regeneration. God is recognized in the disapproval and shame to those who fail to ex- latter as the primary cause and the person as the emplify desirable virtues, and by offering honor less principal cause. In both theologies the and respect to those who exemplify prescribed human responsibility of declaring God’s Word is character traits. embraced as the means that God’s Spirit uses to While most societies cultivate and are atten- work repentance (Luke 10:30). tive to shame, Western societies have tended to Results of Repentance. Christ’s commission to be much more attentive to guilt than to shame. the church to declare the message of repentance Westerners typically see shame as a more super- is motivated by God’s kindness as God yearns for ficial response to moral failure than guilt, all peoples to taste the benefits that result from wrongly assuming that shame is the tendency to repentance. The Scriptures give the sad exam- feel bad only when caught. In consequence West- ples of the impenitent who refuse to live in ern missionaries often go to non-Western societ- agreement with God. Those who do repent be- ies with poorly developed understandings of come special objects of God’s compassion. Re- shame, and with negative attitudes toward the pentance leads one to the experience of life (Acts way shame functions in people’s lives. They mis- 11:18), joy (2 Cor. 7:9), truth (2 Tim. 2:25), for- takenly believe that their own inclination to giveness (Acts 2:38), and the rule of God (Matt. stress guilt over shame is simply a reflection of 4:17). Repentance averts the wrath of God biblical priorities. In fact, shame is the focal (Jonah 3:4–10) and leads to rejoicing in heaven emotion in the Genesis creation account, and is (Luke 15:7, 10). An unrepentant church will no a focal emotion throughout the Scriptures. 42 Sin

Shame involves seeing oneself as deficient least two reasons. On the one hand missionaries with reference to certain character ideals. We often go to societies in which a sense of sin, and often become aware of ourselves through the a language for speaking of sin, seem to be mark- eyes of others. We suddenly see ourselves as oth- edly absent. On the other hand, many missionar- ers see us. While it is true that shame arises out ies come from increasingly post-Christian societ- of, and is in large part caused by, the disapproval ies where the concept of sin and judgment has of significant others, the source of the shame is come under attack and strong disapproval. Mis- our thoughts about our selves. Shame is not fully sionaries themselves are increasingly disap- determined by the negative evaluation of others. proved of as supposed purveyors of an unhealthy What elicits shame is the acceptance of the nega- sense of sin and guilt. It is important, then, for tive evaluation of others as the correct one. Nor missionaries to carefully reconsider their under- does shame require the presence of others. It is standing and use of the concept of sin. possible while alone to come to some shameful One might suppose that the concept of sin is realization about the self which suffuses one simple, not complex, easy to translate and ex- with shame. plain in other languages. Such is not the case. How then are guilt and shame to be distin- When accurately understood, sin carries a heavy guished? Guilt is tied to acts of transgression— load of meaning. Built into the meaning of that acts that merit punishment or require compensa- one word are ethical/moral, theological, anthro- tion. Guilt is a feeling about one’s actions. pological, and eschatological implications. Shame, on the other hand, is a feeling about Ethical/Moral. The language of sin presup- one’s self—who one is. It is about not being good poses a vigorous notion of good and evil, right enough. I am guilt for something. I am ashamed and wrong, true moral obligations, normative of myself. A small lie, if treated as evidence of a ideals, and absolute standards. To violate what is person’s true character, may trigger intense ethical and good, to transgress against another shame. We treat the guilt with indignation and person, to fail to exemplify the oral character demand punishment or restitution. We turn traits one should, is to sin. Theft, murder, adul- from the shameful with contempt. Guilt can be tery, incest, slander, drunkenness, envy, and expiated. Shame, apart from transformation of witchcraft are spoken of as sins. the self, is retained. At one level this is not a particular problem for Missionaries to those who stress shame would missionaries, since all cultures have discourses do well to stress relevant biblical imagery (of na- of moral condemnation—discourses which pre- kedness, covering, uncleanness, glory), the char- suppose notions of good and evil, right and acter of Christ as our model for the self, God as wrong. At another level, missionaries face two the ultimate significant other whose view of us distinct problems. First, cultures differ in terms ought to inform our view of ourselves, sin as fall- of the ethical and moral norms and ideals which ing short of the glory of God, and above all, the are recognized or stressed. Missionary messages possibility of a new beginning (a rebirth, a new about sin may thus presuppose notions of good identity in Christ) where sins are covered and and evil, right and wrong which contradict the shame removed. Our end is glory. consciences of those to whom they speak. This Robert J. Priest has many practical and profound implications Bibliography. L. L. Noble, Naked and Not Ashamed: for missionaries who hope to make the con- An Anthropological, Biblical, and Psychological Study of science of their listeners an ally rather than a foe Shame. (for a full treatment of such implications, see Priest, 1994). Sin. There is perhaps no concept more central Second, the biblical themes of God as the and strategic to the Christian message than that source of moral standards and of moral evil as of sin. The concept of sin is central to the biblical disobedience to God, are implied by the biblical narrative of salvation history. It is central to the language of sin—but are not necessarily shared Christian explanation of suffering and death and by the cultures of the world. is a crucial component of the meaning of the Theological. Dictionaries stress that “sin” is a cross. It is key in any evangelistic presentation of religious term. “Sin” differs from “immorality,” the gospel and essential to the call for repen- “evil,” or “crime” in that it implies a vertical God- tance and faith, in salvation, in sanctification, ward dimension—a theological orientation. Sin and in biblical eschatology. And it is founda- is “against God.” The Genesis 3 narrative of orig- tional to the missionary mandate. It is because inal sin focuses not on a horizontal relationship of sin and the eschatological consequences of (theft, adultery, murder), but on the vertical one, sin, that missionaries go forth preaching a mes- relationship to God. The prohibition, “Don’t eat sage of judgment and hope. the fruit!” was of a nature to factor out all other Missionaries cannot afford simply to take for issues except the simple issue of relationship to granted their use of the concept of sin, for at God. The narrative is one a child can grasp. But 43 Sociological Barriers the vertical and horizontal are linked. After God something about the inner state: the dispositions is rejected, then Cain kills Abel. of the heart, such as lust, covetousness, and In Psalm 51 David cries out to God, “Against pride. you, you only have I sinned. . . .” David has com- The concept of sin points to both freedom and mitted adultery, lied, and murdered faithful captivity. People who actively and freely choose Uriah. He has sinned against many, but it is the that which is wrong find themselves also to be horror of his failure toward God which grips “slaves” to sin. These twin themes are both im- him. In the Bible God is the central equation, the portant to any presentation of the biblical view fundamental fact, the integrating factor of the of the human condition. Again, such a presenta- universe. The ten commandments begin with tion must take into account what the relevant God, and on that foundation move to the hori- culture says about human nature, in order to zontal. Ethics and morality are grounded in the- more effectively articulate and communicate the ology. Whatever else sin entails, it is rebellion biblical view. For example, one may have to against God. counter the claim of human determinism—that Missionaries often discover that the society to humans are therefore not accountable—or the which they go is more likely to link morality to claim that humans are by nature good, and not the ancestors than to God. While many societies sinful. will have a vague notion of a high god, such a Eschatological. The word “sin” carries with it god is distant and not intimately concerned with the idea of culpability and deserved punishment. people’s ethical behavior. Instead of assuming a “In the day that you eat of it, you shall die.” “The strong sense of God and a linkage between God wages of sin is death.” The very language of sin and morality, missionaries must help to con- carries with it the idea of deserved and future struct and re-articulate who God is, as well as judgment. While the wicked may flourish in this the linkage of God and morality. The sense of sin life, the implication is that there is moral har- is greatest where the sense of God is greatest (cf. mony and justice in this world, and the wicked Isa. 6). But the willingness to face God with our will be punished. The concept of sin carries with own sin will come only where a powerful mes- it implicitly the notion of deserved and coming sage of love and grace makes such possible. punishment. Sin points to the coming judgment. Missionaries in secular societies face their Sin points to Hell. own difficulties. Here several centuries of effort Missionaries often express frustration when have gone into denying that God is necessary to they cannot find a word for “sin” in the language ethics and morality. As a result, the term “sin” of the people with whom they work—little realiz- has been moved to the margins of moral dis- ing the heavy load of meaning carried by that course. Nonetheless, as many philosophers have one word, and the unlikelihood of finding a sin- recognized, the effort to provide foundations for gle word with the same load of meaning in any morality and ethics apart from a transcendent culture except one heavily influenced by Christi- source, has utterly failed. The astute apologist anity. Indeed there was no Hebrew or Greek will find it possible to present a persuasive wit- word which carried the same range of meaning ness that God is essential as the foundation of as our English word “sin.” Instead there were morality, and move from there to the gospel—in- many words drawn from everyday moral dis- cluding discussion of sin. course with which to speak of sin. Dynamically Anthropological. The concept of sin, as used in equivalent vocabulary exists in every culture. In- Scripture, implies truths about people. It implies, stead of looking for a single word and expecting first of all, a high view of human personhood. It that word to carry the full load of meaning, the would not be meaningful to apply the word “sin” missionary will need to pay attention to the to a tornado, a snake, or a dog. People are active meaning itself, and communicate that meaning moral agents with free will. Sin is presented in into the language and culture. A deep knowledge Scripture as evil which is actively chosen by cul- of language and culture will discover fully ade- pable human agents. Such agents are not simply quate lexical and symbolic resources for commu- products of heredity or environment. They are nicating biblical truths concerning sin. active in choosing between good and evil. Robert J. Priest The concept of sin also implies a terrible truth Bibliography. W. T. Dye, Missiology 4:1 (1976): 27– about the human condition. Subsequent to the 41; C. von Furer-Haimendorf, Man (N.S.) 9 (1974): first primordial sin, all humans enter the world 539–56; J. Grimes, Notes on Translation 22 (1945): 11– as sinners. “Sinful” is an adjective which applies 16; J. A. Loewen, Culture and Human Values; L. Noble, not just to acts, but to people. It is not just that Naked and Not Ashamed: An Anthropological, Biblical, people occasionally commit sinful acts. They are and Psychological Study of Shame; R. J. Priest, Missiol- themselves sinful. Sin is not simply episodic (like ogy 22:3 (1994): 291–315. crime), but a pervasive on-going condition. Peo- ple are sinful at the deepest levels. Repeatedly the Sociological Barriers. Jesus succeeded in Bible stresses that the outward acts simply reveal breaking through social and economic barriers 44 Status and Role in order to reach people with the gospel. Huge ceptivity too optimistically and that its meth- crowds followed him. He accepted invitations ods are largely products of Western pragma- from people from every strata of society, and tism and utilitarianism. The rise of ministered to the sick, the demonized, Gentiles, seeker-oriented churches in North America and women, children, and other groups awarded lit- elsewhere has demonstrated how the removal of tle or no status in his day. Yet Jesus’ approach socioeconomic obstacles and the targeting of was not merely a method; it reflected a genuine specific segments of society with the gospel may attitude of the heart that all creatures are equally lead to significant, even explosive, church precious in the sight of God. Paul, likewise, was growth. It has been objected, however, that even concerned to remove legitimate obstacles in necessary obstacles to conversion and Christian order to maximize people’s opportunity to hear growth, such as adequate instruction on the cost the gospel. While being careful never to compro- of discipleship, have occasionally been removed. mise the offense of the cross itself, Paul sought Indeed, care must be taken not to sanction capi- to “become all things to all men” in order to at talistic, self-serving lifestyles and aspirations least “save some” (1 Cor. 9:19–23). with the blessing of the gospel. Jesus’ message to To this day, economic and sociological factors a similar audience may have been more confron- loom large in missionary proclamation. The tational and radical, rather than being directed Church Growth Movement has advocated the primarily to meet people’s needs while deempha- Homogenous Unit Principle as well as a focus sizing certain offensive elements of the Christian on receptive, responsive people groups to en- message. hance the influx of new believers into the church Today mission has frequently become, not (see Receptivity). Betty Sue Brewster has urged merely a calling from God, but a career. North missionaries to bond with nationals rather than American missionaries have grown more con- being submerged in a missionary subculture (see cerned about having incomes, health insurance, Bonding). Jonathan Bonk has recently examined and retirement benefits comparable to profes- disparities in living standards between Western sionals in their home country. Moreover, it has missionaries and nationals. Roger Greenway and become increasingly common for missionaries others have advocated a simpler lifestyle for mis- not to serve for a lifetime but merely for a term, sionaries. Proponents of the Church Growth so that provision is made for circumstances con- Movement have alerted the missions world to ducive to their return home even before depar- the need to pay attention to sociological factors ture. Together with their dependence on foreign within the societies in which missionaries work. support while on the field and the frequent re- Mission work will be more effective if attention quirement for them not to engage in formal em- is paid to social stratification, homogeneous ployment while serving with a missions agency, units, and webs of relationships. Homogeneous barriers are erected that set many missionaries units are sections of society in which all the up for failure from the very outset. This is not to members have some characteristic in common, minimize legal requirements for residency in the such as language or dialect, ways of life, stan- respective countries where missionaries serve or dards, level of education, self-image, places of to belittle the needs of missionaries. It does, residence, and other characteristics. This insight however, call for a conscious return to the atti- has led later missiologists to define people tudes modeled by Jesus, Paul, and the early groups as significantly large sociological group- church, and for a conscious effort to legitimately ings of individuals who perceive themselves to remove economic and social barriers for the sake have a common affinity for one another (Laus- of those who are to be reached with the gospel. anne Committee for World Evangelization). Andreas J. Köstenberger Donald McGavran observed that people like to become Christians without crossing racial, lin- Bibliography. D. McGavran, Understanding Church guistic, or class barriers. He concluded that Growth; G. W. Peters, A Theology of Church Growth; church planters who enable people to become C. P. Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel. Christians without crossing such barriers are sig- nificantly more effective than those who place Status and Role. When social scientists refer to them in people’s way. Not merely rational, de- status, the term is less freighted with implica- nominational, and theological elements play a tions of value than in more popular usage. Sta- significant role in conversion, but also environ- tus, in Sociology, refers to the position an indi- mental factors, be they economic (see Econom- vidual occupies in a group or society. It is based ics) or sociological. McGavran also noted that on the common recognition within the group Americans are accustomed to a unified society that the individual occupies the position, not the and consequently do not like to face the fact that perceived value of the position. Status is distin- most human societies are stratified along socio­ guished from roles in sociological theory in that economic and other class lines. Some contend individuals occupy a status and play a role. Roles that church growth advocates assess people’s re- define the rights, functions, obligations, and in- 45 Teams in Mission teractions of persons. Status refers to the posi- eties, a combination of ascribed (race, ethnicity, tion from which individuals act out their roles. gender, age, even ancestry) and achieved (wealth, A status will have wide recognition and group education, income) statuses determine social consensus over its definition. There are two ranking. types of status, ascribed and achieved. Social Harold Dean Trulear scientists define ascribed status as one that is given by society and over which we exercise lit- Bibliography. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds., From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology; R. Merton, So- tle if any control, such as age, gender, or Ethnic- cial Theory and Social Structure. ity. An achieved status is the result of some ac- tion on the part of the individual, such as teacher, student, shopkeeper, consumer, church Teams in Mission. A ministry strategy and orga- member, or police officer. nizational structure that uses a small-group for- Understanding status and role is significant in mat and emphasizes interdependent relation- missions studies because they are important ships in order to accomplish a given task. Applied to the missionary context, the term has keys to understanding Culture. The statuses of parent, laborer, minister, and athlete all point to been used to describe a wide variety of struc- certain images of how we expect people to be- tures and strategies, including short-term teams, have in a given social interaction. Sometimes evangelistic teams, church-planting teams, these images are less clear than others, but it is strategic-­ministry teams, and structures in the general consensus of the society or group wider interagency partnerships. around these images that enables us to under- The concept of team mission has found in- stand them as statuses within a society. It is the creasing popularity in recent years. Parallel to action carried out by the person in a particular current management trends that emphasize em- status that we call a role. For example, consum- ployee empowerment and group decision-mak- ers in some cultures interact with the market- ing, it also reflects a deeper understanding of place through bargaining over prices. Shopkeep- community within the body of Christ by stress- ers are expected to enter into a process of ing interdependent relationships, mutual care negotiation over prices. In other countries, such and nurture, and the balance of spiritual gifting. as the United States, prices generally are at- Team structures are therefore seen as provid- tached to goods, and consumers are expected to ing a more biblically correct model of the nature pay the marked price. In some cultures, univer- of the church. When team members develop and sity students are expected to learn by synthesiz- use their own Spiritual Gifts and natural abili- ing and analyzing material, and then produce a ties and, in their areas of weakness, depend on relatively original final paper. In other cultures, the gifts and abilities of others, the newly planted students are expected to master the thought of church gains valuable insight into the interde- the instructor and, in deference to the teacher’s pendence necessary if it is to survive and pros- wisdom, replicate his or her thought as the mark per. Team structures are also an advantage in the of educational accountability. In all cultures, process of Contextualization, for theology is people learn the roles—specific behaviors, val- seen as belonging to the church collectively, and ues, and skills—that are appropriate to a given not to individuals or professionals. New contex- status. tual theologies grow out of the mutual efforts of Also, making the distinction between achieved many Christians to understand and apply the and ascribed status helps us in Cross-Cultural gospel to the specific context. Ministry. For example, many cultures have ritu- The emphasis on team structures is not en- als that make adulthood an achieved status tirely new. It has been suggested that Paul’s mis- (called Rites of Passage), whereas others follow sionary journeys involved a team structure that laws that make adulthood ascribed (such as an was both fluid and mobile. Several individuals eighteen-year-old voting age or individuals being are mentioned in Acts as ministering alongside tried in court as adults at a selected age). Know- of Paul and Barnabas (or Paul and Silas). ing the difference can be crucial in developing Team structures in mission have the advan- cross-cultural ministries to adolescents and tages of providing companionship, continuity, young adults. and balance as well as strength and a greater ob- What most people call status, social scientists jectivity in decision making. Weaknesses include call “social status.” This refers to rank, honor, increased potential for disagreement and dishar- and esteem. Max Weber called it “social honor.” mony, concentration of power, stifling of individ- In virtually all societies, relative prestige be- uality and initiative, inflexibility, and the foster- comes a measuring stick for ranking individuals. ing of dependency. In some Pioneer Mission In some societies, economic resources determine Work, concentrated team structures may be im- social status. In others, personal resources such practical. In such settings a sense of community as courage, intelligence, and leadership ability and teamwork can usually be achieved on a serve to determine social rank. In complex soci- wider scale rather than through immediate phys- 46 Volunteer, Volunteerism in Mission ical proximity. Healthy missionary teams strive The Emerging Theological Basis of Christian to balance these advantages and disadvantages. Voluntarism. During the period of medieval mo- Teams should be formed before departure to nasticism, Christians practiced voluntarism on a the field. It is also recommended that teams in- highly intense level. Thomas Aquinas (1226–74) clude experienced as well as inexperienced mis- provided a theological rationale for such effort sionaries, and that they have a realistic view in by defining charity as “the mother of all virtues” regard to continuity. Not all of the initial mem- because “it initiates the action of other virtues by bers will remain with the team, and new mem- charging them with life.” Francis of Assisi bers should be added, especially where the goal (1181–1226) and his followers serve as one of the is to create a structure that will readily include great examples of this newly found collective national members and eventually become the Christian activism that catalyzed change in soci- local ministry team. ety. Lastly, it should be pointed out that a true The Launching of a New Era. Two important sense of team does not come with an organiza- roots link the eighteenth-century religious awak- tional structure, but with dynamic interaction enings and the rise of religious voluntarism. and the development of relationships over time First, the Great Awakenings in North America and, most notably, through crisis and conflict unleashed spiritual forces among large numbers resolution. People working in the same place of common people in the colonies. The mass may be a group, but it takes commitment and meetings of George Whitefield (1714–70) at- mutuality in the face of the task at hand to weave tracted thousands to his sermons of evangelism the fabric of a team. and discipleship, and led to the establishment of Paul F. Hartford orphanages, academies, and pro-revival churches. Similarly, Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) Bibliography. M. S. Harrison, Developing Multina- tional Teams; J. R. Katzenbach and D. K. Smith, The is connected with the English Prayer Call move- Wisdom of Teams; S. L. Mackin, EMQ 28:2 (April 1992): ment and other renewal forces in the colonies, 134–40; D. A. McGavran, Readings in Third World Mis- and unleashed spiritual energy that led naturally sions, pp. 187–89; K. O’Donnell, ed., Missionary Care; to tangible forms of Christian service, typically in D. W. Shenk and E. R. Stutzman, Creating Communi- the form of new voluntary associations. ties of the Kingdom; R. D. Winter, Crucial Dimensions The Wesleyan movement was the second impe- in World Evangelization, pp. 326–44. tus that led Methodism to create numerous ave- nues of Christian service for its followers. John Volunteer, Volunteerism in Mission. Voluntary Wesley pioneered outdoor preaching and itiner- association with or participation in the mission- ant evangelism, and modeled a burden for the ary activity of the church, Christians choosing working classes and underprivileged. on their own to become involved in intercultural By the 1780s the basic voluntary paradigms missionary outreach. were in place. The catalyst that ignited the gen- Biblical Background. In the Old Testament, eral cultural outbreak of voluntarism was Wil- the renewal of the Mosaic covenant at Shechem liam Carey, who pioneered a strategy whereby under Joshua was an early demonstration of col- large numbers of people with modest resources lective voluntarism (Josh. 24:1–4). Other exam- could be involved in the work of missions. ples include the prayer association of the The Evangelical Century. The voluntary asso- Nazarites and the Jews organized by Nehemiah ciation was the primary vehicle for the growth of to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. the evangelical movement during the nineteenth In the New Testament, Jesus invited people to century. Four emphases marked evangelical vol- follow him, signifying a willing commitment. untarism in the latter half of the century: the ho- The basic ethic of Jesus’ ministry was based on a liness movement, the conservative/liberal debate, willing, voluntary response and service. Disciple- evangelistic missions in the empire, and human- ship, in essence, was an act of one’s own choos- itarian concerns. The perfectionist theology of ing. The cost of discipleship was a voluntary Charles G. Finney (1792–1875) had a direct in- commitment (Luke 9:23; 12:32ff.). In his encour- fluence on the holiness tradition in Britain as agement to prayer, Jesus again taught a volun- well, and found institutional expression in sev- tary principle: “Ask . . . seek . . . knock . . .” (Matt. eral kinds of voluntary associations such as the 7:7). Keswick Convention (1875). Various voluntary The early church of the first century expanded associations also grew up in response to the through the voluntary acts of the disciples and challenge to biblical authority from liberal theo- apostles. The apostles followed a voluntary pat- logians. In universities and among the churches, tern, including the economic support of the com- missionary and study societies, such as the Inter- munity (Act 2:37–47). The concept of doing lov- collegiate Christian Union (1877) and the Bible ing acts (charity) for others in the early church League (1892), grew up in support of the new soon evolved into a more formal structure of evangelical concerns. The expansion of the Brit- good works in the imperial church. ish Empire provided a further field of interest for 47 Wealth and Poverty

Victorian evangelicals. In India, a dozen associa- they arise, the creation of new leadership, and its tions were formed between 1848 and 1876, with singularity of purpose—various types of Chris- at least ten more formed in China. tian mission. To the extent that voluntarism con- North American Developments. The earliest tinues as a values-driven movement it will sur- forms of voluntarism in the United States were vive. denominational, and this was followed by coop- Steve Hoke eration among the denominations. The American Bibliography. W. H. Brackney, Christian Volun- Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions tarism in Britain and North America: A Bibliography was formed in 1813 and became the parent of all and Critical Assessment; idem, Christian Voluntarism: the cooperative voluntary mission associations Theology and Praxis. at the national level. The positive experience of churches with vol- Wealth and Poverty. One of the great social untary associations quickly lent itself to other problems that faces those who would bear wit- forms of Christian endeavor. During and after ness to the Christian faith in a global manner is the Civil War Christian voluntarism was espe- that of distributive justice. There is an extreme cially concerned with the American South, fos- divergence between the rich and poor of today’s tering education societies, missionary bodies, world, a contrast often described in terms of the and literacy bands. American cities also provided a fruitful arena for a variety of voluntary minis- North–South divide. Experts in demographics tries dealing with housing shortages, poor sani- estimate that early in the third millennium, the tation, inadequate schools, crime, and unem- world’s population will be 6.3 billion, and by ployment. No other area of voluntary expansion 2025 it may reach 8.5 billion. Moreover, 95 per- better illustrates the pulse beat of American reli- cent of the global population growth over this gious life in the late nineteenth century than period will be in the developing countries of women’s work. Over two dozen associations of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. By 2025, Mexico women for missions were formed to send women will have replaced Japan as one of the ten most to mission work at home and abroad. populous countries on the earth, and Nigeria’s New Directions for a New Century. The twen- population will exceed that of the United States. tieth century witnessed ecumenical voluntarism, Despite progress made in economic growth, particularly in the area of student missions. In public health, and literacy in the third world, at 1886, the Student Volunteer Movement for for- least 800 million live in “absolute poverty.” This eign missions was formed and spread quickly to is defined as a condition of life where malnutri- Britain and Europe. Out of this emerged Inter- tion, illiteracy, disease, squalid housing, high in- Varsity in the United States in 1941. Similar to fant mortality, and low life expectancy are be- InterVarsity are the Navigators (1943), Youth for yond any reasonable definition of human Christ (1930), Pioneer Clubs (1939), Young Life decency. The stark reality is that the North (in- (1941), and Campus Crusade for Christ (1951). cluding Eastern Europe) has a quarter of the In the later decades of the twentieth century world’s population and 80 percent of its income, new forms of religious voluntarism have arisen while in the South (including China) three-quar- in the United States. One type is related to trans- ters of the world’s people live on one-fifth of its lating a religious perspective into political activ- income. Also, approximately 90 percent of the ism: the National Association of Religious global manufacturing industry is in the North. Broadcasters and the Moral Majority. Another While the quality of life in the North rises form is the organizational network centered on steadily, in the South every two seconds a child mass evangelism. Both radio and television evan- dies of hunger and disease. gelists have established vast networks of volun- Still the contrast between wealth and poverty tary “prayer partners” and supporters. does not correspond exactly with the North– The turn of the century calls the future of vol- South division. Many OPEC countries are rich, untarism into question. Does global change and while poverty is found in North America and Eu- increasing complexity threaten voluntarism as rope. In the United States 14 percent of people the primary means of doing Christian mission? and 30 percent of children are beneath the pov- Is voluntarism declining in the West as some erty line. In Britain over 10 percent live below the suggest? What about the generation of aging legal definition of poverty, and another 10 percent Baby Boomers nearing retirement? Will they to 15 percent are close to this point. A great dis- step into the gap as second-career mission volun- parity between wealth and poverty is found not teers? Will voluntarism spread from the West to only between nations but also within them. the emerging churches in the majority world On the other hand, one-fifth of the world’s who venture to missions frontiers? Historians population lives in relative affluence and con- summarize the enduring values of Christian vol- sumes approximately four-fifths of the world’s untarism as empowerment for groups of people, income. Moreover, according to a recent World experimental spontaneity to respond to needs as Bank report, the “total disbursements” from the 48 Witness wealthy nations to the Third World amounted unwelcome effects of this economic disparity. At to $92 billion, a figure less than 10% of the the Tambaram Conference (1938) a report was worldwide expenditures on armaments; but this presented that clearly showed the dilemma be- was more than offset by the “total debt service” tween the comparatively “wealthy” missionaries of $142 billion. The result was a negative trans- and the “poor” people to whom they ministered. fer of some $50 billion from the third world to By the very nature of the situation missionaries the developed countries. This disparity between were looked upon as the representatives of a wealth and poverty is a social injustice so griev- wealthy and powerful civilization who intro- ous that Christians dare not ignore it. duced a new standard of economic values. The God has provided enough resources in the people that they served looked upon them not as earth to meet the needs of all. Usually it is not proclaimers of a new faith, but as sources of po- the fault of the poor themselves, since for the tential economic gain. The problem of the per- most part they were born into poverty. Christians sonal affluence of Western missionaries when use the complexities of economics as an excuse compared to the indigenous peoples was spelled to do nothing. However, God’s people need to out more explicitly in books such as Ventures in dedicate themselves not only to verbal evange- Simple Living (1933) and Living as Comrades lism but also to relieving human need as part of (1950) written by Daniel Johnson Fleming, pro- sharing the good news (Luke 4:18–21), both at fessor of missions at Union Theological Semi- home and to the ends of the earth. nary (N.Y.). Writers like Fleming pointed out that This explains why Christians in the two-thirds the wealth of the West obscured the message of world place issues of poverty and economic de- Christ, and led to feelings of helplessness and in- velopment at the top of their theological agen- feriority on the part of those to whom the mis- das. Some Christians in the North have difficulty sionaries ministered. understanding why “liberation” is so central to However, the problem of global economic dis- the thinking of their counterparts in Latin Amer- parity was once again obscured in the post– ica, Africa, and Asia, but they have never faced World War II period, when the North American the stark, dehumanizing reality of grinding pov- missionary rank increased from less than 19,000 erty (see also Liberation Theologies). in 1953 to over 39,000 in 1985. These new mis- The Western missionary movement reflects an sionaries were mostly from evangelical mission- affluence that has developed as a result of the ary groups who tended to neglect the work of the threefold revolution that has given Europe and denominational agencies and focused on per- North America a standard of living that is the sonal conversion, often ignoring economic and envy of the world (see also Missionary Afflu- material problems. ence). Since the sixteenth-century the scientific, Yet the work of authors such as Viv Grigg and industrial, and political revolution has unleashed Jonathan Bonk as well as a number of contribu- an avalanche of material goods that has raised tors to the Evangelical Missions Quarterly and the West from poverty. Most of the world has not Missiology focused attention on the obstacle to shared in this achievement. When missionaries Christian witness inherent in the issues of wealth from the West went to preach and minister in and poverty. Many of these writers counsel Chris- other lands during the nineteenth century, they tians in the more developed lands to share their often believed that God favored them materially material means with others. This can be done by and scientifically so that they could overawe the supporting public and private efforts to aid the heathen. As recently as the 1970s a missionary poor, by scaling down their standard of living, could observe that “Economic power is still the and by working for the empowerment of those most crucial power factor in the western mis- who do not have the ability to represent them- sionary movement. It is still the most important selves. way that the Western missionary expresses his Robert G. Clouse concept of what it means to preach the gospel” Bibliography. J. Bonk, Missions and Money, Afflu- (Bernard Quick). The fact that most Protestant ence as a Western Missionary Problem; R. G. Clouse, missionaries serve in some part of Africa, Latin ed., Wealth and Poverty: Four Christian Views of Eco- America, or Oceania, those parts of the world nomics; V. Griff, Companion to the Poor; K. Koyama, where most of the poor reside, indicates that Waterbuffalo Theology; J. A. Scherer, Global Living Here missionaries are economically superior in the so- and Now; J. V. Taylor, Enough Is Enough: A Biblical Call cial contexts of their ministry. for Moderation in a Consumer-Oriented Society. There have always been a few individuals who have pointed out that Western missionaries can Witness. A witness is one who bears testimony take for granted a level of material security, life- about a person, place, or event. While the mod- style, and future options that are beyond the ern term frequently is associated with seeing wildest dreams of the people among whom they (e.g., an eyewitness), the underlying Hebrew and work. As the twentieth century progressed others Greek terms focus more on testifying than on ob- joined in calling attention to the unforeseen and serving. Throughout the Bible the term is used in 49 Women in Mission forensic contexts to indicate one who is able to in this understanding is given to cooperative ef- explain what has happened due to personal expe- forts which display Unity in mission, however rience of an event or issues related to the event imperfect they may be. Such efforts stand as a being investigated. The purpose of such testi- witness before the world of our unity in Christ mony is to establish truth so that appropriate and God’s love for humankind. Common witness judgment may be determined. To do so, however, is broader than just cooperative efforts, however. two or more independent witnesses were neces- It is also reflected when we live lives which sary to establish accusations against the accused honor our Christian commitments and display (Deut. 19:15). Bearing false witness against an accepting, ecumenical attitude toward Chris- someone was forbidden (Exod. 20:16), and pun- tians who are from different ecclesiological ishable by giving the false witness the punish- backgrounds. ment due the accused (Deut. 19:16–21). A. Scott Moreau In addition to the legal concept, a witness may authenticate accounts of an event or meaning Bibliography. I. Bria, DEM, pp. 1067–69; H. D. outside of legal proceedings. Paul, for example, Buckwalter, EDBT, pp. 765–69; F. W. Danker, ISBE Re- vised, pp. 1086–87; T. Stransky, DEM, pp. 197–200; calls God himself as a witness of Paul’s commit- A. Trites, The New Testament Concept of Witness. ment to pray for the Christians in Rome (Rom. 1:9). The Spirit also bears witness with our spirit that we belong to God (Rom. 8:16). Women in Mission. Women have a long history The term also develops a nonlegal but techni- of responding to God’s desire to use them in car- cal sense of bearing testimony about Christ. rying out his purposes on earth. From Miriam, John the Baptist bore such a testimony (John the sister of Moses (Exod. 15:20; Micah 6:4), 1:7, 15). The word signifies lifestyle and verbal Deborah, a judge chosen by God to rule (Judg. testimony about Christ before non-Christians in 45),­ and Huldah, a prophet carrying God’s mes- the hope of persuading them to respond to the sage (2 Kings 22:14–20; 2 Chron. 34:11–33) to gospel. (Acts 1:8). Jesus promised the power of Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army, Mother the Spirit for such witness and in Acts 4:33 the Teresa in her ministry to the poor of India, and apostles showed the fulfillment of Jesus’ prom- Elisabeth Elliot, the great missionary writer, ise. In Paul’s vision, Jesus encouraged Paul that God has chosen and empowered women to do he would bear witness of Christ in Rome just as his bidding through the ages. he already had in Jerusalem (Acts 23:11). In Jesus’ day, women traveled from town to vil- Contemporary Issues. In many evangelical lage with Jesus and the disciples, helping sup- circles, witnessing refers to the act of evangelism. port them out of their own means (Luke 8:13).­ Typically it is used of verbal proclamation of the They remembered Jesus’ words concerning his gospel and may be divorced from lifestyle. death and resurrection and were ready for their Lifestyle witness (see also Lifestyle Evange- first assignment of telling the disciples the Good lism) refers more specifically to our testimony to News that Jesus had risen from the dead. the truth through the concrete way we live. If de- In the early church, women were active in the tached from some type of truth proclamation mission of the church. In Philippi, the Lord (verbal, written, etc.), however, lifestyle witness opened Lydia’s heart in response to Paul’s words will inevitably be read through the Worldview of and, after she and her household were baptized, the observer (see also Presence Evangelism). In she opened her home for believers to meet and cross-cultural settings, the observers’ worldviews grow in their faith (Acts 16:14­15, 40). Priscilla may have little or no Christian orientation, and was used by God to touch people in at least three the lifestyle they see will be interpreted in cate- different nations: Rome, Greece, and Asia Minor gories that make sense to the observers rather (Rom. 16:3­5; 2 Tim. 4:19). Priscilla’s name is usu- than to the witness. While it is true that our lives ally listed before her husband’s in the biblical re- bear witness for good or ill, lifestyles without cord and, since this is not common for that day, corresponding sensitive and appropriate expla- it most probably indicates her importance in the nation to the receptor will always be read in light minds of the New Testament writers and her of the receptor’s categories. prominence in the church. In ecumenical circles, witness refers to “the Many women were martyred for their love for total evangelizing presence and manifestation of Jesus in the first two centuries of Christianity. the church” (Bria, 1067), and is all that the Santa Lucia of Sicily, who lived about a.d. 300, church is and does. Common witness was popu- was involved in Christian charitable work. After larized in ecumenical circles from the 1970s, and marrying a wealthy nobleman, she was ordered refers to the joint witness of the universal church to stop giving to the poor; she refused and was in all of its efforts. It was built on the theological sent to jail. There she was persecuted and con- reflection that no single church fully manifests demned to death. Melania, coming from a Christ to the world; it takes a universal effort to wealthy family in Rome with estates all around achieve such global witness. Particular attention the Mediterranean, used her resources to give to 50 Women in Mission the poor and build monasteries and churches for at home, the urgency of fulfilling the Great Com- both men and women in Africa and in Jerusa- mission has required all available assistance. lem. Her missionary journeys started as she fled In the early days of the Protestant mission ad- from Rome during the invasion by the Goths in vance, most women who went to the field were a.d. 410. As a refugee, she and many other wives of missionaries. Many men even began women played an important role in this great looking for a wife to accompany them after they missionary movement. Some women were taken were appointed as missionaries. Women often as hostages to northern Europe, where they later felt a deep commitment to missions, but were re- married their captors and evangelized them quired to marry before they could fulfill their (Malcolm, 1982, 99–100). Clare, who lived and own missionary calling. Discerning male mis- worked in the early thirteenth century, was a re- sionaries recognized that contact with women in former where Christianity had forgotten the most non-Western societies was impossible. So it poor. She founded the Franciscan order of bare- was that the missionary wives not only managed foot nuns in Italy (ibid., p. 104). Women who the home and children but developed programs chose to remain single served God through living to reach local women and girls. Ann Judson, wife the cloistered life and were given the opportunity of Adoniram, demonstrated how wives not only through the accepted ecclesiastical framework to cared for the family and ran a household in a proclaim the gospel. foreign country, but developed their own minis- In the Catholic tradition, priests, bishops, and try as well. Ann ran a small school for girls, did nuns built churches and hospitals and founded evangelistic work with the women, was a pioneer schools and orphanages to establish the faith. Bible translator in two languages, and was the Women who experienced a call to mission first leading female missionary author of the early had to join a celibate religious order. Catholic nineteenth century. Her letters and journals of mothers were to have families as their primary their work with the Burmese inspired many in responsibility. Not until the mid-twentieth cen- the homeland to support missions and consider tury could lay women freely participate in offi- missions as a vocation. cial foreign missions with the full sanction of the Single women were first sent to the field to Church. Catholic sisters were the first trained care for missionaries’ children and serve along- nurses in the United States. They nursed the side the missionary family. Little by little as op- wounded during the Revolutionary War and portunities arose, single women missionaries founded some of the first American hospitals for began to supervise women’s schools for nationals the poor in the early nineteenth century. Mother (Beaver, 1980, 59–86). Quietly they helped reach Mary Joseph in the 1920s founded the Maryknoll out to the local women who were secluded from Sisters, who focused on direct evangelism, see- society. In 1827, Cynthia Farrar responded to a ing themselves fully participating in the church’s field request from India for a single woman to apostolic work. Six of the Maryknoll Sisters went supervise the schools for national girls that had to China as missionaries in 1921. been started by the mission and was appointed The Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth by the American Board, the first unmarried century brought about changes in the role of woman sent overseas as an assistant missionary women in Christianity. The Reformers reempha- by any American agency. In 1839, Eliza Agnew sized that women’s role is in the home and sup- went to Ceylon to serve as principal at an estab- portive of men. Arthur Glasser writes: “The re- lished boarding school for girls. She held that formers also subjected women to the confining post until she retired forty years later. Many of perspective that their only recognized vocation her students became Christians. She endeared was marriage. With the dissolution of the nun- herself to her students and visited former stu- neries women lost their last chance of churchly dents in their homes. service outside the narrow circle of husband, By 1837, when it became recognized by evan- home and children” (1979, 91). Within Protes- gelical missions that female missionaries needed tantism the problem then arose as to whether a more advanced level of training, Mount Holy- women had the right to respond to the prompt- oke Female Seminary was founded by Mary ings of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Word of Lyon. The five basic areas of education included: God. (1) religious, (2) benevolence, (3) intellectual, Ruth Tucker emphasizes that because women (4) health, and (5) service. Students at the semi- were restricted in serving in leadership within nary were guided to develop a spirituality of the institutional church, they were attracted to self-sacrifice for the sake of the gospel and oth- responding to serving God in mission work, ers. By 1887, Mount Holyoke had sent out 175 where the limitations were less restrictive (1988, foreign missionaries to eighteen countries (Rob- 9). This was due to the fact that mission leaders ert, 1996, 93–104). Soon graduates from Mount focused on reaching a lost world for Christ. Holyoke were involved in starting similar train- Though male leadership within the church has ing schools for women in many parts of the limited how women can use their God-given gifts world. 51 Women in Mission

The Civil War in the United States became a provided reading material from a Christian per- catalyst for change in women’s role. Women spective, often in the form of magazines that en- were mobilized into benevolent activity on be- couraged indigenous Christian artists and writ- half of the soldiers. The death of the largest ers. The Jubilee also spearheaded the most number of men in American history created an successful ecumenical mission publication series entire generation of single women. Since denom- in American history. Of the twenty-one mission inational mission boards were still dragging study texts produced by the Central Committee their feet on sending single women to the field on the United Study of Foreign Missions from and the supply of committed women was greater 1900 to 1921, fourteen were written by women than ever, the Women’s Missionary Movement and one by a married couple (ibid., 257). Sum- was born. The first women’s sending board was mer schools of missions were offered for training the Women’s Union Missionary Society, an inter- leaders in the textbook material for teaching denominational board founded by Sarah during the year. “In 1917, for example, nearly Doremus in 1861. In quick succession, women of twelve thousand women and girls attended twen- many denominational boards founded their own ty-five summer schools around the country. Mis- female missionary organizations. sion study, Bible study, pageants, and fellowship A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and marked the summer schools” (ibid., 261). Missionary Alliance in 1887, held and promoted Gradually from around 1910 to the time of the an open policy for women in ministry. He saw Second World War, the institutional basis of the the issue as “one which God has already settled, women’s missionary movement was eroding not only in His Word, but in His providence, by through the forced merger of women’s mission- the seal which He is placing in this very day, in ary agencies into the male-dominated denomina- every part of the world, upon the public work of tional boards. Because of reduced giving from consecrated Christian women” (Tucker and Leif- the local churches in the 1920s and pressure eld, 1987, 287–88). When criticized for his views, within denominations, the women’s missionary he strongly suggested, “Let the Lord manage the movement was dismantled and the male-con- women. He can do better than you, and you turn trolled general boards took the money raised by your batteries against the common enemy” the women (ibid., 305). Though women have (ibid, 288). This mission, along with many other since had less place of genuine influence and Faith Missions in their zeal to reach the un- participation in administrative offices, board reached and focus wholly on evangelism, at- membership, and policymaking, the trend now is tracted women who were usually restricted from to include women. R. Pierce Beaver writes, “The regular theological education and ordination, big problem is that of personal and congrega- but who felt strong calls to ministry and service tional commitment, involvement, and participa- and were willing to live in poverty and insecurity tion in world mission. The greatest loss conse- for the sake of the gospel. For the task of world quent to the end of the distinctive, organized evangelization, the whole church was mobilized women’s world mission movement has been the and women were welcomed to serve as evange- decline of missionary dynamism and zeal in the lists. churches” (1980, 201). By 1900, over forty denominational women’s Women have played an outstanding role in the societies existed, with over 3 million active modern missionary movement. Dana Robert women raising funds to build hospitals and shows that women’s mission theory was holistic, schools around the world, paying the salaries of with emphasis on both evangelism and meeting indigenous female evangelists, and sending single human needs (1996, xviii; see Holistic Mission). women as missionary doctors, teachers, and evan- Women in mission have shown a deep commit- gelists (Robert, 1996, 129). By the early decades of ment to and concern for women and children. the twentieth century, the women’s missionary Education, medical work, and struggles against movement had become the largest women’s move- foot binding, child marriage, female infanticide, ment in the United States and women outnum- and oppressive social, religious, and economic bered men on the mission field by a ratio of more structures were commonly the focuses of their than two to one (Tucker, 1988, 10). work. With their holistic approach to missions, The fifty-year Jubilee of the founding of sepa- women were committed to healing. Thus Medi- rate women’s mission boards was celebrated in cal Missions were dominated by women for 1910–11. College-educated women were leading many years. Women have been permitted great the woman’s missionary movement at this time. latitude in Christian ministry with their work Results of the Jubilee included the collection of ranging from Evangelism and Church Planting over $1 million for interdenominational women’s to Bible Translation and teaching in seminaries. colleges in Asia, the founding of the World Day Since women were less involved in denomina- of Prayer, and the founding of the Committee on tional activities and more focused on human Christian Literature for Women and Children in need, it was easier for them to be ecumenical- Mission Fields (Robert, 1996, 256–71). The latter ly-minded and risk cooperation for common pur- 52 Worldview poses. Women therefore often took the lead in we believe and by which we interpret and judge founding ecumenical mission organizations. reality.” Nevertheless, the philosophical/theologi- Marguerite Kraft cal and cultural/societal traditions differ sub- stantially in what they include in the concept of Bibliography. M. Adeney, Missiology 15 (1987): 323– worldview and in how they apply it. 37; R. P. Beaver, American Protestant Women in World Mission: A History of the First Feminist Movement in Worldview as a Corrective Concept. Those North America; A. Glasser, Women and the Ministries of who adopt theological approaches begin with a Christ, pp. 88–92; K. T. Malcolm, Women at the Cross- single, unifying principle which structures the roads: A Path Beyond Feminism and Traditionalsim; rest of the worldview. Nash (1992) reduces the D. L. Robert, American Women in Mission: A Social principle to a single statement: “Human beings History of Their Thought and Practice; R. A. Tucker, and the universe in which they reside are the cre- Guardians of the Great Commission: The Story of ation of the God who has revealed himself in Women in Modern Missions; R. A. Tucker and [the Christian] Scripture.” Working out a single W. Liefeld, Daughters of the Church: Women and Minis- principle, however, results in a “whole range of try from the New Testament Times to the Present. systematic theology” (Holmes). Evangelical theologians generally present the Worldview. In popular usage the expression Christian worldview as a systematic theology for “worldview” often refers to nothing more than a the defense of the Christian faith or as an instru- particular point of view, a way of looking at ment to confront and dismantle opposing world- something. But a worldview represents much views. In so doing they use philosophical and more; it represents a whole constellation of as- logical argumentation, and their approach is sumptions and beliefs about what is real, how more corrective than interpretive. Those who things fit together, and how things happen. Be- adopt such an approach regard the Contextual- fore considering a definition, however, it is use- ization of the gospel as a method for discovering ful to recognize two traditions in our under- the weaknesses of opposing worldviews and con- standing of worldview: the philosophical/ vincing their proponents of the superiority of the theological and the cultural/societal. Christian faith. The expression “worldview” (from Weltan- Worldview as an Interpretive Concept. On schauung) has its origins in eighteenth-century the other hand, many evangelical Christian mis- German philosophy in the sense of ideology or sionaries who adopt cultural approaches begin system of thought, and this is the sense in which with both the Bible and the language and culture contemporary theologians use it. For most evan- of the people they wish to reach. Because a com- gelical theologians a worldview constitutes a sys- mand of the language is the key to understand- tematic approach to theology. Their focus is on ing a worldview, they learn the language, how the fundamental beliefs about the nature of God the people use the language to categorize the as Creator and Redeemer and the nature of hu- things they regard as important, and how they manity in its fallen state in need of a redeemer. use it to interpret their life experiences. Thus They regard the Christian (biblical) worldview as their approach is more interpretive than correc- in opposition to such ideologies as empiricism, tive. They regard the contextualization of the humanism, naturalism, positivism, scientism, gospel as an expression of the Christian faith and secularism, as well as world religions such through culturally appropriate concepts which as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The reli- are compatible with biblical truth. Accordingly, gions of technologically primitive societies are they speak of societal worldviews which have a often regarded collectively under labels such as Christian basis: thus American Christian, Na- Animism or Primal Religions. vaho Christian, Maasai Christian or Zulu Chris- In contrast, those who study the world’s cul- tian worldviews. When, however, such Christian tures use worldview to refer to how the peoples societal worldviews express biblical truth with of different cultures conceive of the world, how categories which are unusual in comparison to they categorize the things in the world and struc- those of the European languages, Western theo- ture their knowledge, and how they interpret life logians often suspect that those categories repre- experience so as to live fulfilling lives. sent a fusion of Christian and heathen concepts No one cultural group can claim to have the (see Syncretism). correct worldview; rather, each group’s world- Overview of Worldview. A worldview may be view stands on its own. Consequently, we can thought of as having four integrated compo- only speak of particular worldviews such as nents: words, categories, patterned life experi- those of the Amish, Navaho, Sioux, or Maasai so- ences (i.e., schemas), and themes. Each of these cieties. contributes to the distinctiveness of a worldview A definition that satisfies both of these ap- and to how that worldview governs people as proaches is that of Nash (1992): “A worldview, they live out their lives. then, is a conceptual scheme by which we con- People generally do not think about their sciously or unconsciously place or fit everything world­view; in fact most assume that peoples of 53 Worldview other cultures think and reason in much the would strongly condemn the removal of the el- same way (see Ethnocentrism). However, when derly from the family to nursing homes. they encounter another worldview with different Many Western theologies emphasize that sal- assumptions and values they become aware of vation is attained through repentance and faith worldview differences. (Acts 20:21) and maintained by an ongoing faith To illustrate how a worldview integrates vari- (Acts 13:43; Phil. 2:12). In many Melanesian ous concepts, we will consider some aspects of worldviews, however, the concept of repentance the worldview of the Selepet people of Papua is minimized. Rather, the process of salvation is New Guinea, a worldview which is radically dif- seen to involve the giving of one’s allegiance ferent from those of Western societies, but which (John 1:12 neb) which leads to reconciliation is typical of Melanesian societies. The Selepet (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:20) and adoption (Eph. 1:5), people use the word tosa for a wide range of be- and is maintained by harmonious relationships havior. If a person steals someone’s chicken, she (Eph. 4:30; Heb. 12:14). It is important to recog- or he acquires a tosa, which may be translated as nize that the Melanesian concept of sin and sal- “sin.” To become free of the tosa requires that vation can be consistent with biblical truth. Giv- she or he give something of equivalent value to ing their allegiance to God results in their being the chicken’s owner. This item is known as a adopted and entails that they stop doing those matnge and serves as restitution. A person may things which would harm that relationship. also acquire a tosa by destroying another per- Thus, they repent even though they do not ac- son’s property or physically abusing a person. knowledge it as such. The offender may remove the tosa with a matnge Worldview and Morality. The categories which which serves as compensation. Or the offended a society creates are relevant to questions of mo- party may exact their own matnge by an act of rality. For example, Americans buy matches and vengeance or by a demand for retributive pun- regard them as personal property. Anyone who ishment. To borrow something also incurs a tosa, takes another person’s matches is guilty of petty and the repayment serves as the matnge. Finally, theft. However, in some technologically primitive the acceptance of a gift incurs a tosa, which is societies fire belongs to everyone, just like water best translated as “obligation,” because one is and air. So members of those societies may feel obliged to remove the tosa by giving a matnge in free to help themselves to an American’s matches. the form of a comparable gift. What unifies all Just because technology has captured fire, placed these examples is a dominant Selepet worldview it on the end of a stick, and made it available for theme that people have to maintain balance and marketing does not remove matches from their harmony in their interpersonal relationships. category of things which belong to everyone, Every tosa creates an imbalance which has to be things not subject to being stolen. Rather, anyone rectified by a matnge. who claims exclusive rights by withholding such Rather than focusing on the typical Western a basic human resource as fire is regarded as Christian concept of sin as falling short of God’s morally deviant and exhibiting unchristian be- standard or breaking God’s law, this typically havior. Melanesian worldview theme supports an In conclusion, it is important to recognize that equally Christian concept of sin as any action the worldviews of different cultural groups need which disrupts a harmonious relationship. Adam not be regarded as in opposition to a Christian and Eve’s fundamental sin was to break their re- worldview; rather they can become vehicles to lationship with God by transferring their alle- express biblical truth just as did the classical He- giance to Satan; disobedience was the outcome brew and Greek worldviews. of that change. Therefore, one could regard the Ken A. McElhanon Melanesian Christian concept of sin as the more Bibliography. D. J. Hesselgrave, Communicating basic of the two. Christ Cross-culturally: An Introduction to Missionary If Melanesian Christians were to use their con- Communication. 2nd rev. ed.; P. G. Hiebert, Anthropo- cept of sin to evaluate contemporary American logical Insights for Missionaries; A. F. Holmes, Contours culture, they would regard the development of of a World View; C. H. Kraft, Anthropology for Christian the social security system and individual retire- Witness; R. H. Nash, Worldviews in Conflict: Choosing ment accounts as fundamentally unchristian Christianity in a World of Ideas; J. W. Sire, The Universe remedies for the elderly having to face retire- Next Door. ment without family support. Moreover, they

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