Lausanne World Pulse – A Critical Evaluation of the Westernization of the Gospel
By Daniel Kim
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Personal Evaluation
About ten years ago a new missionary engaging in language and cultural learning in Asia thoughtlessly threw a surprising question to a senior missionary: “Why can’t they (national people) accept the gospel from the West? They seem to accept everything from the West: food, music, movies, car, technologies, etc.” A deep, sub-conscience captivated his pre-assumption that the gospel is of the West. I carelessly pre-judged him, thinking, “How dare you bring the ‘westernized’ gospel of Jesus Christ from your country to Asia without de-westernization?”
I honestly recognize that I might not have been much different than this Western missionary. Although I am Asian, I grew up and was educated in the United States. Because of this, I have been “westernized” in many aspects of my life, especially my biblical and theological training. My westernized education and training have left tremendous marks on my mission work—in spite of my intentional attempts at contextualization.
When I was in the United States, I used evangelistic tools such as Evangelism Explosion, the Four Spiritual Laws, and the Bridge Illustration; however, when I began planting churches as a missionary in Asia, I began using evangelistic tools that were culturally appropriate to the native culture. I am a Presbyterian ordained minister in the United States and am familiar with Presbyterian ways of worship, baptism, and church organization. On the mission field, however, I have wrestled to contextualize local expressions of worship and church organization to avoid any form of imperialism and syncretism.
As director of the Chiang Mai Theological Seminary, I have constantly struggled with the current seminary curriculum that has been transplanted from the typical evangelical seminary. Although I do not deny the proper place for formal biblical and theological training which comes from the West, I agonize over how to de-westernize the seminary training to make it more suitable to the local context. Is formal training the only and the best way? How about informal and non-formal biblical training? Is systematic theology the only way to teach a theology class? Can we adopt narrative theology as a way to teach a solid theology? Much homework is needed. Being de-westernized or culturized is a long process which requires divine discernment, constant dialogue, and much prayer.
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Daniel D. Kim is director of Chiang Mai Theological Seminary and is a missionary church planter in Asia with OMF International. |