22 February 2010

Inspiration From a Meeting?

It's highly unlikely that I'll be able to post a blog this week. I'm heading out of town in a couple of hours for a week of meetings. However, it's a meeting with strategy leadership from around Africa, so I hope to actually get inspiration for several topics for future posts.

I would still love to get some varied dialogue going on this blog -- comments, though moderated for security reasons, are highly valued and I'm on the lookout for guest bloggers. Is there a topic related to missions in Africa about which you would like to write? Do you have an experience to share that might help someone else -- either a success or a failure? Send it to me at sta(dot)ssap(at)gmail(dot)com

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

13 February 2010

Do I Have to Become a Na'vi to Be Effective Among the Na'vi?

The issue of contextualization in missions is one that is hotly debated. Wrongly practiced, the cross-cultural witness presents a "gospel" that is so watered-down that the one who hears this "gospel" doesn't have to confront his or her own sinfulness. The gospel of Jesus becomes a gospel of no offense. It results in one simply incorporating jesus (intentional lowercase) into his or her existing world view. In other words, it results in syncretism.

When contextualization is done appropriately, the gospel is not changed. However, the one sharing the gospel must critically examine his or her own worldview in order to separate what is cultural from what is biblical. The gospel will confront the individual and the community with their true sinful nature; the gospel will offend as it challenges deeply and, often, subconsciously held cultural beliefs and traditions that run counter to God's Word. My job, as a witness to the gospel and as a discipler of believers, is to look for ways to present the gospel so that it is understood fully and truthfully by the hearer -- I need to let go of any of my own cultural baggage that might hinder the hearing of the gospel and the growth of the church and employ forms that are contextual for my host culture, as long as those forms are not counter to the Bible. For example, rather than using the Roman Road presentation of the gospel that is systematic and that speaks to particular groups of Americans, I might choose to present the gospel in a story format by telling the story of the Philippian jailer from Acts 16. Or, as churches are started, the form of worship that is used by an African church might look very different from that used by a Korean church.

Every cross-cultural witness that I know eventually struggles with this -- some, admittedly, earlier in their ministry than others. Being able to contextualize means that the cross-cultural witness, whether from another country or another ethnic group within the same country, must enter the culture as a learner.

Becoming a Na'vi

While there is much to criticize in the movie Avatar, it contains some useful reminders of what contextualization means when one wants to effectively communicate cross-culturally and to facilitate change. In the movie, Jake Sully's mission is to convince the Na'vi of Pandora to relocate so that the corporation can extend its mining operations. Jake realizes that he must understand Na'vi culture in order to do that and asks Neytiri to teach him. Jake is taken to the "village" and introduced to the spiritual leader of the Na'vi, Moat. Jake repeats his desire to learn Na'vi culture and Moat challenges Jake by saying, It is hard to fill a cup that is already full. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you know where this is going. Jake convinces Moat and some of the Na'vi that his cup is not full -- in other words, that he doesn't come with preconceived ideas and that he is capable and willing to learn. Predictably, a major sub-plot of the rest of the movie is the revelation that Jake's cup is pretty full though he mostly overcomes that and becomes an insider.

Take away's for me as a cross-cultural seed planter:

• The mere presence of an outsider and his or her interaction with a society will bring change. Sully tried to enter Na'vi culture in order to effect change. Change within the Na'vi began with his very first contact with the warrior, Neytiri. Culturally, Neytiri should have killed Sully at first contact but she did not. Further, she allowed him to follow her back to the village. I need to be spiritually discerning to do what I can to ensure that my presence in a host culture brings positive change.

• Though some non-Christian anthropologists might disagree, change in a culture is not inherently bad. The change in battle tactics that Sully introduced helped the Na'vi defeat the corporation and its army and helped them gain their freedom from external control. Our mission as cross-cultural witnesses is to facilitate change. The gospel accepted is change effected. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

• As outsiders, we need to become aware of our own cultural biases and be open to seeing the world from the perspective of our host culture. We're most effective in our mission when we can do that. The corporation tried to force change among the Na'vi. When that didn't work, they sent Sully in to learn the culture to try to effect change from inside. When we begin to understand our host culture, then we know better how to present the gospel in ways that make sense to members of that culture.

• As we understand our host culture, we will be changed. In Avatar, Sully did not just move from being somewhat apathetic about his mission to being empathic with the Na'vi. He completely identified with and adopted the Na'vi culture -- from a Christian perspective, he went way too far (one of the places where the illustration breaks down). Further, he changed his methods for effecting change and began to use strategies that made sense to the Na'vi and it was then that he became an effective change agent. Our challenge is to change in ways that do not compromise either the gospel or our witness in the host culture but that allow us to communicate more effectively.

So, in order to be effective among the Na'vi, do I have to become a Na'vi? To a point, yes; but only to a point. After all, isn't that what Christ did?  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:12, NIV) Jesus became flesh but did not adopt our sinful nature and practices. And, isn't this what Paul said that he did? I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22, NIV)

What would it mean to become a Na'vi among your host culture? What kind of changes does an outsider need to make? What changes have you made?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

David Watson in his blog post, Church Planting Essentials – Exploring Contextualization and Deculturalization, does an excellent job discussing this topic. It was his post that prompted me to write my post. Also, thanks to Mina E for her comment that "there's a lot of cross-cultural stuff in Avatar". Her comment helped me watch the movie with an eye and ear to that perspective.

04 February 2010

What Kind of Church Are We Planting?

 What kind of church are we planting in Africa? New Testament churches would be a simple, accurate answer but we could talk all day about what that means and, perhaps, never come to agreement.

I am proposing that one characteristic of an effective, New Testament church in Africa is that it is a missional church - a church that is focused on being the church in it's community and in the world (Matthew 28:19-20 [28:19, 28:20]) rather than one that is focused solely or even primarily on bringing people to a particular location. I am not advocating that the church not gather; neither am I advocating that the church not invite people to gather. (Hebrews 10:25) Gathering together is important for corporate worship, mutual encouragement and admonition, equipping for being the church. Gathering in is important so that those who are not followers of Jesus can experience the love of Christ. A missional church, though, does more than that.

To illustrate, here is a simple video that explains the basic concept of a missional church:


Whether you are an expatriate worker or a national believer, is this the kind of church you are planting in Africa? What are you doing to develop missional churches where you are?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

03 February 2010

Strategic Use of Communications Technology in Africa

Over the past 3-4 days, I've come across some interesting information about technology and missions. I thought it was worth passing on as food for thought about missional strategies for the next decade, particularly for Sub-Saharan Africa where I serve.

In something I was reading, probably Brigada Today, I read a blurb about how quickly the mobile communications scene is changing around the world and especially in Africa. The point of the article was not to inform us of that fact but to say that the church and particularly missionaries are behind in recognizing the potential of this explosion of mobile access as it relates to evangelism, discipleship, and personal spiritual growth for, as some have termed him, the common man.

Following some links in the article and then others referenced along the way, I found some interesting information. Here are a few of the links:

The first article, Mobile phones and other devices..., talks primarily about how pervasive mobile communications are and gives some ideas for utilizing the technology to reach the unreached and to get discipleship materials to the reached. I realize that developing materials for the internet or for mobile devices is not likely part of the skill set that missionary personnel have. If you work under a sending/support agency, that agency may have personnel who could help with the development of this kind of technology. If not, there are likely individuals in churches with whom you partner (or could partner) who would jump on this like a tick on a hound dog.

The second article, Technology, Rising Middle Class, and the Future of Evangelism in Africa, speaks more specifically to the growth of mobile technology in Africa. The author begins with these provocative statements (provocative to those of us who have served in Africa for any length of time):

It used to be that Missionaries from the West traversed Africa for decades preaching the gospel through rough terrain in what was once considered the “Dark Continent”. Yet things are dramatically changing at a very fast pace that in just the next five to 10 years, the western old missionary model will totally be absolute [I think he meant obsolete] if it’s not dead already.

Mobile Phone Phenomenon in Africa…

Telecommunication Technology is a fast growing sector in Africa and has been greatly underestimated by many missionaries and African Christian leaders, largely out of procrastination and relying on old technologies that Gospel ministers find ‘convenient’ such as Radio and TV.

How pervasive is information technology in Africa? Did you know that there are more than 300 million subscribers to mobile phone services -- more than in either the US or the UK? That is expected to soar to more than 700 million subscribers by 2014. BBC is already taking advantage of that by offering news updates via cell phone.

Did you know that Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa experienced the highest net additions of internet users in Africa between 2000 and 2008? I have questions about the figure for Nigeria -- the chart label says 10.9 million net growth but the axis labels and the bar itself look more like it should be 3.9 million.

Did you know that in 2009 in East Africa alone, there were over US$4 billion transacted via mobile phones?

That's a lot of folks using technology

The third link, African Undersea Cables, is to a graphic on underseas fibre optic cables servicing Africa. There are at least nine cables that have been laid under the ocean off the coasts of Africa -- five in the Atlantic Ocean and four in the Indian Ocean, a total of 72,700 km of undersea cables laid (or being laid) at a cost of more than US$2,005,000,000.00. Of those nine cables, three were already active by 2009, two were scheduled to go active in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2009, two are scheduled to go active in the 2nd and 4th quarters of 2010, and the last two are scheduled to go active in 2011. The list of financial backers has some interesting inclusions: a foundation or business founded by the Prince Karim Aga Khan IV of Pakistan appears to own 75% of one of the longest and most expensive lines that appears, from the graphic, to originate in the UAE; a coalition of the Kenya government and various firms that own/operate ISP's in East Africa owns 85% of another that also appears to originate in the UAE and Etisalaat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) owns the balance. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but there's a huge potential for influence from the Middle East using these communications links.

Kenya has been quickly laying fibre optic cable all over the country to tap into these undersea cables. In fact, about two weeks ago, contractors for one of the Nairobi (KE) ISP's (and an investor in the TEAMs undersea cables) ran a fibre optic cable into the compound where I live and terminated it less than 100 metres from my front door. It's supposed to go live sometime in March or April 2010. (Personally, we're hoping this means faster, more reliable, and less expensive internet access for us.)

Interesting stuff. Anyway, the point is that there is a major cultural shift going on. We have seen that -- Maasai in the middle of nowhere, phoning around to various cattle markets to find where cows are being sold for the highest price; the ubiquitousness of cell phones (it seems that everybody in Kenya has one); a surge of Kenyans using Facebook; African churches and institutions using e-mail to connect with people overseas. The first two articles argue that the Christian community -- churches and missionaries -- needs to make an intentional effort to take advantage of the cultural change, the growth in this technology.

Nothing will ever replace an incarnational presence of believers among lost people. But, like many of our strategic activities, the use of technology can supplement and extend our influence. Mivule ends the second article, Technology, Rising Middle Class, and the Future of Evangelism in Africa, with these conclusions:


The Western capitalistic lifestyle and middle class consumerism combined with technological advancement have taken Africa like a flood. So, rather than ignore such developments, or demonize them, Gospel Ministers had better utilize such technological developments to preach the Gospel.

Western missionaries ought to understand that they are no longer dealing with an ignorant population, or a group of Africans in the Dark Continent. Rather they are dealing with folks in Africa, highly educated, with access to Google, FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Therefore the preaching of the Gospel in Africa no longer provides leverage to the Missionaries from the West to be exploitative but rather accountable; leverage is rather granted to the African Christian and the trend will not stop but continue.

These two significant changes of a robust young educated population and Technology during the last decade will totally impact the way the Gospel is being preached in Africa; it will totally change the way African Christians are viewed as technology now provides an equal playing field and no longer do Western Christians have the unquestionable ‘say’ without accountability when it comes to Evangelism, Sound Bible Doctrine, Bible Prophecy, etc in Africa.

How do you plan to use information technology in the next decade to further the spread of the Gospel where you live?

Feel free to link to this blog post or copy it to others if it would help stimulate their thinking.

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Inaugural Post -- Strategic Missional Thinking for Africa


Despite the title of this blog, I do not presume to be the authority on strategic missional thinking for Africa. I don't even presume to be an authority on that topic. Thus, any opinions I post here are tentatively held (not, though, my foundational beliefs) and not intended to describe the best way to do anything. Instead, I would like for this to be a forum for thinking, discussing, and sharing ideas on missions in Africa in the 21st century -- I simply want to serve as a catalyst for that.

I've lived in East Africa most of the last 24 years and work under a large missionary sending agency in the US. During that time, though my job titles have varied, I've primarily been responsible for either training missionaries or filling administrative roles. I have also had the privilege to be involved in starting a few churches and training church leaders. Currently, I serve in a position that our organization calls Strategy Training Associate. In that role, I'm responsible for coordinating a wide variety of training opportunities for our personnel, for national partners, and for local church partners in the US and other non-African countries.

So, part of my desire to start this blog comes from my need to stay current on strategic thinking for missions and training for Africa. I also want to have a place where folks working in Africa can find resources and talk.

I would welcome guest posts. If you're interested in writing a guest post, contact me by e-mail: sta (dot) ssap (at) gmail (dot) com (I do reserve owner/author rights over content).

At this point, I don't have specific editorial guidelines. Those will develop as needed. I do think we need to adhere to biblical standards of relationships, interactions, and discussions -- civility and respect, even when we disagree, are high values. These scriptural guidelines come to mind:

• Ephesians 5:4 (5:4)
• Galatians 5:22-24 (5:22, 5:23, 5:24)
• Philippians 2:3-4 (2:3, 2:4)

Let's see where this goes.

For the Kingdom,
Bob A