We must radically contextualize the Gospel (1 of ...)

I am not calling for a “paradigm” shift in the way we do missions, but for a revolutionary break from a broken model. On the mission field, I have seen the results of the era of colonialism in missions. During the mid 19th century, missionaries planted copies of the sending churches without considering the traditional background of the people. These planted churches are now saddled with a Gospel and a way of "doing" church that at the best ignores and at the worst abases the tribes and their cultures. Today, though we as missionaries speak of enculturation and contextualization, we continue to yoke new Christians with our preconceptions of the Gospel and proscribed responses. The Gospel will radically change a people and their culture, not into Westernized Christians, but into people with an indigenous understanding and response to the Good News of Christ. It is also true that, if we let it happen, other cultures will radically change our perspective of the Gospel. We may come to understand that our imperfect understanding of Scripture is incorrect.

David+EEM