Note: This article has been simultaneously published in Nexus of the Fellowship Pacific region. The Importance of Intercultural Partnerships In today’s world, many partnerships involve people from different cultural backgrounds. Each group comes to the table with a different set of assumptions concerning decision making procedures, hierarchical structures and kingdom priorities. While creating a more [...]
All articles with the category "Culture and Worldview".
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Draw your “Personal Jerusalem” Take 5 minutes and draw your “personal Jerusalem.” This is a concept I introduce to churches when coaching them to practice methods of effective evangelism using “Significant Conversations.” Based on Acts 1:8, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem…,” this tool highlights each participant’s network of relationships that define our lives. [...]
A Model for developing a Contextualized presentation of the Gospel In the previous articles of this series, I argued that there are cultural reasons why one biblical picture of the atonement may resonate1 with a people group, while others will be problematic. I suggested that believers who seek to communicate the significance of the cross [...]
This article tries to explain why a contextualization of the gospel, such as described in Shaping the Gospel Message so that it Resonates, does not compromise the Bible or the gospel message. It argues that one universal explanation of the cross is insufficient to communicate the gospel message because of the depth of the gospel [...]
Cross-Cultural Confusion Early on in my attempts to deepen my ability to converse in the Sindhi language, I learned a new idiom for “dying,” which is similar to the English “to pass on.” I decided to use it while conversing with an acquaintance and said casually, “When I pass on…” He started and a look [...]
NOTE: A companion workshop to these articles is available to multi-ethnic churches that provides information, exercises and interaction to encourage the implementation of those disciplines that promote healthy intercultural relationships. Please contact Mark via the Contact Me form. The Power Distance Contrast In Pakistan there is a strong tradition of “holy men” who are called [...]
NOTE: A companion workshop to these articles is available to multi-ethnic churches that provides information, exercises and interaction so that those disciplines that promote healthy intercultural relationships can be implemented. Please contact Mark via the Contact Me form. Multicultural Fragmentation The story of Babel (Gen 11) records the story of the first failure of an [...]
What is culture? There is a current debate (National Post, March 2-, 2007) about whether fashion should be classified as culture, with implications for government funding. Canada has policies promoting “multiculturalism.” I have read books and heard sermons concerning the need for Christians to remain separate from “the prevailing culture.” These diverse nuances of the [...]
Part V: Theological Basis for “Christ centered worldviews” What would this worldview look like if Christ was Lord? I remember the time a young believer brought a friend to me so that I could explain the gospel to him. We were living among the Muslim Sindhi people of Pakistan working with FEBInternational. The friend was [...]
Part IV: The Benefits of “Christ-centered worldviews” When translating the Old Testament in the Sindhi language of Pakistan or when teaching from the Old Testament to Sindhis I am constantly amazed at the similarities of culture and worldview. One believer enthusiastically exclaimed to me, “The reason why we understand the OT and you don’t is [...]
Part III: The Problem With a Universal Christian Worldview Paul Long tells of the conversion of a chief in the African Congo. Those bringing the gospel demanded that he renounce his charms and medicines before hearing the message, culminating with the destruction of his “life charm”. “Teller of the Word,” [the chief] said, holding out [...]
Part II: Worldview Clarification Worldview distinct from Theology In these articles I am arguing that we should speak of “Christ centered worldviews” in the plural, rather than claim that there is only one “Christian worldview” that is correct to which all people should conform. It is important to realize that “worldview” is very different from [...]
Part I: Communication within worldviews It is quite common to come across the phrase “The Christian Worldview” in evangelical writings. I believe that this phrase is unhelpful and misleading particularly for those involved in cross-cultural missions and I would propose an alternative. I believe that we should instead speak of “Christ centered worldviews” in the [...]
"I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible." (1 Co 9:22) Making Room The beginning of missions is "making room" for others as they are; adjusting our program and perspective to match the concerns and priorities of another society. It is opening up our [...]
In Canada we live in a pluralistic (1) society. How are we as Christians to respond to different philosophies, lifestyles, religions and cultures? What is the right attitude for those who believe in the exclusive claims of Christ? Should we appreciate other people’s cultures? Should we appreciate other people’s religious beliefs? It is an illusion [...]
Skepticism concerning One Truth Billy Joel (1993) wrote a popular song entitled Shades of Grey which illustrates a desperate skepticism stemming from exposure to the convictions and beliefs of others: Some things were perfectly clear, seen with vision of youth No doubts and nothing to fear, I claimed the corner on truth These days it’s [...]
Adapted from Crucial Issues for Christian Mission 5.3 Living in a Pluralistic Society by Mark Naylor Oct, 2002 Through our church Karen and I run an unconventional Bible study which we affectionately call our "heretics Bible study". Within this group we welcome unorthodox opinions and encourage questions that reflect belief systems foreign to Christian teaching. [...]
Approaches to Interfaith Dialogue E. Stanley Jones was a Methodist missionary in India during the first half of the 1900s who was a strong advocate of interfaith dialogue. He set the rules for his "round table talks" so that "no one argue, no one try to make a case, no one talk abstractly and no [...]
In Pakistan we lived next door to a mosque. The Maolvi (Muslim clergy) and I would occasionally talk and one day I gave him a New Testament to read. The next time we met he informed me that "this is not God’s Word. But it contains God’s Word." Further clarification revealed his view that scripture [...]
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