“You mean cross-cultural training is not just for
missionaries” he asked?
Certainly cross-cultural training is vital for those
settling into foreign countries, but the study of cultures is every bit as
relevant for those who live in a small town in Georgia as it is for those going
to the country of Georgia (which by the way is a former Soviet Union state
nestled between Russia, Turkey and Black Sea).
On my website one of the first quotes you will see is by
Donald McGavran, former missionary to India, professor at Fuller Seminary,
church growth expert in the 1980’s and missiologist until he died at the ripe
old age of 93. His famous quote
is,
“People will not
easily cross-cultural boundaries to hear the Gospel.”
The implications of that statement are enormous. First, we need to understand that in
EVERY cultural context, whether it is Odessa, Ukraine or Odessa, Texas, we live
in communities of cultural boundaries, which include:
Ethnic
Boundaries
Socio-economic
Boundaries
Linguistic
Boundaries
Gender
Boundaries
Generational
Boundaries
Religious
Boundaries
In every town, village and city in the world people will not
easily cross cultural boundaries to assimilate into the community or go to church. It does not matter if you have the best
music program in the city or the best youth program in the county or you are
the best preacher in the state, most people in your community will not cross
the cultural boundaries to hear the music, have pizza with the your youth group
or hear your dynamic sermons.
The second implication of McGavran’s statement is that for
the followers of Christ, our job is to Go and Take the Gospel, which implies
that WE are to cross the cultural boundaries, go into their cultural setting,
to present the Gospel. We cannot,
we dare not, expect people of different ethnicities, education or economic
background to feel comfortable in our churches. The mandate of the Great Commission is for us to go to
them…not build a program and expect people to come to us.
Yes, it’s true, cross-cultural training is for people going
to far-away countries. The reality
is, however, 90% of the nationals I teach in India, Ukraine, Ecuador, Kenya,
Senegal or China, will never leave their countries. They will remain in their homeland. If, however, they are going to reach
all the people groups in their countries someone is going to have to cross
cultural boundaries to take the Gospel.
I wish every pastor in the U.S. would learn the importance
of cross-cultural studies. It’s
not just a quaint specialized discipline for anthropologist working in the
jungles…it’s a relevant issue for those who live in the land of Wal-Mart and
Starbucks.
