Torch, Fall 2002

8 TORCH / Fall 2002 I s our personal brand of Christianity—by that I mean the manner in which we live out our faith—a noun or an adjective? What? What difference, other than the normal classroom definitions of those two words, could that possibly make? Numerous groups, like the Christian “whatever” Association, or the Organization of Christian “you fill in the blanks” operate throughout the world. Notice that in each of those cases, the word “Christian” modifies, as an adjective, whatever noun that follows it—plumbers, chimney sweeps, wild animal wrestlers, whatever. Could it be that we have fallen into the practice of having God just plug in where we think He would best fit? Perhaps we should understand, instead, that all the other things in life should really modify that which He has called us to do—be Christians (noun) who just happen to be designed (by Him) to be good plumbers, chimney sweeps, etc. “Christian” should be the subject of the sentence of our lives, not the modifier of the other things we do to complete it. The grammatical way we use the term “Christian” implies that we have impaired notions about marketplace evangelism. When missionaries begin preparation for a field assignment, one of their first priorities is to study the unique culture of the indigenous people group they hope to serve. Becoming familiar with the culture, language, communication style, passions, priorities, beliefs, and the parameters of whatever worldview those people hold all contribute to missions planning. It is vital that potential missionaries hone their understanding of their target audience. This understanding makes it possible to create tactical relationship-building approaches to making Christianity attractive to the people with whom they will interact. Preparing for immersion in the targeted culture is best accomplished by bathing the mission in prayer and strategizing on ways to make the gospel relevant and authentic to those in that culture.