Contextualization guidelines being put in place

[Pergamum]

A healthy development among many churches in world missions:

There is, thankfully, a growing trend among some churches to put into place "contextualization guidelines" for missionaries ministering in the Muslim world.

This guards against some of the more extreme hyper-contextualization practices which have sometimes occurred among evangelical missions to Muslims (and which have been promoted faddishly by some evangelical missions journals, shame on them).

Finally, a push back has begun:

Here is a link:

Contextualization Guidelines for Missions | Biblical Missiology


Also, below is Bethlehem Baptist's document:

​

Bethlehem Baptist Church’s Statement of
Boundaries for Gospel Contextualization among Muslims

One of the most significant missiological challenges facing the church is the status of millions of unevangelized and unreached Muslims spread across the globe. We believe in the promise of God to raise up workers for these unreached millions and we are determined, by God’s grace, to equip and support these vital kingdom-workers. As we see God raising up these workers in our midst and as we interact with other missionaries and agencies at work among Muslims, we see the strategic importance of articulating certain boundaries for the missiological practice of Bethlehem Baptist Church and our members, particularly as it relates to gospel contextualization.

We believe that the Bible both governs and fuels missiological practice. Our strategies, therefore, must stem from a biblical-theological understanding rather than pragmatic considerations. Our ultimate aim in articulating the following boundaries is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God through Jesus Christ for the joy of all peoples – particularly the millions in bondage to Islam. We long to see members of our body embrace missiological strategies that fly the banner of this glorious aim.

Boundaries in Our Missiological Practices among Muslims:

In all ministry contexts (Urban and Rural) we will practice a maximum of C4 contextualization of the gospel among Muslims. (See C-Scale chart on page 4). #

We will not call ourselves “Muslims” nor encourage Muslim Background Believers (MBB’s) to call themselves “Muslims.”# One cannot be called a “Muslim Background Believer” if one has not truly abandoned the religious system of Islam. Our goal is Christ-embracing redemption of people from Islam, not redemption within Islam.#

We will neither model nor teach others that suffering and persecution as a believer in Jesus can or should always be avoided. There is biblical support for fleeing persecution at times, but hiding one’s identity as a committed believer/follower of Jesus Christ (e.g. by falsely claiming, by inference or in public confession, to be an adherent to Islam) is counter-productive, deceptive, and ultimately Christ-denying.

We will support a biblically-permissible “Low Profile”# Christ-exalting witness in hostile environments. The goal and result, however, must be a verbal proclamation of the gospel in a culturally-relevant and non-syncretistic# manner.

Our goal in evangelistic strategy among Muslims must be met through reliance upon the Bible, not the Koran. The Bible holds exclusive claim to revelatory truth and will not share this claim with any competitors. Therefore, we must be cautious to avoid presenting both the Bible and the Koran as authoritative witnesses to Christ. The Koran’s discussion of Jesus may be used as a pointer to Biblical revelation, but such use should clearly serve as an entry-point to the gospel (Acts 17.22-32) not as an authority of equal validity. The sufficiency of the Bible as God’s authoritative revelation must be central in conversation.#

We will not encourage MBBs to continue worshipping in a mosque, nor seek to convert mosques into “Messianic mosques”. We believe that this practice is a form of Christo-paganism.# Instead, we will encourage true followers of Christ to meet regularly with a local community of believers (when and wherever possible) for corporate worship to the glory of God and the exaltation of Christ alone as Savior and Lord of all.#


Theological Convictions that Govern our Practices:

We believe that some level of contextualization is necessary for the gospel to be effectively proclaimed and understood across ethno-linguistic cultural barriers (e.g. Jesus’ use of parables in the Gospels; Paul’s use of redemptive analogies and indigenous pagan poets - Acts 17:28-29; Titus 1:12-13).

We believe that God created all languages and cultures on earth (Gen. 11:1-10). We believe that God’s plan before the creation of the earth was to bring all peoples to the praise of his Son. For this reason, beginning at Pentecost, God is gathering worshippers from every tribe, people and language to exalt the risen Christ (Acts 1:8; 2:5-11; Matt. 28:19-20; Rev. 5:9; 7:9). We believe that the gospel transforms culture. As regenerate men and women seek to bring their lives into conformance with Christ, social behaviors, local customs and religious practices radically change (Col. 2:18-23; Acts 19:18-20). Everything once done in ignorance is now to be made obedient to the will of God (1 Peter 1.13-18; Rom 12.1-2). Some cultural practices must be abandoned as they are examined in light of the Scriptures. Other practices must be identified and reoriented to magnify the greatness of God so that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”(1 Cor. 10.31).

We believe that a “Low Profile” approach to witnessing for Christ in an environment that is hostile to Christianity is biblically acceptable (I Peter 3:15-16; I Thessalonians 4:11-12). We maintain, however, that a “Low Profile” witness does not mean avoiding a verbal proclamation of the gospel, nor does it encourage assimilation of biblically incompatible religious practices under the banner of “contextualization” (Matt. 5:11-16; Mark 8:34-38; 1 Cor. 2.12; Gal. 2:11-14; 2 Tim 3:12-14).

We believe that the name of Jesus is the only name given under heaven by which men must be saved (Isa. 43:10-11; Acts 4:12, 17.30; Phil. 2:9-11). We believe the Bible’s own claim to be the only truly “God-breathed” source of special revelation available to man regarding the nature, will, and work of God for all mankind. The Koran and all other sources of “divine revelation” are defective witnesses to the redemptive purposes of God in history and insufficient for a knowledge that leads to salvation (John 17:17; Romans 10:13-17; II Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21).

We believe that suffering is part of what it means to follow Christ. In many circumstances in the Muslim world, conversion may result in persecution and separation from family, friends, and communities (Matt. 10:16-33; 1 Peter 4:12-19; 2 Tim 3:12).# While we recognize that there are Biblical exhortations and examples for fleeing from persecution (Matthew 10:23; Luke 21:21; Acts 9:24-25), fleeing is not to be confused with concealing one’s identity in Christ (Mark 8:38; 1 John 2:22; Col 3:9). We commend evangelistic strategies that take in consideration the dynamics of family-oriented cultures rather than viewing evangelism solely as a one-by-one process.

We believe that no one should be known as a “Saved/True Follower of Christ” (or a “Muslim-Background Believer” [MBB]) until they are willing to be identified with the Christ of the Bible, to share in His sufferings, to be committed to a Christ-exalting community of worshipers, and to diligently to obey all that Christ commands (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 8:34-38; Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Pet. 4:12-19; 1 Kings 18:21; 1 Thess. 1:9).

We believe that there are no biblical examples, commands, or exhortations to ‘redeem’ religious systems (e.g. Diana, Gnosticism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.). # Rather, the Bible commands us to repent, be transformed and abandon idolatrous religious systems and practices (Acts 2:37-41; 2 Cor. 6:14; Rev. 2:9-11, 14-16, 20-23; 3:8-9).

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Cor. 4:2)

The C1 – C6 Spectrum
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
Christ-Centered Community Description Traditional church using outsider (foreign) language.
The church is foreign to the Muslim community in both culture and language. (May be Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant.) Traditional church using insider (local) language. (Religious terminology is distinctively non-Muslim.) Contextualized Christ-centered community using non-Islamic cultural elements (e.g. dress, music, diet, arts). Islamic elements are ‘filtered out’ so as to use purely ‘cultural’ forms. Contextualized Christ-centered community with some Biblically acceptable Islamic practices (e.g. praying with raised hands, keeping the fast, avoiding pork, alcohol, and dogs as pets.) Christ-centered communities of “Messianic Muslims.” Believers remain legally and socially within the community of Islam. Participation in corporate Islamic worship varies from person to person and group to group. Christ-centered communities of secret / underground believers. These believers may or may not be active members in the religious life of the Muslim community and are usually silent about their faith.
Self – Identity “Christian” “Christian” “Christian” “Follower of Isa” “Muslim follower of Jesus” Privately “Christian” or “Muslim follower of Jesus”
Muslim Perception “Christian” “Christian” “Christian” A ‘kind’ of Christian A strange kind of Muslim Muslim


Recommended Reading:

Harris, Zachary. “Theological Critique of Security.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly. Vol. 40, Num. 3, (July 2004) pg. 328.

Parshall, Phil. “Lifting the Fatwa.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly. Vol. 40, Num. 3. (July 2004). p288.

Phil Parshall, Muslim Evangelism: Contemporary Approaches to Contextualization. 2nd Edition. Waynseboro, GA: Gabriel Publishing. 2003.

NOTE: Chart doesn't copy and paste well here, but Google C-Scale chart to see it for yourself.

 

[Jack K]

Thanks for sharing this. Good stuff to think about. C-3 feels to me like usually the best place to be. But, admittedly, my experience with the church in cross-cultural settings has not been in a society as potentially hostile towards Christians as we're talking about here. The main point, I guess, is that it is thought about and a proper spot on the spectrum is chosen based on biblical principles.

 

[Leslie]

Those of us who live in contexts of personal security, with freedom of religion, should not feel free to criticize MBB's who do whatever they have to do, in order to keep their souls and bodies alive. I have no problem whatsoever with Messianic mosques and the like. There was a mass conversion, not far from my location, resulting in about 200 MBB's over time. Many of them were clergy. They got together and decided that everyone could come out of his theological closet if and when and how he chose. Some came out sooner, some came out later, some didn't come out. I personally witnessed the coming out of one group that started out looking like a splinter M group and gradually began to look more and more Christian, as the community got used to their presence. This is the way it should be. It angers me to hear Stateside theological sorts telling MBB's that they need to suffer when, in fact, there are alternatives.

 

[Pergamum]

Indigenous Believers Speak Out Against C5/Insider Movements | Biblical Missiology

In many places of the world, these insider movements are not a mere description of unfortunate things happening to persecuted believers, but they have become a prescriptive formula by evangelical missionaries about how to do missions. Western missionaries are being trained in how to plant these groups and how to train locals not to get kicked out of their communities (i.e. being trained into syncretism by Western missionaries) thansk to Fuller and other unsond schools:

Here is Roger Dixon from West Java commenting:

However, the approach in West Java, Indonesia that began in the 1990s was to teach the “converts” what to say, what to do, etc.
For example, the Navigator organization set up a variation of the five prayer times a day in which the prayers were altered to be “Christianized.” They continued this practice even though advised against it by mature national Christian leaders. In addition, one of their own converts told them that it was a “return to bondage.”

Also there was a large folder circulated that included “Building Ishmaelite Growth Group Congregations,” “Namaz Prayers,” & “Fostering Messianic Kingdom Communities Among Dispersed Muslim Asians in Urban Centres.” I have that in my files. All of this material was oriented toward “training” converts into this model.
The “insider movement” as it has been practiced in Indonesia since 1990 is definitely not an indigenous conception

Ironic as it sounds, "Insider Movements" in Indonesia are a Western Evangelical Import.

The most vigorous voices against it are local indigenous evangelists that I know who state that some of these missionaries are, themselves, "not missionaries, but lost sheep themselves."

 

[Pergamum]

p.s. Mary, I sympathize with what you say about westerners telling locals to suffer for the cause while we stay comfortable.