WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES - World Evangelical Alliance

6 WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES
what is undesirable and unacceptable. A “value-system” usually stems from a
“truth-system” of beliefs. Values in turn will affect behaviour and relationships
between people.
Worldview determines a person’s view of God, of himself and of his
meaning in life. For example, the worldview of most South Asians includes
many gods. Asking a person if he believes in Christ will bring forth a positive
“yes” in reply. But Christ is only one of the many gods in his pantheon. And
Christ cannot be the Only Way. For the Christian who has come to know
Christ, Christ is uniquely the Way. There is none else. His whole focus is on
Christ, as was the apostle Paul’s when he wrote to the Philippians. 4
A colleague in South Asia, in his witness to the peoples, views evangelism
as a process rather than isolated events of proclaiming the Gospel message.
Through bridges of friendship and discussions, his hearers are drawn
progressively to understand who God is and why Christ is unique. His aim is
for his contacts to be introduced to the person of Christ in such a manner that
He will be increasingly attractive and glorious to them to the point that other
gods will fade and disappear out of their minds. The process of changing their
worldview will require a progressive understanding of the person of Christ.
E. Stanley Jones in “The Song of Ascents” describes how his hearers will
often have an equivalent for many of our biblical portrayals of Christ. “ Then
the dawning came – and what a dawning! I saw that everything they brought
up was the Word become Word, and what the gospel presented was the Word
become flesh.” 5
For Christ to be unique to the South Asian may take a long process
because his understanding of Christ is coloured by his worldview and set of
beliefs. The Holy Spirit’s work of conviction is often not a sudden matter but a
process of the Word of God taking root. The blindness is ultimately dispelled
and light shines.
How then can cross-cultural messengers learn to understand the
worldview and beliefs of the people they hope to win?
David Hesselgrave suggests three ways that are logically possible. 6
• Firstly, cross-cultural messengers can invite their non-Christian
respondents to lay aside their own worldview and adopt the Christian
worldview. This, however, is highly impractical. Few are prepared to do
so or even able to do so.
• Secondly, cross-cultural messengers can temporarily adopt the worldview
of their respondents. Then by re-examining their message in the light of
the respondent's worldview, they can adapt the message so as to make it
meaningful. This approach is not easy but is possible and practical.
4 Philippians 1:21; 3:10
5 E. Stanley Jones (1968), The Song of Ascents, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, page 97
6 David Hesselgrave (1981), Worldview and Contextualisation, article in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, editors Ralph
Winter and Steven C. Ha wthorne, Pasadena: William Carey Library, pages 401-402