Archive for July, 2008

Global Church, Global Mission

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

by, Basil Grafas

I used to pastor a small, rural church in another denomination. There was a lot I liked about the work. We had people come to Christ and lives were changed. I learned the value of repentance and the value of community. On the other hand, we were a highly autonomous congregation that had little if anything to do with any other church, foreign or domestic. That bothered me. And it started getting under my skin when I started preaching through the book of Revelation.

To be honest, I really did not want to do it. Any book that Calvin refused to write a commentary about is too much book for me. It was just that several people in the congregation told me that they would never ever read it, since it had all of those strange images and codes involved. Well, I got angry. The Hal Lindseys and Tim LaHayes had convinced us that the book was all about obscure references to the future and therefore was of little value now. But I had to see for myself. And what I found was not what I expected. I found a book written to church people about the church going through tough times.

Revelation is, if you can get over the confusing word-pictures, a very clear book that is meant to exhort and encourage the church to remain a faithful witness to a world that wishes to hate and persecute it. In other words, it is the ultimately missional book. It is about suffering, despised churches caught in the vise formed by Rome and recalcitrant Judaism, being exhorted to remain faithful (chapters 2-3). We are introduced to martyrs who want to know how long they have to keep this up (chapter 6). Then we find out that these people are not scattered rarities in the church—they are the norm. They are actually part of an army of faithful witnesses who herald the lordship of the Lamb over the world (chapter 7).   (Click here to continue reading this article)

Building a Relationship Between Church and Field

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

by, Joe Creech

The relationship between a church and its ministry partners—both missionaries and national workers—is a lot like a marriage. The relationship has to be developed and nurtured during the dating period in which they get to know each other. The relationship matures as they labor together in ministry. There will be various roles that both parties must learn and grow in over the years. The major difference is that this marriage takes place at a great distance. Nonetheless, establishing ministry partnerships will bring immeasurable benefits to our churches, both here at home and overseas. Through this, glory is brought to God as His kingdom is built.

We are challenged in Scripture with the beauty of partnership in the gospel. The great missionary Paul says that we are fellow-workers—partners—together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). Paul thanks others for their partnership in the gospel (Philippians 1:5). The kingdom of God will not be brought to earth by all of us running around as individuals doing our own thing. Rather as we come into relationship, joining hands with brothers and sisters and moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit, the church will be built in such a manner that the gates of hell cannot stand against it. Our building partnerships is crucial to this, because relationship sets the context in which ministry can take place. (click here to read more of this article)

The Contextualization of the Gospel

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

by, Gary Waldecker

The word “contextualization” sends shivers up some people’s spines—and not without reason. In the name of contextualization people have distorted the gospel message by squeezing it into the thought patterns of the culture.

But Biblical contextualization is just as important as being Christ-centered. Simply put, contextualization is the skillful application of God’s Word to a particular situation or context through the words we choose, the actions people see in us, and how we relate to them. In this way we incarnate the gospel before them in a way designed to reach them where they are.

The gospel message is unchanging and in some ways very simple: Christ died, overcame death, poured out the Holy Spirit, and is coming again. But that simple message is very rich. It takes the whole Bible to explain it. Christ is our prophet, priest and king. He is the lamb, the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the way, the pilgrim heading home, the warrior who conquers his enemies. I could go on and on. The redemption provided by Christ has so many facets! And each one is particularly useful in specific situations. For example, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all told the story of Jesus, but each with different emphases to achieve different purposes.

So when it comes to applying the simple gospel message to a particular person in a specific situation, if all you say is “Jesus died for the sins of his people and conquered death,” in most cases it will be too general for the person to understand in a life‐changing way. On the other hand, as you look at the vast richness of the message, you realize you can’t say everything at once. As you consider how you will apply the message to the specific situation of a particular person—and how you will incarnate it through your actions—you are engaging in contextualization. For example, Jesus’ approach to Nicodemus was very different from his approach to the Samaritan woman.

If we misjudge the situation, or if our motives are selfish, or if we just don’t know the Word of God very well, we might contextualize badly. But contextualization is something we all do simply because we can’t say or do everything at once. And it’s something we must do well if we are going to effectively apply God’s Word.

Contextualization across large cultural barriers reveals some of its complications. It isn’t as simple as just doing things their way, because they have an insider’s perspective on their cultural idols—which is often obscured by the fact that they grew up there, and everything seems so normal. It’s often hard for insiders to distinguish between their cultural giftedness and over‐depending on that cultural giftedness—which is idolatry.

On the other hand, outsiders also have problems contextualizing in a culture that is not their own because they tend to understand and judge that culture through the lens of their own cultural idols—of which they tend to be unaware since they are insiders in their own culture.

For example, relationships and accomplishment are both aspects of the gospel, because Christ both loves his people and accomplished something for them. Also, the gospel restores loving relationships and gives us power to get things done for the kingdom. So, what if one culture thinks that the best way to get things done is by loving people, while the other culture thinks that the best way to love people is to get things done? And what if the Christians in each culture are affected by their respective cultural preferences in a way that makes them, for example, depend more on their ability to organize and use technology than on Christ. Or to depend more on their ability to persuade people by making them feel loved than on Christ? The way missionaries design and implement their ministries could easily communicate the cultural idolatry, with the result that people in the target culture get the feeling that being a Christian according to the foreigners means becoming more efficient.

The only solution, I think, for Biblical contextualization is for insiders and outsiders to work together—because actions help clarify the meaning of our words—and so learn from each other in the process as iron sharpens iron.

More from Gary Waldecker and others can be found online here (you must request a login for access).

Book Review: Theology in the Context of World Christianity

Monday, July 28th, 2008

by, Bill Goodman

There is a growing body of literature related to the changing face of the worldwide church. This is due to the fact that more Christians now live in what is commonly referred to as the Majority World (comprised of South America, Africa, and Asia) than in the U.S. and Europe. Timothy C. Tennet’s book, Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing How We Think About and Discuss Theology, is a welcome addition to this body of literature. Tennet is professor of world missions at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and visiting professor at Luther W. New Jr. Theological College in Dehra Dun, India. He has taught in India for 20 years and has lived in Europe for three years.

Tennet’s purpose is to pose a timely question: What can we in the West learn from our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, particularly in the area of theology?  Theological reflection is accompanying the advance of the church into new regions. Tennet affirms the point made earlier by Philip Jenkins that the theology of the Majority World, as well as morality, is generally more conservative than what is found in many circles in the West. (Click here to continue reading this review)