The Role of Contextualization in the Church

The role of contextualization in the work of cross-cultural reconciliation

 

            I’ve been thinking about what Pastor Brooks said a couple of weeks ago. Reconciliation is hard work. Especially when differences between two groups often carry the added weight of years of reactionary offense. However, such is the case in many cross-cultural relationships. As new parents, who have received so much encouragement, advice, and diapers from members of our church family, and as teachers, who have taught many of your kids the words to Shai Linne’s play, “Penelope Judd” during Children’s Church and birthday parties, my wife and I feel a special indebtedness to stand in the gap in terms of reconciliation for the Body of Christ.

 

            Malachi 4:6, which is the inspiration behind us naming our son Abraham, states that the work of Christ is to reconcile the hearts of the fathers to the sons, and the hearts of the sons to the fathers. This work of reconciliation across the lines of authority carries huge significance in our culture, and is especially crucial in reconciliation attempts that cross-generational lines. In this work, where youth culture is often excused or demonized, I have experienced challenges and breakthroughs lately in some ways that I would like to share.

 

            First, let’s define terms. What is transposition? The late philosopher and author, C.S. Lewis, states in his Christian reflections that “Transposition is the work of expressing a higher medium into a lower one” (see his work entitled The Weight of Glory). This is helpful, because any Christian model that addresses the nuanced and controversial issue of cultural contextualization must rely on the person and work of Christ for its motive and example.  And this is what we find; that, as Pastor Brooks recently preached, Christ indeed “took on flesh,” and left the glories of heaven for a world filled with (our) issues. And in this work, He endured the task of translating eternal truth into stories about rocks and fish (much like the song “Penelope Judd”) to people who often scoffed at this apparent simplicity (see John 3 and Luke 8). Such is the task of the Christian youth worker. (Selah)

 

            However, there is another aspect of this, one that resonates with Malachi 4:6, that presents much deeper challenges and possible breakthroughs. This is the work of reconciling the strained and broken relationship between child and parent, church kid and youth worker, student and teacher. It is here that I have been challenged by not only Christ’s example of transposition and translation (for He did both), but by the example of the Apostle Paul, a man similarly led by God to take the Gospel across culture lines in the crucible of his life (see Acts 16:10)

 

            Paul addresses this tension in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, where he shares some of his own insights as one struggling with the competing demands of two different cultures that both had a place in his “Kingdom Dream”. This is what led Paul to take on a Greek name, but have a special relationship with the Jewish Christians. His love for the church led him to go to the synagogues first, but his “Kingdom Dream” (or calling) led him to places where the rest of the church wouldn’t go at the time. Have any ideas about where this is going?

 

            So this past summer, my wife Elizabeth and I taught middle school students at the “Breakthrough Camp” of an organization called Central Detroit Christian. We have loved this, however, I’d like to share some of the challenges we’ve had before the “Breakthrough.” After being invited to teach the students and given flexibility about curriculum, we entered the room only to meet a clique of students who greeted us with feigned boredom and indifference. It was clear that there would be two obstacles: the generation gap between us and the offense that they had picked up from songs and peers and (perhaps) previous interactions with adults who loved them personally but despised or simply tolerated who they were culturally.

 

            After prayer and further (painful) interaction, we saw that both our motives and our methods, in order to point them to Christ, had to be Christ-centered. In many instances of youth discipleship, both the motive and methods have historically been more centered on making the discipler comfortable, than on making disciples. Therefore, we selected as our curriculum the Christian hiphop CD Lions and Liars, and used it as a template for translating the Biblical basis for sanctification and holiness for an audience that may have already heard a twisted version of this from modern-day Judaizers (for more information on this tangential issue, see the exposition of this in the CD, Enter:Mission).

 

            We also endeavored to be transparent with the students, through photo albums and conversations, impromptu basketball clinics and stories from our marriage. The leadership that we worked alongside at Central Detroit Christian also helped us with everything from advice to opportunities we didn’t know about, but this grew with their trust, as we shared our thoughts with them and as they saw us interact with the students.

 

            All of this is hopefully a testimony of the work of Christ, through people with issues, as He continues to break down barriers and reconcile different cultures with competing values. What do we do when both of these cultural values are equally compatible with the Lordship of Christ, in both His Personal character and work in our lives? What happens when the cultural priorities of our Kingdom Dream clash with the culture of our local assembly? What am I going to wear to church? See you at church!