One of the fundamental challenges with evangelistic cultural engagement is how far to go to engage culture. It is always easy for unengaged people to sit on the sidelines and throw rocks at people who seek to engage cultures. I see it every day. But, people who care about God's mission also care about engaging culture.

The fact of the matter is this: in every missional cultural engagement, some go too far and some don't go far enough. It is the nature of contextualization. It is hard. It takes a commitment to biblical principles. It takes wisdom. It takes listening to each other. And, those outside the culture need to listen to those inside. And, those inside the culture need to learn from those that have gone before them.

In this video, Robert Young, a local Taiwanese believer who trains visiting personnel, explains to us how he has worked through issues of contextualization in regards to the veneration of ancestors. As you will see in tomorrow's post, animism and ancestor worship is much more significant in this culture than Buddhism and Taoism.

Listen as Robert Young (his anglicized name) explains in this video shot by our team member, Ray Chang. Listen as he explains the issues and how his family has addressed them:

Why does this matter? Well, at the Madras missionary conference, way back in 1938, they explained that churches had to be "indigenous," or be rooted and related to their own cultural context:

An indigenous church, young or old, in the East or in the West, is a church which, rooted in obedience to Christ, spontaneously uses forms of thought and modes of action natural and familiar in its own environment. Such a church arises in response to Christ's own call. The younger churches will not be unmindful of the experiences and teachings which the older churches have recorded in their confessions and liturgy. But every younger church will seek further to bear witness to the same Gospel with new tongues" (International Missionary Council, "The Growing Church: The Madras Series," Papers Based upon the Meeting of the International Missionary Council, at Tambaram, Madras, India, December 12-29, 1938. Vol. 2, (New York, International Missionary Council), 276.)

Such a value is not easy to uphold and there are dangers on both sides.

Dean Gilliland explains:

Contextualization [is] a delicate enterprise if ever there was one... the evangelist and mission strategist stand on a razor's edge, aware that to fall off on either side has terrible consequences... Fall to the right and you end in obscurantism, so attached to your conventional ways of practicing and teaching the faith that you veil its truth and power from those who are trying to see it through very different eyes. Slip to the left and you tumble into syncretism, so vulnerable to the impact of paganism in its multiplicity of forms that you compromise the uniqueness of Christ and concoct "another gospel which is not a gospel." (Dean S. Gilliland, ed., The Word Among Us (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989), vii.)

An organization I serve recently put out some helpful guidelines on contextualization that are worth your time and consideration:

PRINCIPLES OF CONTEXTUALIZATION

1. We affirm that the Bible is the only infallible text that exists. It is appropriate to evaluate all other books by the Bible. We encourage our personnel to search the Scriptures daily to see whether the principles presented by any text or teacher are true (Acts 17:11). Content that is in accord with biblical truth should be embraced. What is contrary to sound doctrine should be rejected.

2. We affirm that there is a biblical precedent for using "bridges" to reach out to others with the Gospel (Acts 17:22-23). The fact that Paul mentioned an aspect of the Athenians' idolatrous worship was not a tacit approval of their entire religious system. He was merely utilizing a religious element of their setting (an altar to an unknown god) to connect with his hearers and bridge to the truth. Similarly, our personnel may use elements of their host culture's worldview to bridge to the Gospel. This need not be construed as an embracing of that worldview. It should be noted that Paul not only used their system to connect, he also contrasted elements of it with the truth. Our evangelism must go beyond bridges to present the whole unvarnished truth of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

3. We affirm an incarnational approach to missions that is bound by biblical parameters. Following the example of Him who became flesh (John 1:14), it is appropriate that our personnel continue to tailor their ministry to their setting. The apostle Paul likewise embraced this approach, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22b). We advocate the learning and appropriate utilization of language and culture. Constant vigilance is required lest contextualization degenerate into syncretism. Where linguistic categories and cultural mores are deficient, these must be challenged and corrected with biblical truth.

4. We affirm both the sufficiency and unique nature of biblical revelation (2 Timothy 3:14-17). We deny that any other purported sacred writing is on a par with the Bible. While reference to a target people group's religious writings can be made as a part of bridge building, care should be exercised not to imply a wholesale acceptance of such.

5. We affirm the need to be ethically sound in our evangelistic methodology (2 Corinthians 4:2). Becoming all things to all men in an incarnational approach does not necessitate an ethical breach. Jesus instructed His disciples to be as "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). We are to be wise in our bridge building. We are to be harmless in our integrity as we hold forth the truth.
(Footnotes specific to another religious tradition were dropped from the guidelines as I posted them here.)

More on this over the next couple of days... but please weigh in below, specifically on Robert's comments and missions in this culture-- where not worshiping one's ancestors to be both dishonoring and spiritually dangerous.

I am in Taiwan right now and will be blogging the trip all week. Other bloggers will also be weighing in over the next few days. See my last post for a list. (The guys at the Upstream Collective made a nifty little graphic that our "official commentators" will use a bit later, but you can see it at the top of this post.)

During the week, we will talk to local leaders, workers living here permanently helping local churches, and also some of those who came with me. You will meet leaders from different cultures, denomination, and ages.

For our first video, I talk with Pastor Chen. He pastors a traditional Baptist church and tells a bit about the context and ministry here.

Take a moment to listen and begin to hear about ancestor worship, the growth of the church on the mainland compared to the slower growth in Taiwan, and a bluegrass concert.

I will be posting more in the days to come, but enjoy:

Please feel free to comment below, but if you have friends working over here, be sure they would want their name mentioned before you do so.

The International Mission Board is working on a project called The Last Letter. Mark Morris asked me to contribute and gave me permission to post mine here.

On his Mark Morris' blog (called MissionLeader and worth your time) he explains:

It's actually an ancient tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they board a ship, write their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final communication! The resurrection of this ancient tradition is to inspire a new generation to think and pray through the reason for their life - and possibly the sacrifice of their life for a cause greater than themselves.

Mark gives the powerful example of Karen Watson, a missionary recently killed in Iraq. This letter was read by her pastor at her funeral:

Dear Pastor,

You should only be opening this letter in the event of my death.When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward...

The missionary heart:
Cares more than some think is wise
Risks more than some think is safe
Dreams more than some think is practical
Expects more than some think is possible

I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience...

There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him. I love you and my church family.

In His care,

Salaam, Karen

The IMB asked me and the other speakers at the Catalyst Conference to write their letters and share them in a resource they will be publishing and having available at Catalyst.

Here is what I wrote (and have placed in a file for my family):

Dear Donna, Kristen, Jaclyn and Kaitlyn,

If you are reading this letter, I am with Jesus now. I know this will be a time of sadness for you, but I can say with confidence that no man has been blessed with a family as wonderful as you. Thanks, Donna, for being an incredible wife and partner. Thanks, girls, for letting me be a part of your lives. I look forward to what you will become as you grow into the young women God has called you to be.

I want to remind you of why I lived and why, though I know you will grieve, I also want you to have joy.

Christ has been exceedingly good to me through His death and resurrection. I have lived with God's joy and now happily enter His presence. My only hope is that on Earth, I left the same impression upon people that Christ made upon me. I hope people will say of me what was said of King David in Acts 13:36: "For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed" (HCSB).

On August 13, 1977, Jesus saved me and sent me. Though I have certainly stumbled, I have tried through my life and words to introduce others to the same grace that I came to know. I discovered that no price was too great to pay so that one more person could know the Gospel, one more pastor could be encouraged with the Gospel, one more church could be challenged by the Gospel.

I have labored to comfort those afflicted by sin and this world. I have also tried to afflict those who have become too comfortable with the Gospel and not cared about the world. My life passion has been Jesus and loving all of you. My life's ministry has been to help God's people to love others and engage in His mission as well.

The many days of family, work, travel, life and laughter were all the chance to discover how God could do exceedingly, abundantly more than I could ask or imagine. I am happy to have lived fully and been loved deeply.

I will miss you ... at least for a while. Live a full life, filled with the grace of God and the joy of each moment. Jesus will wipe the tears away -- yours and mine. Let's remember that we will see each other again one day. Love Jesus, live well, and I will see you soon.

Love,

Your husband and dad

Writing such a letter makes you think about what matters. Thanks to Mark Morris and the IMB for the invite to do so.

Lots of good info and discussion in yesterday's post (you can still join in the discussion there).

From a missionary serving in Taiwan:

I have been asked to speak a little about Taiwan and Taipei. Taiwan is a Tobacco Leaf shaped island 60 kilometers off the coast of China. 22 million people call the island home. There are over 6 million people who make the city of Taipei home. The city of Taipei is a safe and comfortable city where people of all ages can move about and be involved in all sorts of activities to share the gospel. Though there have been missionaries and churches here for many years many people have never heard the gospel in a way that is easy for them to accept.

Continue reading Taiwan Recap.

As many of you know, I have a "shared" role at the International Mission Board. I am particularly focused on helping pastors and churches in my sphere of influence to become involved in global missions and church planting. Regrettably, many new and innovative churches are less involved in global work than more traditional churches. We have a team at the International Mission Board that is working to change that.

I want to tell you about a mission / vision trip that I am putting together with the Upstream Collective and the International Mission Board to Taiwan this Fall. We will depart from the states on September 19, arrive the next day on the 20th, and will complete the trip on September 26th.

Each day we will be taking a look at various ministry venues for church planting in that part of the world. I will be leading a session each morning with the group. We will also hear from some of the leaders of the Upstream Collective network each day as we talk about missional living in an urban and cross cultural context. We have some slots left for this trip. If you have an interest in going you need to fill out an application on theupstreamcollective.org and they will be in touch with you.

Hope to see you in Taiwan.

I recently was in Rome, Italy and Marseille, France connecting pastors in the states with church plant opportunities in Europe. I was there with The Upstream Collective and the International Mission Board.

Daniel Ott was part of our team. Daniel is on staff of Southland Community Church, an independent Christan church in Lexington, KY.

Here is my interview with Daniel:

Yes, if you follow on Twitter, you know that I am actually in Rome, Italy. However, I still have info to share about Central and Eastern Europe. And, the team I brought over is still in Poland. So, there is more to the Central and Eastern Europe story on the blog (and more than I could ever tell on the blog anyway).

For example, in Central and Eastern Europe there are:

• 25 countries


• 264 people groups or cities


• 234 unreached people groups or cities


• 40 mega (more than 1 million in population) and major cities


• 25,246 evangelical churches


• 1.7 million evangelical Christians


• 99.5 percent lost

Before you read the new info, you might want to see some of the discussion in the comments here where Trey Shaw (from Budapest) is answering some questions from an earlier post. Trey is also on Facebook.

Let me update you on a few folks.

Church planters are always a unique group. And, planting in postmodern Europe requires a certain way of viewing the world. As I listened to the Strategy Coordinators we met with, I could certainly see that to be the case. (I earlier described what a Strategy Coordinator does, but basically the SC helps to facilitate church planting.) These SCs want to change the world for the gospel and they press ahead even in a resistant field.

I thought I would share a couple of videos with you that tell part of that story.

Good early morning from Krakow, Poland.

Today's post is about God's mission in Europe AND YOU NEED TO READ IT AND WATCH THE VIDEOS. I just wanted to get out of the way-- God wants you to pay close attention to the blog this week. He told me so.

But seriously, we shot some video on our trip. I hope you will take a moment to read the posts, watch the video, and learn about engaging Central and Eastern Europe with the gospel.

I had an interesting and exciting week last week at two mission boards.

First, it was good to connect with theologically conservative and biblically driven people who care about contextualization-- at the International Mission Board and the Association of Baptists for Worldwide Evangelism.

Last week, we finalized some things related to how I will be working for and representing the International Mission Board. Jerry Rankin and I visited a minute and he started the conversation, "Aren't you working for me now?"

Yep. Sure am. The IMB has contracted with LifeWay for part of my time.

And, I am ready to help more and more of our churches be working along with Jerry toward that Great Commission. (Does that make us Jerry's kids?)

I just finished a two hour conference call with a group of IMB leaders gathered in England. They came from five regions around the world to strategize about how to engage our churches in global mission. Great people. Great heart for God's mission.

Here is an example of some of the great things the IMB is doing to connect with what they call "multi-affinity churches" at Catalyst.

Be sure to introduce yourself to Mark Morris via his email at the end of the announcement.

And, while you are thinking about international missions, watch this and then do this!