Christ Culture

On Mission in Papua New Guinea. March 15-20, 2011.

I was able to spend six (6) days in Papua New Guinea for CFC Mission. I was in Port Morseby meeting with brothers and sisters in Couples for Christ and the Family Ministries.  We had teachings and meetings to strengthen the mission.  Being in PNG for the first time, I was excited to know about the culture and how the Lord has been touching the lives of the people. 

The culture of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is many-sided and complex. It is estimated that more than 1000 different cultural groups exist in PNG, and most groups have their own language (Wikipedia).

Although there are a thousand different cultural groups in PNG, you can see the evident spread of Christianity. Through the early missionaries, the Christ culture has sipped in into their country culture. There even used to be tribes who practice cannibalism which obviously isn't very Christian. Thanks to the sacrifices of early missionaries in teaching them the ways of Christ.

Different countries have different societal cultures. It's convenient and tempting to think that we cannot change because of our culture. But we have to rethink if Christ approves of a cultural practice. If in most of the west, premarital sex is a norm, it doesn't mean that it's right. It's not Christ culture. In New Zealand, of which I visited 2 weeks ago, prostitution is legal. It doesn't mean that if the law permits it is then right.  If we are always late, because we are used to it, as in "Filipino time," it doesn't mean that it's right. If the system that you are in is corrupt, it doesn't mean you have to conform.These simply don't fit in to the Christ culture. The Christ Culture is a Counter-culture for societies who have already built in societal sins. Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God (Matthew 15:3)?

The Christ culture of faith, chastity, servanthood, humility, sacrifice, and love should prevail in any kind of culture.  Christ can be injected to any culture without compromising faith and religion.  This is called inculturation. 

Inculturation is a term used in Christianity, especially in the Roman Catholic Church, referring to the adaptation of the way Church teachings are presented to non-Christian cultures, and to the influence of those cultures to the evolution of these teachings (Wikipedia).

Christ culture is foremost than Country culture.  We must strive to bring Christ into the way of life of different sectors of society.  Declare that, "I am a Christian first, and a citizen second." 


But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior (Philippians 3:20).



Reflection:

Are you practicing a culture that is aligned to the Christ Culture? What are you doing to make your workplace, school, family, and circle of friends be inculturated in Christ?