Contextualizing Your T Shirt , Sandals, Short Skirts & Bare Arms in Muslim Contexts

"The most important part of contextualization is to present ourselves in such away that our lifestyles demonstrate, and even enhance, the message we want to communicate. If a single woman says she has been set free from sin but dresses and acts as would a prostitute in the target culture, no one will believe her message. If a man says he is a teacher but dresses in shorts, t-shirt, and sandals as if he were a useless young man on the streets, no one will believe he holds such an honored position."

("Contextualization and Community. Roland Muller. in Encounter the World OF Islam, Lesson 7 extra Readings online to text.)

Developing Community is the Most Crucial Muslim Contextualization Issue?

"Christian workers frequently want to make the transition to Christianity easier for converts from a Muslim background. They try to strip all the external, unnecessary trap from Christianity and flt it into the Muslim setting. They dress as Muslims, develop Jesus mosques, and place a Muslim façade on Christianity in an attempt to make it less offensive. But they seldom develop community.Theologically, the new convert is able to see and understand the gospel; he can exercise faith and experience gifts, and is able to enter into ministry. What he struggles with most is the idea of leaving his community..... I have discovered that in I have discovered that in most settings where large numbers of Muslims have turned to Christ, the common attraction is not contextualization but rather the presence of community."

("Contextualization and Community. Roland Muller. in Encounter the World OF Islam, Lesson 7 extra Readings online to text.)

Middle Eastern Culture Is Challange for Westerners To Understand

"It is not uncommon for Middle Easterners to talk as though they know something when they don’t have any idea. They do not do this to deceive, but out of a desire for a good relationship. More than once I have asked a Middle Eastern policeman for directions, only to discover that he does not have a clue! I have learned to observe closely the non-verbal communication (the confused pause before the confident statement) through which the Middle Easterner communicates that he or she does not know.

Middle Easterners will rarely admit verbally that they are wrong. Preserving honor—both one’s own and that of significant others—is very important in the Middle East, and Middle Easterners will often communicate acknowledgment of wrongdoing through a kind act rather than an apology..... pg 18

Middle Eastern society is overwhelmingly tribal and there is a great concern to look after one’s own and trust only one’s own. Consequently, in general one could expect that Middle Easterners who join Western agencies will see no obligation to seek tenders or shop around for the best deal. They will probably go to someone they know—preferably a member of their extended family—even if the family member asks two to three times the price and/or is incompetent.... pg19

(Westerner and Middle Easterners Serving Together: Potential Sources of Misunderstanding. Perry W. H. Shaw. EMQ January 2010 Vol 46, No 1, pp 18-19)

Peaceful Change of National Power Unknown to Many

"In the summer of 1984, I had an unforgettable conversation with one of my Congolese friends. I had been in the Congo for only six months at the time, and my Swahili could only handle simple conversations. My friend had been listening to shortwave radio broadcasts describing the political events in America. He heard a news report about the presidential re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan and wanted me to clarify something for him. He calmly asked me in Swahili, “If Walter Mondale goes on to win the election and defeat Reagan, who would then kill Reagan?”

At first I thought I had heard him wrong and it was just my poor Swahili. He then repeated his question slowly, “Nani ataua Reagan?” Who will kill Reagan? I suddenly realized I was in a place that did not understand peaceful transfer of power. President Mobutu ruled the Congo as an iron-fisted dictator for thirty-two years (1965 to 1997). He had no intentions of having a peaceful transfer of power or grooming a younger person to take over. The only thing he could see in a young, potential successor was “threat” with a capital “T.”

(Spiritual Adoption & Africa Potential for Changing a Land Scape. Mike Nichols & Tresor Yenyi. EMQ January 2010 Vol 46, No 1, pp49-50)

How Missionaries Dress is a Critical Choice!

I have been there as a former minister. You get to the mission field and are so delighted to be free from wear a suit and tie. However, there are often the equivalents in new cultures. More than that, there categories of deficiency we need to learn in the host culture. Like it or not we must adapt. Here is a great illustration

"I know a hard-working missionary who had some success in winning young college men to Christ in a small Muslim city. He is well aware of the need to apply biblical insight and sound theology to his goal of developing local leadership for the church he is planting. However, he seems completely unaware of the strange spectacle he makes of himself as he bicycles around this same town in a helmet and bright-colored spandex bike-wear. Furthermore, the sight of his mountain bike and culturally inappropriate clothing is just one facet of his lifestyle that screams of contemporary Western culture. Despite several years on the field, he seems completely unaware that his behavior is providing his Muslim neighbors with irrefutable evidence that the gospel and “offensive Western culture’ are one and the same. The real problem is not his choice of attire, but that he is unintentionally confirming the warning repeated in mosques across Central Asia that Christianity represents a horrible clash of cultures and must be avoided at all costs."
("Decoupling Missionary Advance From Western Culture",Gene Daniels, EMQ OCT 2009, pg422)

Mission Helps "Disentangle the Irrelevant" ?

“One keen observer is convinced that 100 million middle-class Hindus await the opportunity to become Christians – but There are no churches for them to join which respect their dietary habits and customs. Is the kingdom of God meat and drink? To go to the special efforts required by E-2 and E-3 evangelism is not to let down the standards and make the gospel easy- it is to disentangle the irrelevant elements and to make the gospel clear. Perhaps everyone is not able to do this special kind of work.”

(The New Macedonia. Ralph D. Winter. Perspectives, 4th edition, 2009, William Carey library pg 356)

Warning! Can Community Development Offer Ease & Comfort at the Expense of Relationships?

"South African pastor Fourie Vandenberg tells of leading a mission trip to the north of Namibia. The first thing the team noticed in the local kraal (Village) in which they were staying was that the women had to walk every day to a well with a huge heavy bucket on their heads to fetch water..
`We immediately decided to do something about it.'
Within two weeks flashy new water pipes were delivering water to every little hut in the kraal.
Within a week after the installation of the plumbing the villagers removed all the pipes and piled them politely on the out skits of the kraal.
When Fourie asked why they had plundered the plumbing and undone all their hard work, the Namibians explained that it is customary for the women to walk to a well with other women sharing their experiences about life. Carrying heavy buckets on the head while chatting with friends:`It's not a bad thing: it's a good thing.'
When the walk to the well was taken away and life was made `never so good,' life was really made ever so difficult."

(So Beautiful. Leonard Sweet, David C. Cook Pub, 2009, pp 102)

Often times I feel we have things to save us time, just so that we can crazily run after other things, things that just don't matter much.

Relationally we end up cutting ourselves off from one another. For example; eating a meal together in many cultures, and throughout history, was/is a deep meaningful event. It communicates unity, acceptance, shared journey, relationship. Now we view eating as something to get out of the way quickly, so we can run off and do something "productive". We take both hands and shove a sandwich in, wash it down with some coffee, and run.

We have lost the spiritual importance of feeding our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and inviting others into proximity with this temple, by sharing a relaxed meal around a table in conversation.
Relationship always trumps stuff.
Relationship always trumps lists.
Relationship always trumps production.
Well at least in a dream world.

Oh How I miss the relational elements of Africa some days.

Islamic View of Sin is Often Vertical Rather than Horizontal Shame versus Guilt

This is a keen insight that also apply to the animistic people I lived among. Relationships are paramount.

Guilt is a normal reaction of a Western Christian to sin. His conscience is smitten; this leads to remorse and often to repentance. Sensitivity to and the definition of sin depends on many factors. Conscience is conditioned by culture, moral codes, and parental teaching. Sin is regarded primarily as a rebellion against God and secondarily as rebellion against fellow man.

"By contrast the Muslim focuses on the penalty for sin. He does not usually experience sin as guilt but rather as shame and embarrassment losing face is the crucial issue. Lynn Silvernale describes this reaction to sin in the life of a Muslim Bengali. “Shame or embarrassment is a primary social control, that is, it causes a person to try to keep himself in a socially acceptable position.. . . The Bengali governs his behavior by asking himself, ‘What will people say?”

Three-wheeled cycle rickshas are very common in one Muslim country. The drivers arc notorious for their behavior on the road. Often the police will grab one of these drivers and punish him by making him grab his ears, stick out his tongue, and do scores of deep knee bends. The public laugh and ridicule as they pass by. The embarrassment of this simple, nonviolent mode of punishment bums deeply into the heart of the offender.

A consequence of the Muslim perspective is that it is difficult to communicate the biblical meaning of sin to a Muslim. His outlook is horizontal rather than vertical. Often the key criterion of a definition of sin is whether or not a person is caught. ......Repentance and tears come quickly to people with this perspective when they are apprehended in the act. But seldom does guilt lead Muslims to take the initiative and confess a sin of social consequence. The ideal would seem to be a merger of the vertical and horizontal guilt before God along with the shame and embarrassment one feels in relation to other human beings. These forces acting in concert can serve as an effective deterrent to sin."

(Muslim Evangelism: Contemporary Approaches to Contextualization. Phil Parshall. Gabriel Publishing. 2003 p. 96-97)

Muslim Cultures see Extraction Evangelism as Abhorrent!

A case for family conversion & methodologies

"Note also the remarks of Michael Youssef, who says, “As a Christian Arab, I know that Arabs do not like alienation. Their whole life is centered upon family, friends and peer groups. We, therefore, have put unnecessary barriers before them in emphasizing the individualistic approach in evangelism.”

This last point is of greatest importance. Up to the present, the most common form of evangelism employed by Westerners has been to win individuals to Christ. This has, in group-oriented cultures, led to extraction from society and, often, to total alienation. This approach should be repudiated. In Western culture, which sees individualism as a positive trait, this is an acceptable form of evangelism. In Muslim countries, however, it is abhorrent. New approaches must be probed that allow for whole groups to come to Christ at once. The high value given to the interrelatedness of society must be retained. This is a good and positive sociological characteristic that must be appreciated and preserved.

(Muslim Evangelism: Contemporary Approaches to Contextualization. Phil Parshall. Gabriel Publishing. 2003 p. 90-91)

Respect and Seek out Elders as a Short-Term Missionary! Don't just "hang out"!

"A local senior pastor, commenting on the manner of dress of the short- term team, said, “They come with their culture, not minding about the people they are ministering to have their own culture.” The team wore hats while evangelizing and when approaching local elders; this was understood lo cally as a sign of disrespect. The senior pastor also complained that the team “hooked up with younger people,” which made the locals suspect the team of having their own agenda. In that culture the missionaries were expected to approach older people for guidance in the culture."

(The Trendy Giant Wounds: Some Lessons from the Church in Africa, David Ngaruiya. EMQ, January 2008, p.63)

Relationship's & Group Activity are Very Important in Other Cultures! Avoid Judgments!

"Because they do not understand how nationals socialize, some short- term missionaries have labeled them as “lazy.” A pastor’s wife was shocked when one missionary commented, “People here don’t like to study the Bible; they prefer to dance” and ‘Your lifestyle is not good. Your songs are not good. This is the way to sing.” This experience gives credibility to the wife’s claim that “they don’t seem to appreciate the way we do things and that it has meaning for us.” The issues she raised illustrate the priority of relationships while going about one’s tasks or chores. In her context, relationships are so critical that a person is considered antisocial for neglecting to take time to interact with others."

(The Trendy Giant Wounds: Some Lessons from the Church in Africa, David Ngaruiya. EMQ, January 2008, p.60)

Unforeseen Side Effects of Conversion Must be considered!

“Since cultural traits are linked together into larger wholes, changes in one or more of them leads often to unforeseen changes in other areas of the culture. For example, in one part of Africa, when the people became Christians, their villages also became dirty. The reason for this was that they were now not afraid of evil spirits which they believed hid in the refuse. So they no longer had to clean it up.

Many cultural traits serve important functions in the lives of the people. If we remove these without providing a substitute, the consequences can be tragic. In some places husbands with more than one wile had to give up all but one when they became Christians. But no arrangements were made for the wives who were put away. Many of them ended up in prostitution or slavery.”

(Crucial Dimensions on World Evangelisation, Arthur F. Glasser, Paul G. Hiebert C Peter Wagner, Ralph D. Winter. William Carey Library 1980 pg 59)

Avoiding Ethnocentrism And Religious Imperialism

“We must distinguish between the Gospel and culture. If we do not, we will be in danger of making our culture the message. The Gospel then becomes democracy, capitalism, pews and pulpits, Robert’s Rules of Order, clothes, and suits and ties on Sunday. One of the primary hindrances to communication is the foreignness of the message, and to a great extent the foreignness of Christianity has been the cultural load we have placed upon it. As Mr. Murthi, an Indian evangelist, put it, “Do not bring us the gospel as a potted plant. Bring us the seed of the Gospel and plant it in our soil”

(Crucial Dimensions on World Evangelisation, Arthur F. Glasser, Paul G. Hiebert C Peter Wagner, Ralph D. Winter. William Carey Library 1980 pg 57)

Contrasting View of "Time" between Arabia & the Western Missionary

“Edward Hall points out just how different cultures can be in his study of time (1959). When, for example, two Americans agree to meet at ten o’clock, they are “on time” if they show up from five minutes before to five minutes after ten. If one shows up at fifteen after, he is “late” and mumbles an unfinished apology. He must simply acknowledge that he is late. If he shows up at half past he should have a good apology, and by eleven he may as well not show up. His offence is unpardonable

It parts of Arabia, the people have a different concept or map of f time. If the meeting time is ten o’clock, only a servant shows up at ten——in obedience to this master. The proper time for others is from ten forty—five to eleven fifteen, just long enough after the set time to show their independence and equality. This arrangement works well for when two equals agree to meet at ten, each shows up, and expects the other to how up, at about ten forty—five.

The problem arises when an American meets an Arab and arranges a meeting for ten o’clock. The American shows up at ten, the right time” according to him. The Arab shows up at ten forty—five, the “right time’ according to him. The American feels the Arab has no sense of time at all (which is false) , and the Arab is tempted to think Americans act like servants (which is also false).”

(Crucial Dimensions on World Evangelisation, Arthur F. Glasser, Paul G. Hiebert C Peter Wagner, Ralph D. Winter. William Carey Library 1980 pg 49-51)

Not Burried Next to Me !

Team Expansion workers, Phil and Kim Kornegay, from Japan write

"Praise God, the daughter of one of the ladies in our English Bible study was recently immersed into Christ. Emma Matsumoto wanted to be baptized in the river 'like Jesus' she said. Her parents invited many people. It was a big day; there was a worship time and they organized a big BBQ afterward.

A couple weeks before her baptism, her father told her this meant she COULDN'T BE BURIED next to him, since Christians and Buddhists are not allowed to be buried together.

Emma said, "That's OK, you are my Daddy but God is my Father."

Please pray for Emma in her new Christian walk. Also please lift up her daddy who is not yet a Christian, but did support her decision."

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 08:29:26 -0500 Momentum" momentum@teamexpansion.org Eric Derry"

West African Chief thank missionaries for Bringing the Light!

We stared a new church in the village of Kodjina. Things were progressing slowly. However we finally went to see the chief one day. And through my mediator (Never speak directly to the chief) we asked if it would be possible to have a small piece of land to build a bamboo church to meet in.

He said they would grant land. Through my mediator I thanked the chief for his generosity. However, the Chief replied.

"No, you need not thank anyone. It is we who must thank you, for you are brining the light." (Chief of Kiodjina 1996)

(Andy Rayner)

The Extreme Generosity of the Poor in Africa - A Story!

"Once again, a missionary friend and I decided to try a little fishing on our day off. On Monday evening we went to the local reservoir outside our African town of Abengourou , . We had done so several Mondays in a row, each time coming home with empty hands. Milton said he had the secret bait; a set of " Flying Lures" that he saw advertised on TV while in Alabama on furlough. He ordered them from a fishing show and brought them with him to Africa . So off we went with the "Flying Lures", confident this time will be a success. However, even with the secret weapon, we caught nothing.

I tormented him unmercifully about his "sure shot" bait that took him for only $19.95. A local African fisherman came by in his dugout having fished his nets, and asked how we were doing and how many fish we caught. We reluctantly admitted we had none at all and never did get catch a fish any time we came. He commented how he noticedus each time we came. We asked him what he used for bait and he told us. But this poor man grabs a fish out of his boat and throws it to us. It was a dandy sized fish too. No big deal? That fish in the market would have been worth 1500 cfa, and that represents a full day's wage or more, here. This poor fisherman gives two rather rich strangers (according to them), as a great gift, his days wage. Prayerfully, we can love our neighbors as much as this man did us, and use our sacrifice as a testimony of our faith in Jesus Christ.

(From Rayner Reporter May/june 1996)

2 Pagan Customs Christianity Changed For the Better!

African customs

"Of course, David recorded even more observations about the Africans. Many of their customs weighed heavily on him. The killing of babies by the Bakaas because they cut their upper teeth before they cut their lower teeth was almost too barbarous to record. There were many heartbreaking realities every day with the Makalolos that made the spread of the gospel urgent:

("David Livingstone, From Africa to Eternity", Sam Wellman, pg 115 Barbour Publishing 1995)

India Customs,

"Was there any abomination in India worse than using young girls as temple prostitutes? Once, widows had been burned with their deceased husbands, a vile custom called sati. But thanks to protests by missionaries like William Carey, the British had stopped that evil. Once, girl babies were sacrificed to the gods, in reality abandoned to be eaten by wolves or crocodiles. But that horrendous evil had also been stopped by the British, thanks to proof offered by Carey. So in her heart Amy knew using girls for temple prostitutes was about the most evil custom remaining in India. It must be exposed and abolished. Until then she would save as many girls as possible. She would offer sanctuary to "temple girls" and to those likely to become temple girls."

("Amy Carmichael, For The Children of India", Sam Wellman, pg 113, Barbour Publishing 1998)

Urbanization: 250,000 People Move into Cities Every Day!

Acts 18:10 (NIV) ¹⁰For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

"………despite the fact that the mission field itself-the vast unreached world-has shifted like a crunching, incinerating mass of molten lava, overwhelming the world's cities. You think New York City is jammed? A mere 11,480 people per square mile live there. But in Hong Kong, for example, 247,500 people pack a square mile. The prognosis for the future staggers not only economists and politicians, but also church and missions leaders. Reports the Population Crisis Committee: "By the end of this century, the urban population of the developing (poor) world will be almost double the size of that of the industrialized (rich) world. " Some scholars say that every day a quarter of a million people flock into the world's cities."

(Final Analysis, Jim Reapsome EMIS, Wheaton College, Il, 1999, pg 69)

Spiritual Mapping - A Perspective!

"The idea of 'territorial spirits' is pagan. It depicts a world peopled by gods, a world full of chaos and terror, but made safe by the manipulative powers of shamans. "

(Charles R. A. Hoole. Territorial Spirits EMQ, April 1997, p 136)Charles R. A. Hoole of Colombo Theological Seminary