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The Great Commission
The peaceful approach
By Frank Decker

When Jesus sent out 70 missionaries, his clear instruction was that they should first say to their hosts, “Peace be to this house” (Luke 10:5). And yet, the manner in which many cross-cultural workers enter a missional setting is not peaceable, but rather contentious and disruptive. In fact, mission history is rampant with attempts to “sanitize” foreign cultures in a desire to clear the spiritual landscape of impure influences and pave the way for the spread of Christianity. It was Samuel Marsden, the well-known English missionary to the Maori of New Zealand, who advocated 200 years ago that a tribe had to be “civilized” before it could become Christianized.

Perhaps you’ve read Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible. Admittedly, the fictitious missionary character of the Reverend Nathan Price is an extreme—and perhaps overstated—example of cross-cultural insensitivity. However, the reader is unlikely to forget the unfortunate manner in which the Reverend Price responded to the welcome celebration held for his family by the Congolese. Instead of appreciating the villagers’ hospitable spirit, the Reverend Price, with self-righteous anger, harshly berated them for the “inappropriate” manner in which they were dressed, among other things. In doing so he thoroughly quenched the celebration and offended his hosts.

While Kingsolver’s story is a fabricated example, it illustrates the fact that well-meaning Christians, by the manner in which they brandish the Bible, often misrepresent the peaceful character of Jesus, using Scripture as a weapon instead of a tool. This type of thinking ignores the positive impact that non-biblical elements of culture can have in bringing a people group into an understanding of Jesus and his kingdom. In Kingsolver’s example, an opportunity for the missionary to build upon the villager’s values of hospitality and love was tragically lost because of his zeal.

There seems to be an opinion among some Christians that it is inappropriate to utilize stories and practices from other cultures as a bridge to understanding the One True God. But in looking at the Bible itself, we discover that usage of pagan examples as starting points for witness is, in fact, biblical. The New Testament itself provides many refreshing examples where peaceful bridge-building is employed, in contrast to a harsh confrontational approach. When Paul preached to the Athenians on Mars Hill, he began not by berating their non-Christian practices, but rather by citing an inscription found on one of their pagan altars (Acts 17:23). He then used that as a starting point to lead them into an understanding of the Gospel, which actually resulted in some persons believing that same day (17:34). Later, Paul spent two years at Ephesus. Note the remarkable statement of the town clerk, who defended Paul as someone who had not blasphemed their goddess (19:37) during that entire time. Instead, Paul used their pagan understanding of spiritual things as the starting point for sharing Jesus.

There are many instances of extra-biblical references in the scriptures. In fact, Fouad Accad has pointed out in his book Building Bridges, “There are at least 133 references or quotations in the New Testament taken from Jewish and Greek non-biblical literature.” He continues, “Borrowing certain passages of literature to use them in a limited way to illustrate a point does not in any way imply approval of everything in the original literary source.”

An aspiring missionary is wise to learn the cultural “stories” of the people group to whom he or she seeks to minister. Indeed, Wesley’s understanding of prevenient grace is congenial to the idea that God is at work in each culture, preparing hearts for the message of the gospel. Or, as Wilbur Stone tells his students at Bethel Seminary, “All roads do not lead to God, but God can be found walking on all of those roads.”

But can this peaceable approach work in a situation where contention has existed, most notably between Christians and Muslims? I pose this question because I often hear Christians (on television and in person) utilize the confrontational method of evangelism by criticizing Islam. This method begins with advising Muslims to immediately abandon the Qur’an in favor of the Bible. But a wiser “bridge-building” method is to begin by focusing on passages in the Qur’an that are congenial to the Bible, including verses which lift up Jesus (for example that He was born of a virgin, was sinless, is anointed of God, and is called the Messiah). This, rather than argumentation, is more likely to bear fruit.

Two weeks ago I was in a Muslim country in the Middle East where a number of people are coming to Jesus because they are drawn to Jesus who meets them in the context of their own culture. While there I asked a 20-something cross-cultural worker how he identifies “persons of peace” among his Muslim friends. He said, “When they have that desire for the Kingdom, you can see it in their eyes.”

There is great wisdom in Jesus’ instructions to the 70 missionaries to begin with a message of peace. It is a message that every heart on the planet longs to hear.



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