culture, ethnicity & diversity

Workbook / Culture, Ethnicity and Diversity

CULTURE, ETHNICITY & DIVERSITY

Module 1 Introduction

Workbook


Important Definitions

CULTURE, PARTICULARITY, ETHNICITY, ETHNOCENTRICITY, RACISM

Think about what each of these words means to you and create a definition. Culture: Particularity: Ethnicity: Ethnocentricity: Racism:


JONAH When Jonah was called upon to reach out to people outside of his own cultural group, he ran the other way. His historic bitterness for these people combined with his fear that God might be merciful towards them forced him to run away. Eventually he came back, but not willingly. When God exercised his mercy towards those Jonah hated, Jonah got depressed. • Are there people that you hate because of history? • Are there other religious groups that you would not want God to be

merciful towards?

PETER Peter’s first identity was in his Jewishness. He believed in Jesus, but mostly as Saviour of the Jews, not as Saviour of the world. Like Jonah, Peter probably had some of the same bitterness issues towards outsiders, but he mostly ignored the Gentiles (non-Jews). That is, until God called Peter to go and eat a meal with them. After God’s persistent persuasion, Peter went, but he still preferred separateness. To Peter, there was still a “them and us” distinction – even in the church. • Do you prefer to have Christian friends who are all from your same

group – ethnic, cultural, social or economic?


• Do you see your group as the ‘us’ and those whose skin color or level in society is different than yours as ‘them’?

PAUL From his pre-Christian life as a radical Jew, Paul’s vision of other people was transformed by his understanding of the way that Christ’s death on the cross broke down the walls that divide people. He served on a multi-cultural, multi-racial team. He recruited Jews and Gentiles to work together, and he dedicated his life to helping Christians understand that Jesus’ sacrifice makes us into a culture of equals, a ‘new humanity’. • To what extent is it your desire that your church or fellowship

realizes that in Christ we are ‘one’? • In what ways are you like Paul?


Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” a. If you were in the shoes of the Pharisee, what would your statement be?

Complete the following: “I thank God that I am not like ………………….” b. Where in the life of your community do you see this ‘my identity is superior to

yours’ mentality? Consider that ‘otherness’ doesn’t always refer to ethnic differences but can also be applied to gender, age and social differences.

c. Spend a few minutes in prayer asking God to use this Workshop to bring new

and compelling insights to your perceptions of identity.


Write a short letter to one of your children or to a niece or nephew (preferably someone under the age of 15 years old) explaining what the following verses mean as they are applied to the modern culture in which we live: John 17: 20-23 – “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. • Explain what it means for disciples to be “one” Galatians 3:26-28 – So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. • Explain what the differences between people (race, ethnicity, gender,

economics) mean in terms of Christian relationships



Module 2 Creation & Fall

Workbook

Introduction

“Who are you?” Share a short description of your own life in Christ. Illustrate the enduring quality of this internal identity.


Exodus 3:10-14 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Answer these two questions:

1. What is it that Moses needs from God to fulfill this instruction? 2. What does God mean by his response to Moses?


Read Psalm 139: 1-18 • Make a list of each point made about your relationship with God • Now read the texts below and add to your list. If you can think of

other texts, add them as well. Genesis 1:27, Matthew 10:29-31, Acts 17:24-28, Jeremiah 1:4-5, Ephesians 1:11-12, Zephaniah 3:17

• Make a list of five of the points that have strong implications and make a difference in your life.


“The Identity Bell”

THE IDENTITY BELL I KNOW WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12) I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )

I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17) I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20) I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)

I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8) I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)

I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27) I am free forever from condemnation (Rom. 8: 1-2) I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)

I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34) I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21) I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6) I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39) I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 ) I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 ) I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 ) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5) I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1) I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)

I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5) I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)

I belong to God Do you know

Who you are!?

Keep this bell ringing... 'The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you And be gracious to you;

The LORD turn His face toward you And give you peace...'


Reflect silently, and bring to mind three relationships, or people you are aware of, outside your own family, who are different in some way How would your life change if you really believed the following quotation?

“All people are created in the image of God and therefore all races and ethnic groups have the same status and unique values that result from being made in the image of God?”

Write these three relationships down and take several minutes to pray for these relationships asking that God would transform your heart


Creation and Identity

Read Genesis 2 Answer the following question: 1. What does being “created in the image of God,” teach us about our

identity and security? Now read Genesis 3. 2. When the relationship with God is broken, how does this change the

way that we relate to others?


Read Matthew 5:21-24 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. James 3:9-10 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. What do these verses teach about the significance of our language – especially when it comes to exalting ourselves at the expense of another?


Case Study: What Motivated William Wilberforce?

William Wilberforce is regarded as a hero worldwide because of his persistent and successful fight to abolish slavery. After spending 46 years as a member of Parliament, fighting to secure the abolition of the slave trade, the British Parliament finally voted to abolish slavery in 1807. Wilberforce’s steadfast commitment to the equality of all was one of the first principles that flowed from his Christian faith, believing that “God hath made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:26). He desired that we should treat others in the way we want to be treated, feeling that it was his duty to “follow peace with all men, and look upon them as members of the same family.” Every person, likewise, was “entitled to the debts of justice [and] to the … liberal claims of fraternal kindness.”

Some refer to Wilberforce as a “voice for the voiceless” as he used his legislative position to “defend the rights of slaves who had no voice in the British legislature”. Think about this example of William Wilberforce and reflect on the voiceless people God is calling you to speak on behalf of. Take a few moments of silence to think of your own community and consider: • Who are the voiceless people that God (their Creator) might be

calling you to speak on behalf of? • How will you do it? Make some notes below as you reflect on this. Then once you have completed this, spend some time praying and thanking God that we are made in His image. Ask God to soften our hearts and give us humility throughout the lesson as we come to understand that we are all made in this same image.


Following Paul’s Example

Read Philippians 3:4-14 Though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Write down your answers to the following 2 questions:

1. In what ways does Paul deal with his identity?


2. How does he exemplify someone who is trying to make Jesus the centre of his identity?


In quiet reflection, answer the three questions below: 1. Evaluate your own way of looking at yourself – either by your own

choices or by the by values that others in your family or society instilled in you.

2. How has your ability to internalize and externalize Christian identity

been constrained, and even contradicted, by your loyalty and allegiance to other reference groups?

3. How can we work through some of the tensions in our communities or jobs or churches between people who are racially or ethnically different?



Module 3 And God Created Diversity

Workbook

Positive and Negative aspects of Culture

Make a list of the distinctive marks of your own culture or ethnic heritage. Reference back to the ‘cultural iceberg’ from the previous module.


‘In what ways is culture a positive force? In what ways is it a negative force?’

Given the fact that sin has entered the world, it permeates everything including culture. Because of this, no culture is all good or all evil. Instead, as Christians we need to look at culture and cultural issues and ask:

1. What aspects of a culture need to be celebrated? This could include respect for elders, beautiful music, care for each other, care for the earth, etc.

2. What aspects of a culture need to be redeemed? For example, loyalty to the tribe could be redeemed into loyalty to the Christian community. Drums used to summon demons could be redeemed into instruments of worship

3. What aspects of a culture need to be rejected? Cultural practices that clearly contradict the Bible need to be abandoned


Read Acts 17:16-34 (Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece) and answer the following two questions:

1. Before addressing the Athenians, Paul observed a variety of aspects of their culture, which distressed him. What were they?

2. How did Paul relate to them as a result?


What about the Tower of Babel?

1. Humans disobey the mandate to disperse and “fill the earth” (Genesis 11) 2. So, God confuses their language and people are scattered (Genesis

11:18) 3. Thereby God restores his original intention and plan for humankind 4. Dispersion results in the creation of separated tribes, languages, peoples

and nations (a foreshadowing of Revelation 5:9 and 7:9)

Work on your answers to the following questions:

1. Do you think diversity was a punishment for trying to establish a unified culture, or the creative intent of God

2. Are the over 7000 living languages in the world a result of our fallen

state?


Two types of Unity

1. Unity willed by God that all humanity be in covenant relationship with him (Genesis 9:8-11)

2. Unity in Tower of Babel: a unity “sought by fearful humanity organized against the purposes of God. This unity attempts to establish a cultural, human oneness without reference to the threats, promises, or mandates of God. This is a self-made unity in which humanity has a ‘fortress mentality.’ It seeks to survive by its own resources.”

Walter Brueggemann

“This new identity relativizes every ethnic identity but does not efface it or invalidate its cultural expression. Citizenship in the Kingdom of God is the only absolute, non-negotiable identity for the Christian, besides which all other levels of identity are mobile and may be freely affirmed or laid aside for the sake of the Gospel. The Gospel affirms ethnic identity by enabling the Christian to rejoice in it for its intrinsic created goodness, to subordinate it to the Lordship of Christ, and to use it for the service of God and the neighbor.”

International Fellowship of Missions Theologians 1991



Module 4

Blessed to be a Blessing

Workbook


The Covenant to Abram/Abraham

Read Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

1. What you think these verses are saying? 2. Which group of people were going to be made into a “great nation”?


3. Who was God referring to when He said, “all peoples on earth will be

blessed by you”? 4. What does the central Biblical theme introduced here show us in the

context of racial division and ethnocentricity? 5. In what ways can Christian communities and organizations model

what God intended?


God’s plan for a Multi-Ethnic Family

Read each of the statements below:

1. God claims all the nations 2. God states his concern for the aliens and strangers 3. God extends his grace to Gentiles 4. God describes a vision of an eternal kingdom where all nations and

tongues come together Match each of these statements by finding which of the following scriptures teaches them:

• Isaiah 9:1-2

• Psalm 2:8; 24:1; 33:8; 46:10

• Isaiah 66:18-19

• Jeremiah 22:3; Ezekiel 47:21-23

Reaching across Barriers

Think about people in your own community who are ethnically or culturally different from you. Create a list of three or four ways that God might call you to ‘bless all the peoples around you’ no matter what their ethnic diversity may be.


Consider what cultural ‘comfort zones’ you will need to leave in order to start befriending or reaching out to those who are different or are outside your own culture? What are the risks? What might you lose?

Spend two minutes of silence to listen to God’s voice within. End this time by praying and asking for the grace to surrender your concerns and comfort zones to God.



Module 5 Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Workbook


Maung’s Story Narrator: At a conference in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, Maung and others from the south had come for training in evangelism. Maung lived in an area dominated by the people group known as the “Karen” people, an ethnic minority in southern and southwestern Myanmar and several of the neighboring countries. On the last day of the evangelism training, we were set to go into the city to do some street preaching and witnessing. Maung refused. He folded his arms defiantly and said:

Maung: I am not going.

Narrator: We asked him why. He explained that he was from the “Karen” people and that the majority of the people in the city were from the Burmese people. He went on:

Maung: For many years, the Burmese have oppressed and persecuted my people, the Karen. If I go into the city and witness for Jesus, a Burmese might become a Christian. If he becomes a Christian, then he will go to heaven when he dies. I do not want any Burmese in heaven, so I am not going witnessing!

The Story of Jonah

Israel hated Assyria, the empire in which Nineveh was the capital; Nineveh sat on the Tigris River, near the modern-day city of Mosul, Iraq. Assyria had stood for 300 years as a brutally militaristic empire known and hated by all its West Asian neighbors for its violence, conquests, and reputation for cannibalizing defeated foes.

Assyria conquered armies, took captives, piled up booty, beheaded other kings and impaled them on pikes. They were seen as one of the cruelest and most rapacious empires of the ancient world.

Jonah sails from Joppa (modern day Jaffa - about 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem) towards Tarshish, what scholars identify as the city of Tartessus in southwestern Spain – a city over 2000 miles from Jonah’s home and in the opposite direction of Nineveh. We don’t know (in chapters 1 and 2) exactly why he ran – other than the fact that he “ran away from the Lord” (1:3). Fear of Ninevites seems at first to be the logical reason.


Jonah and the Battle with Ethnocentricity

Write down your thoughts for these two questions:

1. Identify the two underlying emotional drives that Jonah was wrestling with

2. In what ways were his perceptions of God’s character distorted?


Two Big Lessons from Jonah A missionary preparing for Bible translation with an ethnic group in West Africa was asked, “How did you come to love these people?” The man shocked the audience by replying, “I don’t love these people.” Then he continued, “I know that Jesus loves me, and Jesus loves these people and I pray that I’ll come to love them. But I’m not going because I love them. I’m going because I’ve experienced God’s mercy through Jesus Christ and I want them to have the same opportunity to receive God’s mercy in Christ.”

John 4: 1-26

1. How could Jesus have treated her?


2. How does this story affect the way that you see other people around you who are outside of your culture, ethnicity, or accepted “group”?

3. Compare Jesus’ responses to the culturally alienated Samaritan

woman to Jonah’s outreach to the Ninevites


A Story of Forgiveness from Cambodia Sokreaksa Himm, known as “Reaksa” to his friends, saw 14 of his family members killed during the genocide that ravaged Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge in the early 1970’s. His book “Tears of My Soul” tells the story of his conversion, his healing through counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder and his subsequent decision to return to Cambodia, find his family’s killers and forgive them. In an email interview (2005), he responded to some questions about healing of past hurts. He offered his answers so that we in this course can learn from his experiences. Interviewer: Can forgiveness and healing come for the oppressed without a time away from the oppressors i.e. the way that you left Cambodia before returning or the way that Old Testament Joseph was away from his brothers – even after he met them again? Reaksa: Absolutely, forgiveness brings emotional healing. Interviewer: Related to this, how have those who stayed in Cambodia found forgiveness and healing? Has healing come to those who stayed in the company of oppressors? Reaksa: It is hard to answer this specific question. For me, if no forgiveness, no healing will take place. Interviewer: Can reconciliation happen when the offender does not confess or acknowledge guilt? Reaksa: In my second book, here is what I wrote in my introduction in the chapter on reconciliation.

“Reconciliation can never take place if forgiveness is not first granted. No-one in the world would wake up one morning and decide to search for their family's killers and begin to build up a relationship with them. It would be relatively easy for each one of us to deliver a message of forgiveness to a far-distant offender but coming face to face with them would be an entirely different scenario, especially when the hurt was so deep. No one could predict the emotional outcome of an individual when coming to face to face with such an offender.”


Interviewer: In Cambodia, how can you tell the difference between lasting peace and forgiveness between peoples versus what one author calls "hatred that is sleeping"? Reaksa: In Cambodian culture, people live with suppression. They do not like to talk about their emotional problems. It is hard to tell about the peace and hatred. It is difficult to identify the two faces. Actually, it is the same, but when anger erupts, we can tell their hatred from their behavior.


Read Ephesians 2:11-22: Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. • Using the image of the cross, make a list of Paul’s examples of what Jesus

death on the Cross has done to reconcile us – both vertically (in our relationship with God) and horizontally (in our relationship with each other)

• Write up your lists on both the vertical and horizontal arms of the cross


Joseph’s Story

1. What emotion does Joseph express? 2. What do you learn about the emotions that might occur when broken

relationships are in the process of being reconciled? 3. How might we speak of past sins? Are we sometimes ‘economic’

with the truth as Joseph’s brothers were when they talked about their family?

4. What does Joseph see as the purpose of his servitude,

imprisonment, and separation from his family?


Genesis 50:15-21.

As you face the challenge of forgiving and releasing others, what do you find most challenging about the example of Joseph?



Module 6 The Church after Pentecost:

Restoring the Beauty of Ethnic Diversity

Workbook

An Ethnocentric Church?

Reflect on the makeup of your own Church or Christian organization

How much cultural or ethnic diversity is reflected in the constituency? Mark on the scale below where you would position your Church or organization.

1 ------- 2 ------- 3 ------- 4 ------- 5 ------- 6 ------- 7 ------- 8 ------- 9 ------- 10 Homogeneous (mono-cultural) Church TO Diverse Church

Such as Israel As in Revelation 7:9 How is this diversity reflected and how does it affect the community?


Identify three ways that Stephen’s death initiated the expansion of the church into the Roman Empire


Honestly answer and make notes about one of these two questions. Choose the question, which is most appropriate for you based on where you scored your Church or Christian organization on the spectrum earlier.

1. If your church or organization is dominated by one culture or ethnicity, what problems might you encounter if you started encouraging greater diversity?

2. If your church is already multi-cultural, what ways have you found to

ensure every person is an equally valued member?


Acts Chapter 8 The Church Persecuted and Scattered On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Philip in Samaria Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Simon the Sorcerer Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said


may happen to me.” After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages. Philip and the Ethiopian Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

1. What were the significant events in this chapter that teach us about multi-cultural outreach?


2. What lessons do we learn from particular individuals?

3. Based on our learning from this chapter, what strategies might we recommend to our elders to help build a multi-cultural community of faith within our own context?


Acts Chapter 10 Cornelius Calls for Peter At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. Peter’s Vision About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.


Peter at Cornelius’s House The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he


ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.




3. Based on our learning from this chapter, what strategies might we

recommend to our elders to help build a multi-cultural community of faith within our own context?

Acts chapters 13 and 14 Acts chapter 13: Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. On Cyprus The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind


for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. In Pisidian Antioch From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.” Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ “Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As


God has said, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ So it is also stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’” As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.


Acts chapter 14: In Iconium At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. In Lystra and Derbe In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. The Return to Antioch in Syria They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Paul and Barnabas


appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.





Acts Chapter 15 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by


faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’— things known from long ago. “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.


So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.



Acts Chapter 17 In Thessalonica When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. In Berea As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. In Athens While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to


say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.



Put yourself in this situation:

A person scorned in your culture because of his ethnic, or economic, or educational background has become a Christian

1. How do you think your Christian fellowship respond if you brought him with you to a community meal?

2. How will they react if you invite him to speak in church and share his

testimony?


Think about your own family or any younger Christians you are mentoring.

• In what ways can you teach your children or grandchildren or your disciples that they need to find this ‘first identity’ in Christ? Be as practical and specific as possible.


• What will we look like as a community of ‘new creations’ when we are living in this multi-ethnic household of faith?

Share a personal vision for your Church or Christian organization in which ethnic uniqueness and cultural background is affirmed but ethnocentrism is suppressed under our unity in Christ.

______________________________________________________________________ Workbook/ Culture, Ethnicity and Diversity

CULTURE, ETHNICITY &

DIVERSITY

Module 7 Missio Deo – Reconciliation as the Mission of God

Workbook

‘Missio Deo’ - Reconciliation as the Mission of God

What do we know for sure about Heaven? Identify Biblical passages and stories that teach us about Heaven


Two Implications of John’s Vision

1. United diversity sends us out in mission The Great Commission mandates us to go outward into all the diverse peoples on earth but the mission is most effective when those who go are themselves an expression of the answer to Jesus’ prayer for unity in diversity (John 17)

2. United diversity gives us our foundation for long-term hope While we work today for the experience of the truly united yet truly ethnically diverse expression of the Body of Christ (submitting all of our ethnocentric tendencies to him), we realize that this is indeed a ‘moment’, a foreshadowing of the ultimate fulfilment of Revelation 7:9, when the multitude that no one can count – from every nation, tribe, people and language – gather in heavenly worship of Jesus Christ who saves them all


Personal Application and Commitments

If every Church is commanded to go into all the world, what challenges will the Church in your context face in making the Gospel cross-culturally credible? Put another way, what opportunities do you see for progressing with reaching across existing cultural barriers?

Make a list of possible challenges / opportunities.


Come up with ideas of how to approach the challenge or opportunity as a change agent. Create some action steps that you personally could take, based on your own connections, gifts and experiences. Begin with how you would share your vision with others, mobilize support and then collaborate to establish achievable first steps towards a shared vision.

culture, ethnicity & diversity

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