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Thinking About... Cultural Engagement Volume 4, Issue 2- July 2013

The teaching faculty of the School of Ministry, Theology, and Culture at Tabor Adelaide is committed to serving the church by thinking about the gospel. We believe that individuals and the church can be transformed by the renewing of our/their minds. Too often college lecturers are characterized as “living in an ivory tower” and “being too theoretical.” This stereotype doesn’t apply at Tabor; we are part of the church, and we want to see it grow in faithfulness to Jesus. This is why we have committed ourselves to producing this themed magazine for free distribution to the churches of South Australia. There are three issues of Thinking About... each year; we trust you find them helpful.

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elcome to the second edition of “Thinking About…” for 2013. We trust you will find it both interesting and informative. hristians have a long history – both good and bad - of cultural engagement. From Paul (1 Cor 9: 19-22), through to Origen, Hudson Taylor, and (dare I say it) Rob Bell, the church has sought to balance faithfulness to the gospel message with relevance to its intended audience. Sometimes the message has been compromised, sometimes it has been rendered incomprehensible. Sometimes, by the grace of God, it has succeeded.

ultural engagement is a fundamental conern of the school of Ministry, Theology and Culture here at Tabor Adelaide. We are committed to the belief that each of these elements (ministry, theology and culture) needs to exist in conversation with the others, and that as Christians who want to live and share the gospel we need to be concerned with each. I pray that you will benefit from some of the insights our faculty members have to share.

s always, if you have got any comments, please feel free to e-mail us. We can be reached via Samantha Docherty, the Ministry, Theology and Culture School Administrator (sdocherty@adelaide.tabor.edu.au). We’d love to hear from you!

Dr Aaron Chalmers achalmers@adelaide.tabor.edu.au Creative Commons License Please reuse any of the material in the journal. We only require that you clearly identify the source by author’s names Tabor Adelaide, School of Ministry,Theology and Culture 2013. Licensed under the creative commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Australian License.

Previous editions available: 1.1 Kingdom of God; 1.2 Discernment; 1.3 Lament; 2.1 Giving; 2.2 Vocation; 2.3 The Mind; 3.1 Play; 3.2 Technology 3.3 Spiritual Warefare 4.1 Stress

You are not a Christian

ne day in the eighth century, a widely-travelled Eastern Orthodox Christian priest returned to Greece. He sat down with two friends, also priests, who were eager to hear of what he had discovered throughout his adventures.

Matthew Gray is Lecturer in Church History. He is enrolled in the PhD history program at Adelaide University. In 2nd semester Matt will teach Exploring the Christian Faith and Reformation Church History.

“So, where did you go?” one asked.“Oh, here and there, but I spent quite a lot of time in England.” the traveller replied.

or many of us, this story puts the shoe on the other foot. We often perceive Christians from other cultures with either condescension or suspicion, because they don’t care about our issues. Just as we resent the Greek monks’ dismissal of our faith, so Christians from other cultures will resent it when we do the same to them.

“Really? I haven’t heard much about England!” the other friend said. “What’s it like? Are there any Brothers of the Faith there?”

he solution to this comes from admitting our ignorance, and the power this has over our prejudice. Such an

“Oh yes,” the traveller said. “Quite a lot. And many are learned in the ways of God.” “Oh!” the first friend exclaimed. “So what are their thoughts on the eternal mystery of the Trinity? What of the nature of the Son – do they uphold Chalcedon, or are they Monophysite?” “Actually,” the traveller squirmed. “They don’t really discuss these issues much. They spend much more time on the nature and purpose of Christ’s atonement.”

“Oh,” his friends said. “So, they’re not Christians.”

admission compels us to patiently, humbly listen to others. They may still turn out to be wrong, but we must enter the conversation assuming they are right, otherwise the conversation is tainted by prejudice. While this may be difficult, if we can do it, we embrace our fellow Christians, and grow in our own understanding.

mgray@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

Introductory Subjects Tabor Adelaide Semester 2, 2013 TM1101 Creative Living (Thursdays 10.00am-1.00pm or online)

This foundational subject introduces students to the God of grace and helps them to see themselves as loved by that God. It introduces the student to Jesus Christ who is presented as the one human being who truly reflects the image of God, it is from him that we understand who God is and who we are as human beings in relation to God. This subject helps students to understand and enjoy living gratefully in the grace of God.

TM1103 Christians in a Multicultural World (Wednesdays 6.00pm-9.00pm or online)

Living in today’s world means engaging with many different cultural traditions locally and globally. Multiculturalism is alive and well. How do we faithfully express the Gospel to the myriad of cultures becoming exposed to our Faith? What can we learn about our amazing God from Christians from other cultures? This subject starts to answer these questions.

TM2116 Introduction to the New Testament ( Thursdays 2.00pm-5.00pm or online)

Introduction to the New Testament is your opportunity to get the big picture of how the stories of Jesus and the Early Church fit together, to gain an understanding of the world into which these books and letters were written, and to consider the distinctive characteristics, purposes and themes of a number of New Testament books. FEE-HELP isavailable if a subject is studied as part of a diploma or degree. Semester two runs from 18 July -15 November 2013 181 Goodwood Road, Millswood (T) 8373 8777 (W) taboradelaide.edu.au

Shaping Church Culture with Jesus’ Values

W Rev Dr Stephen Spence (PhD, NT, Fuller) is Deputy Principal (Academic) and lectures in the field of New Testament. In 2nd semester Stephen will teach Romans Exegesis and Pauline Theology. Stephen blogs at revdrsspence. wordpress.com

e share a culture with someone when we “get” why something makes them laugh or something else makes them angry; when we discipline our children in the same way; when we can disagree about something important but, without even thinking about it, agree on how we should express our disagreement - “because that’s just what decent people do.” Sharing a culture is more than sharing clothes and cuisines. It requires us to share the values that lie behind the clothing choice (e.g., individuality, conformity, “appropriate”) or who is appropriate or inappropriate to eat with.

amilies are often a common culture. At least until the kids grow up and choose to belong to a different family (or tribe or culture). Then they can become more of an outsider than an insider. Values that were previously accepted as obviously true become the subject of heated disputes, and whole areas of conversation become off limits. Interactions change from genuine responses to the calculated responses of politeness to strangers.

ut it works the other way too. Strangers can become part of our family to the point where they are truly “blood brothers.” Around the meal

table they laugh at the same time everyone else does, and they express outrage along with everyone else at stories of injustice. We hope for that time when sistersin-law become simply brothers and sisters. When the family’s culture is not just engaged but embraced.

he New Testament church accepted a key cultural value of its time - the priority of family bonds above all others. But the New Testament church elevated the bonds of baptism over genetics. Their brothers and sisters in Christ were more real family to them than their blood relatives. This was a radical step, and to achieve it they had to shed those parts of their existing culture that distinguished between Jew or Gentile, slave or free, or male and female in favour of a culture of all one in Christ Jesus.

ur churches today are more often than not meeting places for related strangers rather than genuine family gatherings. To become family together we must all be willing to shed our blood family’s cultural values and embrace the culture of Jesus.

sspence@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

The Voices of Culture in Theological Reflection

Bruce Hulme is Lcturer in Practical Theology. He is completing his MTh and has begun training as a spiritual director.

heological reflection (TR) is commonly described as the process that seeks to integrate the Christian tradition and contemporary experience. Here James and Evelyn Whitehead’s Method in Ministry (1980) remains a significant contribution. TR, they argued, is not just the correlation between tradition and experience; rather, it is conversation between tradition, experience, and a third, essential pole, culture—the ‘attitudes, values and biases that constitute the social milieu in which we live.’ The voices of culture

are ambiguous in their role in TR—they provide both interpretations which the Christian tradition prophetically disputes, as well as necessary challenge and benefit to Bruce is responsible for Christian spirituality, theology and ministry. the Spiritual Formation and Supervised Field Education programs. In 2nd semester he will also teach Christian Spirituality.

astoral care and disability provides a good example. In reflecting upon the experiences of persons with a disability in our faith communities, we may note how the surrounding culture often esteems values of strength, independence and worth proportional to productivity.

R may lead us to fashion our faith communities upon a protesting and alternative worldview, where strength is found in weakness and vulnerability; life, in mutuality and interdependence; and worth, in our relational creation imago Dei and redemption by a disabled God on the cross—not our functionality. owever, listening to the voices of culture may also challenge our subtle (or not so) stigmatization of, for example, persons suffering with depression or anxiety as having a ‘weak’ faith. Do we exhort them to merely ‘trust God and pray more’, or can we also affirm various treatments—like cognitive behavior therapy, or medication to restore serotonin levels—as equal and complimentary resources in God’s schema for healing? Perhaps we grumble at requirements for disabled access to our facilities—are these viewed as a necessary burden of regulatory compliance, or a gift that helps us more accurately embody the welcome of the gospel? (For great help with TR and disability, web search CBM Luke 14). However one goes about their craft of TR, the voices of culture must play an essential part in the conversation.

bhulme@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

Striking a Balance

Dr Aaron Chalmers (PhD, OT, Flinders University) is Head of the School of Ministry, Theology and Culture and lectures in the field of Old Testament. In 2nd semester Aaron will teach Introduction to Biblical Interpretation.

he Old Testament prophets get up to a lot of weird things. Isaiah walks around Jerusalem naked and barefoot (Isa 20), Hosea marries a prostitute (Hos 1), and Ezekiel breaks through the walls of his house, takes up his baggage and carries it out by night (Ezek 12). Elsewhere, he lies on his side for 390 days and eats food cooked over human excrement (Ezek 4). Why are the prophets doing these things? What is the significance of their actions? In each case, the prophet is participating in a profound act of cultural engagement, sharing their message in a way which disrupts cultural norms and expectations. In so doing, they communicate their message in a dynamic and powerful fashion.

his is probably the result of a variety of factors, not least of which is our personality. But part of the challenge of Christian life and ministry is to get out of our comfort zone, our default ways of thinking and behaving, and to consciously reflect on the nature of our engagement with the world around us.

erhaps more conformity may be called for, perhaps more subversion, perhaps a balance of the two. Such reflection and discernment is rarely easy (perhaps that’s why we don’t do it?), especially when we are dealing with complex issues such as asylum seekers and homosexual marriage. At the same time, however, it is absolutely essential if we wish to provide an authentic witness that is taken seriously both by other Christians and the broader communities of which we are a part.

he example of Israel’s prophets demonstrates an important point: cultural engagement

involves a careful balancing act between conformity and subversion. I have a sneaking

achalmers@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

suspicion that most of us tend to adopt one approach – conformity or subversion – as our default position.

Being a Foreigner: the Need for Discernment and Action

ow does a lecturer in intercultural studies, who has been crossing cultural chasms for over forty years, summarise cultural engagement in a few words? The beginning point is to examine the role of believers in their contemporary cultural context, especially when they are in the minority.

David Turnbull is Lecturer in Intercultural Studies. He is enrolled in the PhD program at Flinders University. In 2nd semester David is teaching Christians in a Multicultural World and Intercultural Life and Work.

dress areas of culture in conflict with God (1 Peter 2:11), embrace what is pure, truthful and affirmative, and redeem what has been impaired and gone astray. Paul refers to this process as renewing one’s mind and not being conformed to the ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2). Through this reflection comes the acceptance of being foreigners.

ustralian believers are currently facing a strong secular and atheistic agenda being peddled in society and are being confronted by different coping mechanisms, worldviews, allegiances, values and beliefs.

rom this believers can be present in society and rise to the challenge of engaging and participating positively and constructively in the public square through courageously speaking in love and with grace. This is not easy as Christians have often remained isolated from society. Paul Dean provides reasons why every Christian is obligated to engage culturally. Because Kingdom advance is why we’re here, God deserves glory in every sphere, and we must not waste our lives (http://www.crosswalk.com/church / pastors-or-leadership/cultural-engagement-every-christians-obligation-11565420.html?ps=0).

his is a very similar situation to that which the early church experienced. Michael Frost’s book Exiles reinforces this understanding. Peter refers to diaspora believers as “foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), drawing on the history of God’s people who were often the minority in foreign contexts like Egypt, Babylon, and Corinth. Being a foreigner is challenging as one attempts to traverse the cultural chasm so as not to remain isolated and cut off from the broader community.

ay God’s people in Australia, then, reflect upon and engage with signficant societial issues such as poverty and wealth, the relationship between church and state, and the rise of individualism.

his requires an intentional commitment to theological and missiological discernment with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Believers should ad-

dturnbull@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

Cultural Engagement and the Bible

I Rev Melinda Cousins is Lecturer in Biblical Studies. She is enrolled in the PhD program at Charles Sturt University. In 2nd semester Melinda is teaching Introduction to the NewTestament and Reading the Bible Faithfully.

n June I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Africa, which included the opportunity to teach an Old Testament overview course to Zambian pastors and students. A year prior to that I spent two weeks teaching the Psalms to pastors and students in rural China. Each of these experiences has been quite different to teaching students here at Tabor. Unlike my Zambian students, I’ve never had a Tabor class say at the end of 6 hours of lectures, “please can we come back and have more lectures tonight?” And unlike my Chinese students, I have not had a Tabor class begin reciting chapters of Scripture in unison from memory when I mentioned a passage we would be studying that day!

he different cultures each of these classes come from has had a huge impact on how they view the Scriptures and how they approach studying them. The lament Psalms resonate for me in a new way when hearing them unpacked by people who are oppressed and in hiding. The OT warfare passages raise fewer eyebrows in a culture where the death of children is a daily occurrence. And the things the prophets and Jesus have to say about

wealth provoke and confront me deeply when I read them amongst those who see me as one of the richest people in the history of the world.

o for me, as well as seeking to engage our culture with the Scriptures, thinking about cultural engagement also means being aware of how much our culture influences the way we engage with the Scriptures. Culture is not something ‘out there’ for us to understand, analyse or critique. Culture is the lens through which we see the world. It provides the unspoken assumptions and unconscious biases we bring to all our interactions, including those with God’s Word. Two books I was reading while in Africa challenged me greatly on this. Richards & O’Brien’s Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes provides thought-provoking examples of the kind of cultural blind spots we may have. Zondervan’s Africa Bible Commentary allows us to hear new biblical insights from scholars from different cultures. mcousins@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

Two Stories of Cultural Engagement

Rev Dr Graham Buxton (M Min [MCD], PhD [Flinders]) is the Postgraduate Coordinator for the school of Ministry, Theology and Culture at Tabor Adelaide.

wo stories that highlight for me the importance of cultural engagement. In the first story, we learn that it can be hard work discerning what is right, and there will be occasions when Christians not only ‘offend the noble pagan’ by exposing sin and evil in the world, but also offend their fellow believers by living more authentically ‘on the edge’. A guitarist in a Christian punk rock band was approached by an enthusiastic young man and they began to chat. The young man wrote reviews for a Christian magazine and expressed his pleasure with the show. He then went on to express his disgust with the band’s second guitarist who wore a ‘Deep Purple’ tee-shirt on stage. How could he, a member of a Christian band, wear a secular band’s tee-shirt? After an hour-long conversation the guitarist could not penetrate the reviewer’s narrow dualistic mentality, so they went their separate ways. Ironically, in a nearby café the tee-shirt sparked an evangelistic conversation between the second guitarist and person who had an admiration for the ‘Deep Purple’ band. The very thing that offended one ‘righteous’ Christian was the means of drawing someone else into a meaningful conversation about Christ!

ometimes it is hard to distinguish Christians from everyone else, which was not the case with the early disciples of Jesus, who turned the world they knew upside-down. The second story reminds us that, as Christians, we are not meant to blend into society, unnoticed and indistinct from everyone else; we are called to be salt and light, making a difference in the world. While transporting psychiatric patients, a bus driver in Zimbabwe stopped at a roadside shebeen for a few beers. When he got back to his vehicle, he found it empty, with the twenty patients nowhere to be seen. Realising the trouble he was in if the truth were uncovered, he halted his bus at the next bus stop and offered lifts to those in the queue. Letting twenty people board, he then shut the doors and drove straight to the Bulawayo psychiatric hospital, where he hastily handed over his ‘charges’, warning the nurses that they were particularly excitable. Staff removed the furious passengers to wards; it was three days later that suspicions were aroused by the consistency of stories from the twenty. As for the real patients: nothing more has been heard of them and they have apparently blended comfortably back into Zimbabwean society! gbuxtons@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

In the imago Dei

Lesley Houston is the director of Tabor’s TESOL program Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She is enrolled in the PhD program at Flinders University. In 2nd semester Lesley will be teaching Communication Skills.

hile we may be a secular nation, Australia’s officially stated values make room for a biblical worldview of the imago Dei, equality of all before God and a mandate for justice and mercy (see DEFAT website). Genesis 1:26 (“Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness”) dignifies every human being and suggests interdependence by recognising the plurality in God. The end of the Creation narrative in Genesis 1 shows God’s intention for humanity to reflect God’s creativity, which might be interpreted as a cultural mandate to re-create community in the image of God. But, the reality of humanity’s fallenness has led to a desire for exclusion or domination rather than mutuality and connectedness. The issue of cultural division is most vividly expressed in Gen 11 where the unity of Gen 1:27-31 is broken and the curse of God proclaimed: a division of people and development of divided cultures. The curse is not difference, the curse is division; the division Christ came to remove (Eph 4:3-6).

e need people who are willing to engage with other cultures and break down walls that divide. How can we do this? How can we engage with cultures that might be very different from our own? First of all, we can

engage with the people of the cultures, not lumping them in a single culture named ‘them’ or ‘Other’. We can begin by seeking out the similarities not differences, seeing the imago Dei in each person; being willing to create a diverse community in the image of God. It takes time. It takes effort. We can begin by creating opportunities for conversations; conversations where we listen as well as speak. We can share meals and family activities, being willing to learn and grow from the engagement rather than seeking to make ‘them’ like ‘us’. Let us set aside perceived differences, engage with the diversity of humankind, and take delight in expanding our conception of the image of God. lhouston@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

Study Online at Tabor Adelaide It is now possible to study online for accredited degrees in Theology, Ministry, or Intercultural Studies with Tabor Adelaide. To explore whether online study will work for you, contact Samantha, sdocherty@adelaide.tabor.edu.au

Online subjects: • schedule lectures to suit your timetable • fully accredited courses • accessible from anywhere in the world • eligible for FEE-HELP • online library access • discussion with other students via forums • personal access to lecturers