The weather is finally nice up in these parts. We escaped to the NH coastline for some much needed away-from-the-city time. 

(Rye, NH | Photo Credit: Kenneth Liu)

During one of my classes, one of the questions we were facing was “How do we develop indigenous expressions of Christianity rather than blindly accommodate to western expressions of faith?”. We had just finished watching a video by the ministry of cultural redemption, which argues for cultures to reclaim or redeem their cultural roots that were either stopped or redirected by Western missionaries.

Personally as one who is bicultural by a thread, the question prompted more questions than answers. What kind of cultural recovery are we looking at? What era? I’m sure within a particular people group, there will be a variety of answers and I’m curious what the criteria would be to keep certain aspects of culture and what to reject. 

From my standpoint, cultural identity is much more fluid. My concern is that we are seeking some sort of uniform definition of what it means to be “_____________”. To me, it’d be another form of cultural oppression to impose a fossilized culture on a people group in the name of cultural redemption. I know I’m probably missing something, but that’s my initial reaction. To be continued…

Andrew Walls is the go to source for all things related to Global Christianity. I had the privilege of listening to him when he was a guest lecturer while I was in seminary.  It was the first time I learned that the center of Christianity has shifted from the West to the South. Tim Tennent explains the implications of this shift in his book, Theology in the Context of World Christianity:

One of the fascinating things about observing the current geographic and cultural shift in the center of Christian gravity is that despite the dramatic growth of the Majority World church, the center of theological education and Christian scholarship remains in the Western world. In fact, despite the growth of Majority World Christianity and the corresponding decline in the vitality of Western Christianity, there remains the view that Western theological writings and reflection somehow represent normative, universal Christian reflection whereas non-Western theology is more localized, ad hoc, and contextual.[1]

Later in the chapter, he reiterates the potential problems when Western theological writings end up being normative. It assumes that all the issues and questions we face in our culture are what other cultures also face. Tennent continues:

“In other words, our own theological reflection is universalized for the entire world. Because our issues must surely be the same as theirs and we are confident in our own theological and exegetical abilities, there is no point in humbly listening to the insights of Christians outside of our cultural sphere.” [2]

But in light of globalization, it gets more complex. Despite good intentions, Richard Wuthrow argues that it is very difficult to disentangle the Christian message from images of U.S. wealth and power. He explains:

“Although the demographic center of gravity is shifting to the global South, the organizational and material resources of global Christianity remain heavily concentrated in the more affluent countries of North America and Europe. The one cannot be disconnected from the other.”

I know all of this is quite complex and I’m still wrapping my mind around the subject. If anything, it does cause me to broaden my influences and to be more mindful of other perspectives. There’s a lot to learn, but I’m hoping to take one step at a time. 

[1] Tennent, Timothy C. (2009-05-26). Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology (p. 11). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

[2] Tennent, Timothy C. (2009-05-26). Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology (p. 12). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Aside from a few design changes, this blog has been relatively quiet over the past several months. Since stepping out of a formal ministry role, it’s been good for our soul to be out of the spotlight including the social media/blogging world (not that I was that active in it before…). But there has been a lot of thoughts percolating over these months especially the intersection of race, culture, and faith.

Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the role of shame and how we fail to adequately deal with this issue biblically, theologically, and practically, especially from a western perspective.  A few books that I’ve been reading have been immensely helpful in distilling my thoughts:

• Misreading Scriptures through Western Eyes
• Theology in the Context of World Christianity
• Sin, Pride, and Self-Acceptance: The problem of identity in theology and psychology

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve actually kept up with my running routine every morning with the exception of Sunday. Yesterday I hit the three mile mark and today I ran for four. Well, 3.9 miles technically. It helps to have great running trails near my home. Here’s a video of my run after the jump:

I know that was totally geeky, but I need all the motivation I can get even if it means plotting out my run.

Imagine this meal times three. Yes, we had three separate thanksgiving dinners. And yes, we have that much family. So I’ve taken on jogging since I can’t find people to ball with. I downloaded a jogging app and I ran two miles intentionally for the first time in my life in sleet and rain. I figured if I can jog in this weather, I should be able to jog in anything. Ask me how I’m doing. I need to keep this up.

The saying goes that “joy is enhanced when it’s shared”. When we encounter something beautiful, the first instinct it to tell someone else about it. We had the pleasure of hosting our old friends a few weeks ago. Not only was it a great catching up with each other, but we had the joy of showing them the sights and smells of New England.  Above is a shot of one of my favorite villages in New England…Rockport, MA. Enjoy, but come up and see it in person. You’ll make me happy. 

(Rockport, MA | photo credit: Kenneth Liu)

We got a chance to eat fried clams and lobster roll at the famous Woodman’s of Essex. The last time we were here was about eleven and a half years ago when we took our wedding party for a pre-wedding lunch. It was great going down memory lane!

(Essex, MA | Photo credit: Kenneth Liu)

Even little saplings can look pretty (And poisonous mushrooms too).

(Pilgrim Pines | Swanzey, NH | photo credit: Kenneth Liu)

(Larz Anderson Park | Brookline, MA | Photo credit: Kenneth Liu)