Introduction to Missiology

Ch.16 - Culture: The Milieu of MissionsBy Ebbie Smith

Mongolian Family – c.2002

Peruvian Family – c.2002

Maasai Family – c.2002

American Frontier – c.1870

Latvian Family – c.1919

CultureDefinition: the learned pattern of living of a particular group of peopleKey terms

Learned behaviorPatterns of livingParticular group of people

Components of CultureAllows a group of people to adapt to their physical, social, and ideational environment

Physical environment Desert – culture centered on water Jungle – culture centered on rice

Social environment Political system Economic plan Communication patterns

Ideational – secular, magic, monotheistic, male/female dominance

Components of Culture (2)Cultures are relative, not good or bad in themselves

Does not imply ethical relativityHighlights the mission problem of ethnocentrism

Culture is an integrated systemAll aspects of culture tend to function as a wholeChange in one aspect of culture tends to change every aspect of that culture

Components of Culture (3)Culture assigns symbolic meaning to behavior

Language is the most complex set of symbolsNon-verbal symbols include

Dress codes Facial movements (sticking out your tongue)

Only one enculturated in that society will understand the symbols

Components of Culture (4)Culture is dynamic and adaptive

Allows people to adapt to a changing environmentAdapt also to evolving ideational settings

Culture is both stable and changingStable in seeking to maintain the status quoChanging to meet new environmental conditions – allows change to be faced collectively

Components of Culture (5)Environment is an important factor in development of culture

Not determinativeSets boundaries on what can develop

Personal Adjustment to CultureMissionaries learn to use the symbols of the host culture.Adjusting to culture is a distinctive and demanding missionary task.Adaptation passes through phases

Tourist – new culture is all goodRejection- old culture is all goodToleration – accept without enthusiasmAccommodation emerging from appreciation

Principles of Accommodating the Gospel Message

Bible, not culture, is foundational. The Bible will judge all culturesNo syncretism (EX: adding a female deity)Bible message expressed in ways that are meaningful, relevant, acceptable, and communicative for the local peopleHelp the local people express the Christian message in their own terms, words, and mannerisms - contextualization

Principles of Accommodating the Local ChurchGoal: A local expression of organized Christianity

suited to the culture.Guide local believers to develop worship times, use of buildings, music, modes of teaching that fit the cultureHelp local believers identify sinful aspects of culture to exclude from local church life

Principles of Accommodating Local Christian LifeGoal: an indigenized expression of the Christian

lifeIdentify sinful aspects of culture to excludeAvoid bringing in cultural practices from the sending cultureTeach Christian living by biblical principle, guiding believers to define local expression

Accommodation by TransformationGoal: Expressing Christianity in local terms

Never adjusting sinful local behaviorsOutsider can advocate change, but insider must be change agentAdvocate must understand the culture well enough to know what changes to recommendTest changes by whether they result in long-term growth of the churchTransformation is a process taking time

Accommodation by Possesio

Selecting from the receptor culture a trait that can be infused with biblical Christian meaning

1. Select only elements that can be fully incorporated into messianic tradition

2. Reject elements incompatible with Christianity3. Reinterpret pre-Christian concepts, practices

and goals

Accommodation by Experiential Process

Discover felt needsLead people into a power encounter where they break with the old waysHelp them develop a functional substitute for those aspects of culture which had to be replaced

Accommodation by Dynamic Equivalence“Dynamic equivalence churches produce the same

impact on the society and its people that the New Testament church had on its members.”Allow experimentation with indigenous forms to express Christian faith on the local scene.

Pragmatic Criteria on Contextualization

Is the result biblical?Does the result protect against reversionDoes the result promote long term church growth in that context?