Cross-Cultural Dialogue

18 May 2009

David Claydon, author of Connecting Across Cultures identifies ways that Christians can take the good news of salvation across religious and cultural boundaries.

Grasping the essentials

Firstly, he says, it’s essential to know what we believe by developing a good grasp of the essentials of the Christian faith.

The Christian message is unique in a number of areas, in particular:

• God offers free reconciliation in Christ, enabling people to come into a personal relationship with the righteous Creator;
• We are accounted as righteous, not because of anything we can do, but solely because Christ’s work on the cross brings us true and permanent forgiveness;
• The inner work of the Holy Spirit enables us to live a transformed life that increasingly reflects the character of Christ.

We need to find ways of communicating these truths that bring out their relevance.

An embracing Gospel

It is helpful to grasp how the Gospel can meet people of different faith/cultural backgrounds. For instance, it can embrace those who are poor, fearful or lonely; it can empower those who have lost their dignity, identity or self-esteem. At the same time, the Gospel can embarrass the powerful, confronting them with the reality of God and the fact that they need humility even to be able to understand their need of God’s saving love.

Some of Claydon’s key principles for cross-cultural evangelism

Start where your hearer is: Find out your friend’s religious background. Ask questions to become well informed. The better you understand another’s worldview, ideas and hopes, as well as your own faith, the more relaxed you can be in communicating the Gospel.

Cover your conversations with prayer: The Bible says that we are like the clay water jar, which was used in every home in New Testament times (2 Corinthians 4:7). While the jar itself may be made well and have a pretty design on it, its purpose is not to be a work of art, but to hold water. In other words, what counts is not how we look or how gifted we are, but the fact that God has created us to carry his message.

God may use us, but it is only as a result of God’s work that a person will turn to Christ in repentance and faith.

Pray about who to talk to and commit yourself to pray regularly for them. Pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to ask the right questions at the right time and to make helpful comments.

Have a spirit of humility: If we had a Christian upbringing we will never be able to comprehend how those brought up in another religious context feel about the challenge of embracing Christianity. Many Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists who have converted to Christianity have indicated that they were not unhappy about their upbringing as it prepared them for the full and final revelation of the one true God in Jesus Christ. Often they have an appreciation of the Gospel that is lacking in people brought up as Christians.

Having a spirit of humility means that we do not need to be confrontational in our methods—we can relax and allow the Christian message to speak. We must demonstrate the caring love of God in the very way we talk and listen.

By Christina Tyson (from War Cry magazine)