discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University

245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 67
Power to Penetrate
True contextualization accords to the gospel its rightful primacy, its
power to penetrate every culture and to speak within each culture,
in its own speech and symbol, the word which is both No and Yes,
both judgment and grace. 15 —Lesslie Newbigin
A Global Church 67
Contextualization shapes Christian music styles. The quarter tones of
some Asian church music sound off-key to Westerners, and the joyous songs of
groups like the Canela of Brazil can seem like funeral dirges to American ears.
Contextualization will affect the way buildings are built and even the clothing
considered appropriate for believers. Good contextualization affects the length
of worship services and how they are conducted. For example, the Native
American Wiconi movement is trying to get American Indian churches to consider
using their people’s indigenous powwow format rather than following the
lecture hall church service style of Euro-America.
Contextualization affects the way theology is expressed. During the 19th
and 20th centuries the theological center of Protestantism seemed to be in
North America and Europe, with Germany being the nexus or center for theological
scholarship. However, the issues German theologians talk about are not
always the issues being wrestled with in other parts of the world. In this regard
Korean Bong Bin Rho has written:
Western evangelical theological schools have emphasized the inerrancy
of the Scriptures and orthodox theology versus liberal and neo-orthodox
theologies. But these are not major issues in Asia. Rather, the prevalent areas
of concern here are poverty, suffering, justice, Communism, and non-
Christian religions. 16
Thirty years ago Andrae and Sandra Crouch wrote a song titled “Jesus Is
the Answer.” That is true. Jesus is indeed the answer in every context; nonetheless,
the gospel does speak in unique ways to each cultural context. One hears
talk of Asian theology, African theology, and Latin American theology. That
need not mean a different gospel is being preached on each continent. Actually,
it might be better to say theology in an Asian context, theology in an African
context, and theology in a Latin American context because what is meant is
that there are different emphases being highlighted in each context, just as happens
with varying age-groups in the same culture. For example, those in the
persecuted church find what the Bible has to say about suffering to be extremely
relevant to their daily lives. In parts of the affluent and pragmatic
West, people want to know what the Bible has to say about God’s plan for