New Cultural Perspectives
Back in 2012, my wife and I moved to Argentina for a year to work alongside a church. We studied Spanish, taught English, and mostly tried to serve where we could. Over the course of that year we developed incredible friendships, had some amazing adventures, and learned a lot about life and ourselves.
One of the fun parts was learning another language. We started classes at the University of Buenos Aires and then studied with some private teachers throughout our stay. I loved getting to know new vocabulary and trying out what we were studying; it was incredible to see how our language would grow and develop and how we could understand and make ourselves understood more and more as time went on. I grew to love Argentina’s culture and people, and we (mostly) adapted well to this new cultural climate.
That said, it’s also true that one of the most infuriating things in the world was learning another language. It is frustrating to know what you want to say but not how you can say it so others can understand. At times we were completely lost; at other times we thought we had said something clearly only to realize we had said the completely wrong word. Ordering food was an adventure, and at times one we wouldn’t want to repeat! (Morsilla [blood sausage], anyone?) There were things in the culture that drove us crazy—the way people arrived “late” by our standards but actually early by theirs; the belief that rules of the road were suggestions, so you would take your own life in your hands just crossing the street; the fact that it was normal for people to stay at our house till 1, 2, and 3 a.m.!
In her book Traveling through Life, Clara E. Laughlin wrote, “The great glory of travel, to me, is not just what I see that’s new to me in countries visited, but that in almost every one of them I change from an outsider looking in to an insider looking out.”[1] But it simply isn’t true! No matter how long you live somewhere, you are never truly at home; as missionaries often describe it, you now have a “third culture”—not fully American, not fully Argentine (or fill in the blank of wherever you might be). And even after twenty years, missionary friends have told me they still experience culture shock and even hostility towards some of the cultural trends of their new home.
This makes Paul’s words even more striking when we have those longer-term cross-cultural experiences:
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23)
Paul became a cross-cultural missionary, willing to adapt to those around him in order to share the Gospel.
And yet it must have come with feelings of isolation at times, as well as a sense of cultural vertigo. It would require him to adapt to new ways of living and being. He would have to eat new foods, some of which were at one point culturally and religiously abhorred by him. He would speak in a new language, engage with new cultures throughout the cities and regions of the Empire. Even speaking the same language (Greek), it would be different from Athens to Corinth to Ephesus, leaving him wondering which expressions to use and questioning what might best connect. At times, I am certain that Paul was frustrated by these cultural differences and the constant need to reacclimate to a new normal. He probably came to a point where he was never fully Jewish, never fully Greek, and had to rely on Christ even more to see him through.
I imagine this also had a profound influence on his own outlook and point of view. Through his travels and his time living in these different cultures, Paul’s worldview and understanding would have been opened to new possibilities and horizons. He would hear things differently, think about Scripture from a new perspective, and gain new insights on what it means to follow Jesus. I believe it is what made him so passionate about having the Gentile believers cross as few barriers as possible in coming to Jesus, because God’s grace is greater than our cultural limitations.
As ministers, we must constantly work to see past our own worldviews, name our biases, and seek new perspectives to reach an ever-changing culture around us. Cultural shifts are happening at an ever-increasing speed, and we must continue to adapt to these new cultures to share the timeless Gospel in ways that impact the times and cultures in which we work.
