Mission Catalyst Motivator Strategist

　

Did you know that William Carey never did leave Bengal. He went there "for life," and it was from that distant position that he emerged in the public mind as a mission catalyst. He was much more of a mission motivator and Bible translator than a pioneer in the heart of India--or a mission strategist. Thus it was the number of languages into which he carried out or superintended (rudimentary) translations of "the Holy Scriptures," rather than the small number of Hindus that he led to Christ, that impressed pre-Victorian and Victorian minds and made him a household name in evangelical circles. Direct evangelistic outreach generally fell into the hands of junior missionaries

Looking at those who came before William Carey, we understand the term culture as the instrument by means of which we relate to the world and interpret it. According to this view, culture is not something which we "possess"; rather cultures form an inherent part of the person, and it is culture which bestows individual and collective identity: a complex identity which is articulated across multiple social belongings. It is, then, a mechanism for understanding and interpreting the world which acquires instrumental, adaptive and regulatory meaning.

As missionaries came into a town they built a school too. The church provided spiritual nurture while the school gave a general education: the one Christianized, the other civilized. It was believed the school would enable the convert to become part of the modern world (which was often equated with Christian society). Reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught. Agriculture and industrial arts were also studied so that life in a western style community might be possible. Fundamental to this entire academic thrust was the training of local leaders. The missionaries were fully convinced that the most effective leaders for the churches were the "native" people themselves. The efforts of the pioneer Protestant missionaries cannot be faulted for their faith in the potential ability of the local people.

History students should examine the spread of religious doctrines and their influence on different cultures. The 8th century Islamic conquest of Spain, for example, influenced art, architecture and science in that region for centuries to come. Many Native Americans converted to Christianity when Europeans colonized the Americas, to cite another example. It's important to understand how the introduction or imposition of a religion can affect a culture and its preexisting religious structures. Students should examine how these beliefs combined to form new cultural norms.

Cross- cultural communication often involves difficulties but fundamentally it should be viewed as an opportunity for learning and development.