Comments on: A Post-Colonial Worldview of Global Missions: Toward A Post-Colonial Worldview http://www.novuslumen.net/a-post-colonial-worldview-of-global-missions-toward-a-post-colonial-worldview I write within the tension of spirituality and culture, politics and theology, existing and emerging forms of church, the Kingdom of God and Empire America, modern and postmodern thought, & the gritty drama that is my pilgrim story. Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:13:56 -0600 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: dawn http://www.novuslumen.net/a-post-colonial-worldview-of-global-missions-toward-a-post-colonial-worldview/comment-page-1#comment-24919 dawn Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:36:24 +0000 http://www.novuslumen.net/a-post-colonial-worldview-of-global-missions-toward-a-post-colonial-worldview#comment-24919 Yes, thank you for this post. When my husband and I went to live and work in Asia, we were supposed to do "church planting" but we realized when we arrived, that we had very different expectations of how to go about it than our country director at that time. Our post-colonial approach was not understood by our "colonial" thinking director and his approach offended us. It made for a very difficult first term. Kupyer's concepts were new to many at that time, yet, as was inferred, are kind of common sense if you consider how one should be respectful of other people groups, their culture and communal history. I am so encouraged when I hear people acknowledging the fact that the Church WILL look different in different places. We don't all have to follow the same service orders and dress the same and even organize ourselves in the same way. And this acknowledgment should be made by Christians/missionaries from both the Western Church and missionaries from other parts of the world. But, of course we in the West are the ones most guilty of colonialization. Thanks for your reminder! Yes, thank you for this post. When my husband and I went to live and work in Asia, we were supposed to do “church planting” but we realized when we arrived, that we had very different expectations of how to go about it than our country director at that time. Our post-colonial approach was not understood by our “colonial” thinking director and his approach offended us. It made for a very difficult first term. Kupyer’s concepts were new to many at that time, yet, as was inferred, are kind of common sense if you consider how one should be respectful of other people groups, their culture and communal history.

I am so encouraged when I hear people acknowledging the fact that the Church WILL look different in different places. We don’t all have to follow the same service orders and dress the same and even organize ourselves in the same way.

And this acknowledgment should be made by Christians/missionaries from both the Western Church and missionaries from other parts of the world. But, of course we in the West are the ones most guilty of colonialization. Thanks for your reminder!

]]> By: non-metaphysical stephen http://www.novuslumen.net/a-post-colonial-worldview-of-global-missions-toward-a-post-colonial-worldview/comment-page-1#comment-24371 non-metaphysical stephen Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:28:45 +0000 http://www.novuslumen.net/a-post-colonial-worldview-of-global-missions-toward-a-post-colonial-worldview#comment-24371 "Rather than shun differing expressions, the Western Church should celebrate the variety of created Humanity within the Global Church. A post-colonial worldview of global missions begins with an embedded diversity in the Created Order. It begins by affirming and celebrating the Otherness found in Humanity and recognizes that this diversity is derived from the Triune Creator God who is Himself diverse in Persons, though one in essence. Traditionally, the West began with itself as the arbiter of what was good and proper, rather than Creation; Western global missions has assumed the primacy of the West resulting in excessive confidence, rather than starting with and appreciating the variety of Humanity in Creation. This must change if we are to restore the effects of rebellion within Creation and share His redemption." When I read these comments, I was reminded of the comments of a Native American Christian theologian that when dealing with foreign cultures (Asian, African, America), we should deal with their history and traditions as a type of Old Testament -- the pre-redemption story which provides the context for the message of Christ. We need to take their culture more seriously in order to understand how Christ brings them into redemption. “Rather than shun differing expressions, the Western Church should celebrate the variety of created Humanity within the Global Church. A post-colonial worldview of global missions begins with an embedded diversity in the Created Order. It begins by affirming and celebrating the Otherness found in Humanity and recognizes that this diversity is derived from the Triune Creator God who is Himself diverse in Persons, though one in essence. Traditionally, the West began with itself as the arbiter of what was good and proper, rather than Creation; Western global missions has assumed the primacy of the West resulting in excessive confidence, rather than starting with and appreciating the variety of Humanity in Creation. This must change if we are to restore the effects of rebellion within Creation and share His redemption.”

When I read these comments, I was reminded of the comments of a Native American Christian theologian that when dealing with foreign cultures (Asian, African, America), we should deal with their history and traditions as a type of Old Testament — the pre-redemption story which provides the context for the message of Christ. We need to take their culture more seriously in order to understand how Christ brings them into redemption.

]]>