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Theological
& Cultural Rationale Behind Iwa's Faith Sharing Tools
Iwa
has produced and intends to continue producing a variety of
faith sharing tools that present the foundational message
of the Bible in forms and content that most effectively communicate
its meaning to people for whom existing traditional faith
sharing tools have proven relatively ineffective. The categories
of people for whom Iwa’s faith sharing tools are especially
designed are as follows:
•
Pre-Christian and Un-churched
• Post-modern and Post-Christian
• Asian and Asian American
• Everyone
It
is important to emphasize that Iwa is not presenting
a message in its faith sharing tools that is in any way
contradictory to that which is contained in existing traditional
faith sharing tools such as the Billy Graham Association’s
Steps to Peace with God, Campus Crusade for Christ’s
Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?, or the
Navigator’s Bridge to Life. Iwa affirms the basic
biblical beliefs communicated in these evangelistic booklets
as accurate interpretations of biblical truth that are essential
aspects of what is often referred to as “God’s Plan
of Salvation.” At the same time, Iwa also believes that
there are other essential elements of God’s redemptive
plan that are not communicated or emphasized in the traditional
evangelistic message that may well lead to greater understanding,
deeper conviction, and a far more positive motivation to accept
Jesus as personal Savior and Lord on the part of many people
today, especially those in the categories listed above.
Iwa’s
faith sharing tools are to be seen as complementary
to the existing tools and, therefore, ultimately helpful to
everyone. The understanding and appreciation for what God
has done to forgive and reconcile humankind to himself on
the part of those who become Christians through Iwa’s
tools will definitely be broadened and deepened by exposure
to the traditional presentations of the Gospel message. And,
at the same time, the reverse is also true. The faith of those
who become Christians through the traditional formulation
of the evangelistic message will also be greatly enriched
by Iwa’s evangelistic presentation as well. The crucial
issue is not whether one presentation is more biblical or
better than the other, but rather which evangelistic presentation
makes more sense and has more impact on the person during
early exposure to the Gospel. The difference between the two
approaches is a matter of initial emphasis—which approach
is best at the beginning of a person’s consideration
of “God’s Plan of Salvation.”
The
following outlines the characteristics of the various categories
of people for whom Iwa’s presentation of the Gospel was
designed that shaped its content:
Pre-Christian
and Unchurched
• No prior biblical knowledge - Direct quotes
from the Bible, especially from translations which use archaic
English (e.g. King James Version) or are literal English translations
that maintain the syntax of the original language (e.g. New
American Standard Version) making the Bible seem old, odd
or mystical, are rarely used because people not familiar with
the Bible donít attribute any special authority to
the exact words or wording of the Bible as is the case with
many who are raised in a culture and context presently influenced
strongly by Christianity. Also, Bible references (e.g. John
3:16 NIV) are never used, especially when not accompanying
the actual passage being referenced. Such words, numbers and
letters mean nothing to persons who are not familiar with
the Bible and Christian literature. As a result, such references,
which are generally listed to give support and credibility,
end up having the opposite effect, making the material seem
academic, abstract, foreign or cryptic.
• No familiarity with theological terminology
- Words such as sin, propitiation, sanctification, salvation,
redemption, and incarnation have little meaning
to someone not familiar with the Bible or having little exposure
to Christian dialogue, literature and the church. Because
of this, none of this terminology is used in Iwa faith sharing
tools even though the essential meanings of these terms must
be communicated effectively. Such words as grace, glory,
redemption, mercy and blessing, which may sound
familiar to unchurched and pre-Christian people, are used
only sparingly because they carry additional and greater meaning
when used in Christian context. Therefore, when they are used,
the biblical meanings behind these words are conveyed using
“everyday” English to define and discuss them.
Post-modern
and Post-Christian
• Don’t believe in absolutes - People who
are post-modern and post- Christian tend not to believe that
anything is absolute, but that all is relative. They don’t
believe that an absolute and objective standard of morality
exists, so they do not feel guilty for failing to believe
in such a standard or living up to it. To them, morality is
relative to the situation and whatever a person chooses to
believe is right and wrong. The code of ethics they do adhere
to is that they can believe and behave in any way they want
to as long as they don’t offend or hurt anyone else.
Therefore, instead of focusing upon mankind’s problem
as being a result of disobeying God and his laws, the emphasis
of Iwa’s faith sharing tools is upon how we and all humanity
have offended, disappointed, dishonored and hurt God.
•
Pragmatic and practical - Post-modern and post-Christian
people tend not to be optimistic idealists. They are not very
abstract or philosophical in their thinking. They are concrete
and situational. They attribute more validity to personal
experience than an intellectual argument. Therefore, rather
than presenting rational theological arguments about God,
Iwa’s evangelistic tools focus on real-life stories,
whether people’s life experiences with God as recorded
in the Bible or how God has transformed lives of people today.
The acid test for what is true among post-modern and post-Christian
people is whether something makes an authentic difference
in people’s lives. In other words, what works is what
counts.
•
Highly relational - The highly mobile lifestyle of
most urban dwellers today has destroyed the stability of the
traditional people networks that have provided security, support,
and a sense identity in the past. With the rise of divorce
and single parenting, intact families have become increasingly
rare, threatening extended families with near extinction.
The break up of the family has given birth to a generation
starving for close and stable relationships. As a result,
many—especially the youth of today—are highly relational,
seeking to fill the need for “family” not only from
among their peers, but also from others older and younger
than themselves. They are far less individualistic than previous
generations. They are less concerned about personal fulfillment
and success and more focused on relational harmony and well-being.
For this reason, Iwa’s faith sharing tools emphasize
the family metaphor of the Bible, with God being the heavenly
Father, Jesus being God’s Son, and recent believers being
newly adopted into the heavenly Father’s family. No family
could ever be more secure, stable and permanent than that!
Because
post-modern and post-Christian people are highly relational,
concrete, situational and without much knowledge of the Bible,
rather than the traditional abstract and linear “Plan
of Salvation” that tells us little about the person of
Jesus, Iwa’s materials seek to introduce non-Christians
to Jesus Christ as someone who not only lived and walked on
the face of the earth 2,000 years ago, but is alive and can
be met in person now—today.
•
Consumed by the here-and-now - Amid a rapidly changing
world, under the constant threat of war and terrorism, people
today are afraid of the future. Feeling unable to control
their destinies, many are preoccupied with trying to make
themselves as happy as possible here-and-now. Because of this
Iwa’s faith sharing tools emphasize the quality of life
and relationships they can have with God and others through
Christ starting right now in the present rather than the eternal
life that they can receive later after they die because they
accepted Christ while they were living.
Asian
and Asian American
• Without a Judeo-Christian worldview - The worldview
of most Asians and Asian Americans has been shaped by various
eastern religions and philosophies such as Taoism, Shintoism,
Confucian- ism, Buddhism and Hinduism rather than by Judaism
or Christianity. As a result, the religious concepts and beliefs
of Asian and Asian American non-Christians are very different
than those who belong to cultures having Judeo-Christian roots.
For instance, it is common for Asians and Asian Americans
not to have a concept of a personal God. As such, this and
other preconceived religious notions must be addressed if
non-Christian Asians and Asian Americans are going to be able
to understand and relate to the Bible and its evangelistic
message. Iwa’s faith sharing tools introduce that which
is foundational to a biblical worldview for those who need
its undergirding to understand the Gospel.
• Non-confrontational and indirect - Those coming
from Asian cultures are so relationally oriented that they
tend to avoid doing anything that may injure valued relationships.
Direct sharing of religious beliefs is generally thought to
be one of those things that places relationships at risk.
It is thought to be too confrontational because the sharer
is seen as seeking to impose his or her religious views upon
the hearer. Asian and Asian Americans tend not to separate
people from their beliefs. As a result, if a person shares
his or her religious beliefs in a way that it is viewed as
new or different than those of the hearer, it accentuates
difference between the sharer and hearer, and most probably
will be seen as judgment and a sign of disrespect resulting
in offence and relational injury. It is for this reason that
Iwa encourages Christians to communicate their beliefs indirectly
by sharing their personal stories of discovery about God and
the truth of his Word in the context of their normal, everyday
conversations with non-Christian Asians and Asian Americans.
Also, Iwa provides evangelistic resources that share the evangelistic
message interwoven into the personal stories of others whose
lives have been transformed by Christ. And, when a more direct
communication of the Gospel is appropriate, Iwa provides tools
that do so, together with an invitation to respond to God,
in a culturally sensitive and non-confrontational manner.
• Honor and shame oriented - Traditional evangelistic
presentations are most effective among people whose cultures
are primarily oriented toward guilt as is true of Western
cultures rather than shame as is the case with Eastern cultures.
Traditional capsulations of the Gospel focus upon mankind’s
guilt, resulting from the trespassing of God’s holy and
absolute laws. Such trespasses are what the Bible refers to
as sins. Atonement for these sins must be made, otherwise
the punishment for such disobedience is eternal condemnation
in hell. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty
for mankind’s guilt and makes possible forgiveness and
eternal life for those who believe in Christ’s sacrifice
on their behalf. Most Eastern cultures, however, are oriented
toward shame over guilt. This being the case, Iwa provides
evangelistic tools that focus upon the dishonor and pain we
brought to God by failing to live up to his design and expectation
of us. We failed to trust that God was willing to enable us
to do so. Because of our lack of faith in him, not only did
we sin, our character became flawed because of it—we
developed a Sin nature. As a consequence of this, our loving
relationship with God was no longer possible. We broke our
relationship with him. Rather than seeing the cross as a means
of fulfilling a holy God’s need for justice as is true
with the guilt-oriented presentation of the Gospel, Christ’s
crucifixion is presented as an ultimate act of self-disclosing
love—God demonstrating how much he anguishes over our
separation from him and the incredible extent to which he
is willing to go in his attempt to convince us he is willing
to forgive us and accept us back if we but return to him.
Christ’s resurrection and the sending of his Spirit to
indwell new believers is also covered as an essential part
of Iwa’s formulation of the evangelistic message as it
communicates the means by which God is going to enable believers
to be restored from having a Sin nature to having a godly
character once again. The evangelistic presentation effective
in the cultural West emphasizes justification and redemption,
while that which is most effective in the East emphasizes
reconciliation and restoration.
•
Group and family oriented - Western cultures are highly
individualistic. Because of this, traditional evangelistic
presentations primarily address the problems, needs and aspirations
of individual persons. Asians and Asian Americans, however,
tend to value the welfare of their group and family more highly
than their own. Group and family needs, problems and desires
are extremely important to Asians and Asian Americans. Not
belonging to a group or family is a grave personal crisis.
For this reason, Iwa’s evangelistic tools treat individuals
as integral to groups, families and humanity as a whole and
primarily utilize the biblical metaphor of family as mentioned
above in regards to how Iwa is addressing highly relational
post-modern and post-Christian people through its evangelistic
resources.
•
Inevitability of pain - Western cultures, as reflected
in their medical practices, seek to eliminate pain. An ultimate
goal of life is to live as pain-free as possible. Asian cultures,
on the other hand, see pain and suffering as an inevitable
and unavoidable part of life. As a result, Asians and Asian
Americans seek ways of living with pain rather than avoiding
or eliminating it. Persons who are victims of extreme suffering
and endure it well are admired and highly respected. Pain
and suffering are valued as the means by which character is
developed, tested and proven. In response to this, Iwa’s
evangelistic materials do not present Christianity as a means
of avoiding, relieving or escaping pain and suffering. The
good news of the Gospel is not only what Jesus achieved for
us as a result of his pain and suffering on the cross—forgiveness
and eternal life, but even more so, how much God loves us
as measured by the extent to which he was willing to suffer
for us—not only social rejection, torture, and an excruciating
physical death, but also separation between God the Son and
God the Father for the first time in all eternity. The cross
is not seen only as a means to an end, but also an end in
itself—overwhelming evidence of how much God loves us.
As we enter into and appreciate Christ’s suffering for
us, we also realize how much he enters into our suffering
and enables us to endure it well. And, when we experience
Jesus’ identification, help and comfort in the midst
of our suffering, so we are, in turn, enabled to identify,
help and comfort others in the same way as we have been comforted.
This then is a big part of effective evangelism among Asians
and Asian Americans emphasized in Iwa’s evangelistic
tools and resources.
•
Harmony with nature - Those of Eastern cultures and
religions tend to see a much closer connection between mankind
and creation than those of Western cultures and religions.
Consequently, Asians and Asian Americans have a greater desire
to live in harmony with nature than to live as if they were
in control of it. Iwa’s evangelistic materials seek to
present the Gospel in the context of the whole of creation—that
mankind’s spiritual deterioration has led to the demise
of the entire natural order, therefore, the spiritual restoration
of humanity should likewise lead to the restoration of the
whole of creation.
Everyone
As was mentioned at the beginning of this article, Iwa is
not presenting a message that is in any way contradictory
to the traditional way the Gospel has been presented, but
rather is complementary. Just as God is just and holy,
he is also merciful and loving. Just as the punishment for
our sins must be paid to meet the need for justice by an infinitely
righteous and holy God resulting in our redemption, so also
we need God’s grace and love so we can be reconciled
and rejoined to him. Tra- ditional evangelistic tools have
emphasized justification and redemption, while the most effective
way of communicating the Gospel to those who are pre-Christian
and un-churched, post-modern and post-Christian, and Asian
and Asian American is by emphasizing grace and reconciliation.
Both are necessary for a full appreciation of the Gospel.
Together, they reflect the “full counsel of God,”
as two arms of God’s love—the answer and fulfillment
for all cultures and peoples—an answer to both the problem
of sins and Sin. God is both just and merciful,
infinite and intimate, fearsome and tender. Both sides of
God are true. Both sides of the Gospel are true. Therefore,
both the traditional formulation and Iwa’s formulation
of the evangelistic message of the Bible are equally true
and, together, are for everyone. Grasping both sides of the
Gospel will, ultimately, create in all believers a deeper
and fuller understanding of God, his saving work, and his
sacrificial love—moving all to worship and praise God
all the more!
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