Two Intersections

After a stimulating small group discussion at Hunter College, I walked by a homeless woman on the way to our ministry’s offices. What struck me about this woman was that she was reading a Bible. Curious, and wondering if I could offer her any resources from the various shelters and kitchens that serve our city’s underserved, I approached her and asked what part of the Bible she was reading.

She glared at me: “No.”

Obviously, I was an unwelcome intrusion in her reading. I left – but not before sneaking a glance at her Bible. It was open to the book of Judges, chapter 7.

I’m not sure what she was getting out of her reading, but I hope it was good.

photo credit: Bas Scheffers

Later on, in the subway, an Asian American girl asked me for directions to 23rd Street. Asking for directions isn’t unusual here, but what made this stand out to me was that she deliberately didn’t ask any of the other people (none of them Asian) who walked by her before I did: she waited to ask me, another Asian American woman.

Why did she ask me? Why not any of the four people who passed her just before I did?

It got me thinking: in a place as tensely diverse as New York City, people are naturally going to gravitate toward communities where they feel most comfortable – and that often implies groups of people with the same or similar cultural background. The more you feel understood, (and the less you have to explain about yourself), the more you feel at home. Maybe that’s why we have such distinct ethnic communities in the city.

What implications does this have for us, as we seek to give every person a chance to hear and respond to the story of Jesus?

Here’s what I think. Of course, limiting a Christian group to people of only a certain background is silly: we’d miss out on learning from and experiencing the true fullness of the community of believers. It would also be not very politically correct… not that our goal is to be P.C. On the other hand, striving for cultural diversity in a Christian group is nice – and certainly a reflection of what it will be like in heaven – but it won’t necessarily make the Gospel story hit home the way it needs to in order for lives to be radically changed from the inside out.

Instead, we need both aspects: a contextualized (not watered-down) Gospel message that a culture really understands and is transformed by, concurrent with a vision for moving beyond cultural boundaries to share the message with those who haven’t yet heard.

Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? Let’s hear ‘em.

“Cultural reality” on the college campus

This video might be old to some, but it is new to me.  It was produced by a professor and his Intro to Cultural Anthropology class at Kansas State University.  He shares his thoughts about the video here.

It’s worth the 5mins to watch what the class’ opinion of what it’s like to be a student today (filmed in 2007).  Take the facts with a grain of salt (small sample set in middle America) but I feel this campus culture is a close enough representation of reality.

Any comments or thoughts?