Nine years ago, my wife and I (both white) moved to an area where we were an ethnic minority. We wanted to plant a church. Over the years, our idealism has been crushed, we have hit rock bottom, we have seen a rebirth of vision and we have progressed slowly. God has been incredibly loving in forming a diverse church in our neighborhood. The immediate background is predominantly African-American, but we’re three blocks from a historically white neighborhood. Our church is almost half black, half white and maybe two percent Asian.
First, it is biblical and just to carry out an intercultural ministry. God instructs individuals in a culture to share the gospel and invest in another cultural context. God instructed my Korean-American friend, Dan, to establish a church in a historically white style, and God commanded my African-American friend Marty, who grew up in the city, to establish a church in the suburbs. God called a man named Paul, who wanted to work among his own people, to go out and bring the gospel to the heathen. When God sends a preacher to a group of people, a neighborhood, or a region, it is right for this preacher to go and become everything for all so that he can save him.
Reflecting on his own evangelical work, the Apostle Paul wrote
Because, free of all, I became a slave to all, to win as much as possible. I proceeded, towards the Jews, as a Jew, to conquer the Jews; for those who live under the rule of law, as if I were still alive, to win over those who live under the law, even if I am not under the law. To the anarchic, as if I were myself, not being anarchic towards God, but under the law of Christ, to overcome those who live outside the rule of law; I became weak to the weak, to overcome the weak; I’ve done everything for everyone, to save them by all means. I do everything for the gospel, to become a collaborator of it (1C 9:19-23).
But questions: wouldn’t anyone in context have a better testimony?
Not necessarily. Make no mistake: God calls the natives to approach their fellowmen, but is the gospel the power of God for the salvation of all who believe?(Rom. 1:16). In addition, the Apostle writes, “I, brethren, when I came to you announcing the testimony of God, did not do so with ostentatious words or wisdom. Why did I decide to know among you only Jesus Christ and this crucified one?( 1Co 2. 1-2).
And if God called Dan in the neighborhood historically white, Marty in the suburban neighborhood and me in an African-American neighborhood . . . So that faith is not based on human wisdom, but on the power of God?God can place the most unlikely pot in a neighborhood, so the only explanation of the fruit is God’s supernatural work. Man cannot do that; only God can.
However, encouraged by biblical support, it is possible to invest in intercultural work without examining our extrably motivated motivations. In my early years, I was often asked, “Why do you think you should set up a church here?first when I had a lot to learn, but over time I realized that the question was good, because it came from a place intimately familiar with the history of white superiority.
If you are interested in practicing intercultural ministry, here are some questions you should be prepared to ask yourself:
Essentially, you have to ask yourself, “Did I go into this context without knowing the racial history and dynamics of the country and the community?
With these words of encouragement and consideration, let me also introduce you to some possible landmines:
Landmine 1: Try to be someone you’re not
There’s nothing worse than a white man who changes his language when he talks to an African-American. Marty tells me about his 20-year-old friend who’s still trying to talk about jazz jargon with him. Be everything? This doesn’t mean you forget that you’re white and that you’re trying to become someone of another ethnicity. It’s just boring; it’s also pedant. Remember your context and recognize the stresses your presence can create.
Landmine 2: imposing your own culture on other ethnic groups
You have a culture. His style of preaching, liturgy and hymns, including the way he sings them, are influenced by culture. His cultural context has shaped his preferences for discipleship and ministry. His values, his politics, and the way he talks about these things are full of certain models.
Don’t be like Peter in Galatians 2:11-14. Because of his fear and respect for the rulers of his own culture, Peter breaks communion with the Gentiles because of cultural problems. Peter demands that those who are ethnically different resemble him in order to enjoy communion with him. Paul said they were “not acting according to the truth of the gospel. “The gospel does not allow anyone to set their cultural standards as the standard for becoming a disciple.
Landmine 3: despise those who look like you
An unexpected temptation for many working in an intercultural context is a subtle disdain when members of their own ethnic group join their church. My friend Dan told me it took him a while to properly handle the fact that he still attracts other Korean Americans to His church. You’ll find people of your race drawn to your church because of you, and you have to handle that well. Don’t make intercultural work an idol.
Landmine 4: Take care of family spaces
At the same time, there is another unexpected temptation, it is the tendency to familiarity. It has been said that the greatest missionary challenge is to remain a missionary when you are already on the ground. You’ll be attracted to socializing, interacting and connecting. with those who look like you and who are in the same context as you. It’s natural. And yet, to remain missionaries, we must fight these natural tendencies and intentionally develop intercultural friendships; learn to appreciate the values, pleasures, rhythms and routines of your new neighbors. Sacrifice comfort and learn a new culture. Become everything for everyone so that, by the grace of God, you can earn it.
I’m glad you want to serve in a different context than your own culture. This shows that God broke the walls of ethnic division in his own life. If you proceed with caution, humility, and wisdom, be encouraged by the fact that God often uses culture works for his own glory.