Fantastic training session this week led by Nigel Pimlott of Frontier Youth Trust. We were looking at mission and how we understand the culture we are working in. We all know that we are in a post-Christian country but need to be recognising what that means for the way we communicate.
Nigel gave a great example: The question to a teen was,
"do you think the Christmas story is true?"
"No" .... was the reply
"Why not?"
"Well, Reindeers can't fly can they!"
I was doing some work in a School a few years ago and the Vicar came in to do an assembly. He led the whole school in a rendition of the Lords Prayer, which they recited, word perfect.
I was surprised/impressed but wanted to see what it had meant to them so in one of the lessons I asked,
"You all prayed the Lords Prayer this morning ..... what does trespass mean?"
There was a sea of thirty blank expressions but one lad was determined to have a stab at it and attempted to give the word, as he understood it, some sort of religious context. "Is it," he asked, "Walking on Jesus's grave?" (Good try I thought)
Huge assumption from the vicar that anyone would understand what they'd been taught to pray, I wonder what assumptions we make?
We're missionairies in a culture where all the reference points have gone!
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