MISSIONAL MINISTRIES
E VA NG E L I S M
Cross-Cultural Evangelism By Dean Sieberhagen SWBTS
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H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: HarperCollins, 1951), 2.
TH E Y A R E NOT OF T HE WOR LD, JUST AS I AM NOT O F TH E WOR LD. SANCT I FY T HEM BY THE T RU TH ;
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YO U R WOR D IS T R UT H. AS YO U SENT M E IN TO THE WO R L D, I AL SO HAV E SENT THEM INTO T HE WO RL D
t seems that the church throughout its existence has had a struggle with how to interact with culture.1 Jesus is no stranger to this as he was born into the Hebrew culture and lived among many other cultures. As we read of his life and ministry we consider to what extent he embraced versus opposed culture. Did he use culture to proclaim his message? Was this both in a positive and negative way? In John 18: 28-38 Jesus is before Pontius Pilate and is questioned as to his kingdom. In verse 36 he says “My kingdom is not of this world,” “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” In teaching us to pray in Matthew 6: 10 he says “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” These proclamations can lead to the conclusion that Christ opposes the cultures of the world which need to be invaded with a heavenly culture. The result is that today we have approaches to reaching the lost that span a broad spectrum between strongly opposing culture on the one hand and uncritically accommodating culture on the other. Jesus knew this was coming and so in John 17 we have the details of a prayer that Jesus prays for his followers. He knows his time on earth is coming to an end and that his followers will remain to carry on the work of God’s kingdom within all the cultures of the world. So he prays for specific challenges they will face and in verses 13 -18 we read these words:
