suffer well.

Are All Christians Commanded to Cross Cultures?

“Are all Christians commanded to cross cultures in ministry?”

The short answer to this question is “yes”, but let me explain further.

1. Remember that culture is a junk drawer term. There are many ways to define culture and numerous layers to a person’s, or society’s, culture. Therefore, crossing cultures is not as hard or flamboyant as it might sound. Crossing cultures may mean crossing economic, geographical, or ethno-linguistic barriers. This, by the way, is the difficulty with only defining “missionary” as one who purposefully cross cultures for ministry. Normally, people who do such are only thinking in terms of ethno-linguistic differences. Those are huge, but they are not the only factors that contribute to cultural identification.

I think James 2:1-13 is a great illustration here. The passage speaks to economic differences, not necessarily ethnic differences. But we all know that economic differences lead to cultural differences. This is an inevitable reality. Therefore, without speculating too much, I think James 2:1-13 speaks to culture as much as income levels. The main point is “don’t show favoritism to rich people, to people like you, or to people not like you”.

2. In most parts of the world, crossing cultures is a normal part of daily life. It is inevitable. Perhaps with the exception of North Korea, I’m not sure I can think of an area on earth that is not stock full of varying cultures and subcultures. Therefore, even if you boil down your missional strategy to making disciples of your “sphere of influence”, it will most likely include crossing cultures of some sort.

3. There is an undeniable cross cultural impulse in the New Testament and in the early church.

4. Similarly to other Biblical mandates (love your neighbor, remember those in prison, to look after orphans and widows, etc.), the Great Commission mandate to cross cultures does not imply every action of every Christian and every church ministry should directly and explicitly fulfill this mandate. That would be a Biblically inconsistent and physically unpractical interpretation of the Great Commission. But, given the overall missional drive of the entire Bible and the model of Jesus and the early church of making and multiplying disciples, I think it is fair to say that every Christian should regularly demonstrate reaching out to those of different cultures and subcultures. This may manifest itself in their daily lives in befriending someone not like them (an octogenarian and a young person, a middle class person and a homeless person, an African American and an anglo-saxon, etc.)

5. Remember, and this is important, the mandate to cross cultures stems from the very nature of God Himself. Under the New Covenant, God is not partial to any culture. And he calls us to the same impartiality in our ministry to others (James 2:1-13). Therefore, it is very natural for God and for Christians to impartially look past culture to the person in making a disciple.