An Article on Contextualization

Part 1 - Part 2

I found this article quite interesting.  Part 2 spells out a great connection between 1 Corinthians and Galatians, which are two books we've just recently read.

A concept referenced heavily in the article is contextualization.  The form of this that the author is most concerned with is called an Insider Movement.  You will be a bit lost if you don't first understand this.  Here is a short definition from my web searching:

Insider movement is a term used in the field of missiology to describe a group or network of people from a non-Christian religion who have embraced the life and teaching of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible, while remaining relationally, culturally and socially a part of the religious community of their birth. It has been observed that as members of these groups follow Jesus and the Bible, they personally reject, reinterpret, or modify the nonbiblical beliefs found in their religious communities. This process makes them different in some ways from their co-religionists, yet when groups can faithfully follow Jesus without formally disassociating themselves from their religious communities, insider movements can occur. Such movements have been observed among a number of religious groups, most notably among Jews, Muslims and Hindus.

I will be bringing an abridged version of this article to discuss tonight.  Always feel free to bring any material or topic you'd like to talk about to our meetings.

God Bless!