A non-christian woman whom I have something to do with mentioned an aboriginal playgroup that is being run under the sponsorhip of the Government. Originally the group was to have been run from the Batpist church which is geographically a sensible place to locate it.
However, the group was not attracting its intended target, so the organisers decided to have an "open day" with free food and an aboriginal dance group in an attempt to make the group more welcoming in the community. The Baptist pastor, who is a good friend of mine, refused to let them perform the dance because it carried spiritual elements, welcoming the spirits of the ancestors etc.
The way the woman described it, it was clear that she did not have a clue about what the issues were about from the pastor's point of view. As she had got her information from an aboriginal community worker, it's quite likely that he didn't have a clue either, and probably interpreted it as a rejection of his culture.
So how does a church that is committed to engaging the culture around us in mission respond to a situation such as this?
I think the answer is "with lots of prayer for wisdom"!
Here are some things that I would want to think about in my praying.
- God is bigger and stronger than demonic and ancestral spirits.
- God can redeem any culture and re-interpret the Dreamtime myths
- Often what I think is "unclean" about another culture is more about my ignorance, fear or even racism than it is about spiritual discernment.
- Is God more concerned about saving people than he is about the purity of the church?
So what would I do if we were hosting an externally "owned" playgroup at New Life and there was a request for a group to do some kind of aboriginal dance, or some other cultural performance? Really the issues are the same whether it's an aboriginal dance or a classical music concert.
I think I would talk to the organisers and performers about what they were doing, its spiritual significance and whether they believed it was that or just a performance. I would also look at ways in which that dance or song or whatever could be re-interpreted in a christian context. Are there links with biblical stories or events in the life of the church?
I would want to welcome the performers into the building and encourage them.
I would want to open up ways for dialogue with the community.
I would, on balance, let the performers do their thing, as long as they were willing to give me and the church as much respect as I was giving them.
I would pray before and during the performance for the Holy Spirit to bless everyone there.
And afterwards, I would pray for any spirits to be removed from the building, for the performers and the audience to know that they had been in the presence of the Living God and that He loves them.
I'm not trying to say that the other pastor was wrong in what he did, or that my approach is necessarily any better or godly. Ray made his decisions for the benefit of the church and I know that he prayed long and hard in making the decision. God sometimes leads us down different ways in responding to situations that present themselves to us. And we usually don't have the benefit of hindsight at the time we are making the decisions.
In the end though, I think for the church generally, it is better to focus on being welcoming than being pure.
Blessings
Keith
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