Missional in a MultiEthic Context The Need for

Missional in a Multi-Ethic Context The Need for Positive Partnerships Mark Naylor Mark. naylor@twu. ca

Mark Naylor Bible Translation …bringing God’s word into the heart language of the Sindhi people Fellowship International …partnering with churches for a global impact Northwest Baptist Seminary …first choice for life-changing ministry leadership development

How can the preservation and validation of culturally distinct expressions of church be coupled with the seemingly unavoidable break down of cultural barriers if we are to create intercultural unity in Christ. Dilemma

Missional church community Inviting others into our context Power and Control Making the gospel relevant within others’ natural space or context Accommodation and Service Attractional

Missional Church Intercultural Community Cross-cultural

Definitions Church: Christ- Ethno-specific or centered believers monoethnic: identity with a common with one ethnic group identity and kingdom Mono-cultural: purpose who serve acceptance of one set and worship together. of cultural expressions as the norm.

culturally distinct expressions of church Dilemma Commonalities create intercultural unity but undermine significant cultural expressions

dialectical tension between our context and the biblical text Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals (Gen 2: 19, 20). n o i t a z i l a u t x e t con

culturally distinct expressions of church distinctives cause “strange making” that undermines unity Dilemma Commonalities create intercultural unity but undermine significant cultural expressions breaking down of cultural barriers in order to have unity in Christ

Cultural Identity “strange making” Unity Distinctives Dilemma Intercultural emphasis Unity culturally distinct expressions of faith

Questions Is crossing cultures necessary for unity or is it sufficient to coexist peacefully and with respect? Or is the benefit gained by maintaining the diversity experienced in ethno-specific expressions of church greater than intercultural expressions? Should intercultural relationships be initiated at a macro (organizational) level, or at a grass roots, micro (individual) level, or both? Is it possible to maintain cultural distinctives while developing intercultural unity? If intercultural relationships are a priority, is there a process to accomplish this without losing the distinctives? Can we take a passive approach (ie. wait for the next generation)?

Navigating the Multicultural Maze: Setting an Intercultural Agenda for FEBBC/Y Churches (Naylor 2007) in Being Church: Explorations in Christian Community (Langely: Northwest) Online: (Google: Intercultural Agenda Northwest).

Ethno-specific Monocultural Key word: Stability Dangers: Spiritual sterility Irrelevance Obsolescence Unity undermined

Dangers: Sister Churches Stereotyping (strange making) “us” / “them” Significant Commonality Key word: Cooperation

Key word: Integration Dangers: Perceived loss of cultural identity Multiethnic Monocultural

Key word: Accommodation Dangers: Fragmentation Loss of cultural expressions Dominance struggles Time consuming Multiethnic Multicultural

Intercultural Church Models Increasingly homogeneous 1 Ethno-specific Monocultural Increasingly multicultural 2 Sister Churches 3 Multiethnic Monocultural 4 Multiethnic Multicultural

Intercultural Agenda Each church maintain a creative tension between (1) maintaining cultural distinctives and (2) developing synergy through intercultural interactions

Missional in a Multi-Ethic Context The Need for Positive Partnerships Mark Naylor Mark. naylor@twu. ca