God has commanded that his message
of salvation be communicated to all cultures. However, there are barriers to
effectively communicating that message. If ever there was a mandate for the
masses, Jesus communicated that mandate in Luke 4:18-20. Bob Ekblad posits that
communicating the Scriptures can result in “reconciliation, unity, joint
mission and spiritual renewal.”[1]
In order to communicate the Gospel, communicators must “provide safe spaces for
people to share openly their problems and thoughts,”[2]
present fears, needs and concerns. If the communicator is to be effective,
he/she should: (1) be aware of their own cultural and theological assumptions;
(2) identify the racial/ethnic, cultural and class assumptions of the audience;
(3) be fully aware of pitfalls to hearing the Good News; (4) seek to develop a
spirit of awareness and dependence on God’s spiritual gifts and (5) learn
effective pedagogies and communication strategies.[3]
It is not enough to be zealous
about dispensing information. Jesus employed an incarnational strategy that was
most effective, making necessary adjustments. After assessing the needs of his
audience, he switched to communicating in “stories” that painted better word
pictures for his hearers ears. In the same way, present communicators of the
Gospel must “perceive accurately how people from a particular ethnicity,
subculture or social class tend to view themselves, God and the world around
them.”[4] In the process of determining needs, the
communicator must also listen. More than just reading, sharing or even positing
a particular position, cultural assumptions can be a serious impediment to
reconciliation and spiritual renewal as stated above. An awareness of “street
and dominant theology” goes a long way in determining the level of reception of
the message.[5]
God may be viewed as a punisher, the one who brings good karma, one who can
only be appeased through works and legalism, or even one connected to the “core
experiences of their past.”[6]
Combatting these mental images will require confronting these types of negative
theology through the liberating message of the Gospel.
Because communicators of God’s holy
Word operate under kingdom government, and are intentionally seeking to build
and develop covenant communities, it is essential that there be total reliance
on the Holy Spirit rather than self. How can we accomplish this? “Through our immersion in the Holy Spirit,
the gifts of the Spirit are released, unleashing words of knowledge and wisdom,
faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues
and other gifts” that are absolutely essential in validating and building up
the kingdom of God.[7]
This is the type of kingdom living that Jesus brought to the earth as he
declared “The kingdom of God is at hand” (Mat.3:2; Mk.1:15). But in order to
accomplish this most important task and to fulfill the kingdom mandate to “go,
reach, teach and baptize” (Mat.28:18-20), communicators of the Gospel “need the
anointing of God to teach them how to minister” (1 Jn. 2:27).[8]
Lastly, key to delivery of the message
is “knowing which message is needed for each person or situation (Isa.
50:4-5).”[9]
It is the discerning of biblical texts that speak life to the listener that
will bring revelation to present and future distress. The tremendous results of
“reconciliation and healing through the life-giving Word of God (Jn. 6:63; Heb.
4:12-13),”[10]
are the benefits to be obtained from the effective communication of the Gospel
by culturally sensitive and prepared facilitators of God’s holy Word.
[1] Bob Ekblad, Reading Scripture For Good News That Crosses Barriers Of Race/Ethnicity,
Class and Culture, Interpretation (2011): 229, accessed September 1, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/879074305?accountid=12085
[2]
Ibid., 230.
[6]
Ibid., 232.
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