In the following article on Missiology.org Gailyn Van Rheenen makes the point that missionaries must not only be masters at communicating God’s Word. They must also be expert “cultural listeners.” Missionaries (that’s us), be they in North America or in Almaty, can contribute to a culturally inappropriate communication of the Gospel by being poor listeners to the culture. Likewise, we can contribute to syncretism by refusing to let the Gospel critique the culture.   So what is needed?  We must know scripture. We must learn culture. We must critique any culture (including our own) in light of scripture.

My fear as I look at North American church behavior (both legacy and young-cool-dude churches) is that we inadequately critique culture in light of scripture. Read the article below for insights.

Worldview and Syncretism

Monday, March 14, 2011 ·

Presented at the Symposium “Distinctively Christian, Distinctly Mongolian” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on March 11, 2003

By Dr. Gailyn Van Rheenen

I have been honored by the invitation from the coordinating committee to make these presentations on the essence of Christianity and the nature of syncretism.  I wish to thank the organizing committee, the translators of the manuscripts, and each of you as participants.  I appreciate your wonderful hospitality.

I come to you with humility acknowledging that I know little about the ministry context of Mongolia.  My goal is to provide understandings from the Scripture and from worldview analysis, which will enable you to make focused ministry decisions.

My goal in these presentations is to glorify God, to enthrone him as Lord of Lords, and to provide guidance concerning the transformations of people as they turn their lives to follow God.

“Waiting on the Lord”

I would like to begin these lectures with some reflection upon the biblical phrase “wait upon the Lord” in passages such as Isaiah 8:17-20. Read More