Contextualization is an important topic both in terms of how we do evangelism and also in terms of how we live as followers of Christ. Living and working among the Wolof people of Senegal for twenty years has helped me understand this better than I did before I stepped outside of my own culture. In fact, I would suggest that most of us don’t realize how much we are influenced by our own culture until we become familiar with another culture. Let’s briefly look at what contextualization is, why it is important for evangelism, and how intentionally thinking about contextualization can help us better shape our own life choices as believers.
A generation ago, the idea of contextualization was not yet widely taught to missionaries before they went to the mission field. We see the results of this lack of contextualization today in Senegal as most Wolof people believe that Christianity is a white person’s religion and that to become a Christian means to adopt Western culture. Attending church once years ago here in Senegal and hearing the African congregation sing an old French hymn called “White, whiter than snow… Jesus washed my sins away” I couldn’t help but wonder how many people in the room had ever seen snow! Did this song best express their hearts and their own experience with God? Darrell Whiteman says that “Contextualization attempts to communicate the Gospel in word and deed and to establish the church in ways that make sense to people within their local cultural context, presenting Christianity in such a way that it meets people’s deepest needs and penetrates their worldview, thus allowing them to follow Christ and remain within their own culture.” More simply, Ed Stetzer says, “Contextualization involves an attempt to present the Gospel in a culturally relevant way.”
I used to say, “I’m from Connecticut; I don’t have an accent.” And I also remember saying, “I don’t really like ethnic foods.” I am embarrassed now by both of these statements! To a Londoner, I have an incredibly strong American accent, most Senegalese people think macaroni and cheese is disgusting, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a bizarre food to the rest of the world! I did not realize how American I really am until I lived in Senegal and experienced a whole country with millions of people who share a very different way of living and thinking. It took living here for me to realize that it is my own individual culture that prioritizes punctuality over relationships and that this is not a universal value – and not necessarily a biblical one at that! And I could list countless more examples. But I am glad that I have had this awakening because now I can more clearly identify which parts of my life experience and ways of thinking and acting are White American and which are specifically Christian. This is important because I want to share Christ and invite people to know and follow him, not to become American like me. I need to hold tightly to biblical truths and be willing to let go of everything else. So I am willing to wear long skirts every day, eat different foods, learn to speak another language, sit on mats on the ground, be teased (which is the Wolof way of connecting), and prioritize relationships over punctuality in order to be able to gain a hearing with my Wolof neighbors. This is what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 9:20 when he writes, “When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.” If I am going to offend someone, I want it to be the Gospel of Christ that is offensive, not my outfit or what I am eating. I might even discover that some Senegalese customs are more aligned with biblical values than the American way of doing things!
Some years ago, for the first time in our region a Christian couple had a baby. In Wolof culture there are important traditions that take place on the eight day after a baby’s birth. With the small group of Wolof believers in our region, we had a fascinating series of conversations about how this baby’s birth should be celebrated. Should the traditional party be held with all friends and relatives invited? Should the baby’s head be shaved? Should the baby’s name be whispered in her ear? Some of the questions were easy to answer because the Wolof believers knew the meaning of the custom and that it contradicted biblical teaching. Others were gray areas that we discussed at length. Some things the group decided could be tweaked in order to be redeemed. And some customs were beautiful and could be embraced and continued by local believers as they lived out their Christian faith in fully Wolof ways.
If you are not working cross-culturally, does contextualization matter in your life? I believe it does! You can do the same exercise the Wolof believers did for each decision, tradition, or habit in your own life. We did this as a couple regarding how we wanted to celebrate Christmas as a family the year our first child was born. We talked through all our traditions surrounding the holidays and evaluated them in light of biblical teaching. We thought deeply, prayed and discussed each tradition, including whether we should teach our kids to believe in Santa Claus, decorate a tree, read the story of Jesus’ birth on Christmas Eve, exchange presents, and eat lots of pie. Some traditions we intentionally left behind, some we tweaked to align them with biblical teaching (for example, we told our kids from the very beginning, that Santa is a game Americans play at Christmas time and that it is fine to play along but that it isn’t true), and others (reading the Bible story and eating pie, of course!) we embraced as Americans and as Christians. Being aware of the influence of your own culture and knowing how to contextualize while being faithful to the Gospel allows us to intentionally pick and chose which parts of our culture we go along with, which we reject, and which we ask God to help us change in redemptive ways. It also frees us to let go of anything which may be a barrier to a neighbor who doesn’t yet know Jesus. For example, we come to understand that the style of music we sing at church, or the way we dress, is a cultural (perhaps generational) issue, not a Gospel issue, and so we can hold our own preferences loosely and we become willing to change the nonessential things in order to open the door to sharing the essentials of the Gospel with our neighbor. May the Holy Spirit help each of us, whether we are in Senegal or in the US, to intentionally contextualize well with His guidance, not compromising the truths of His Word, but willingly laying down everything else, so that nothing trivial keeps our unbelieving neighbors from hearing the Good News.
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