A Leap in Understanding

I've been wanting to do a blog post for a few days now, but couldn't really think of what to write. Well, it's February 29th....that only happens once every 4 years, so I thought I'd write something especially awesome and make it a memorable Leap Year posting.

While on internship, I had an Evangelism and Discipleship class that really impacted me. One of the class lectures was on worldviews and paradigms. This one teaching has completely blown me away and changed my life forever. Before going on internship, I went on three mission trips: Romania, Russia, and Zambia. During training for these trips, the leaders taught us several ways that we could evangelize to the people there. Unfortunately, most of these included some form of teaching from Romans on sin and guilt. David (my teacher) explained that this is because we (Westerners) have a guilt/righteousness paradigm. This Greek thinking is written all over the New Testament and so we have adopted it as “the only way to explain salvation”. What we don’t realize is that most of the world doesn’t have this same mindset. I can imagine the difficulty for translators when they get to the New Testament and try to translate this worldview in a way that the people they are translating for can comprehend.

It actually really frustrates me that I only just learned about this paradigm concept in college. Why isn’t this something that is taught to people going on mission trips? I can just imagine what the locals are thinking when we tell them that they are guilty of sin and need to repent. “Why are they talking about a courtroom and a judge? I haven’t done anything wrong!” are probably thoughts that go through their heads. Something that David kept having us repeat over and over again was, “Faithful to the Scripture, relevant to the culture.” We tend to take the first part and forget about the second part. Christ came and died for all people. We can’t talk to people from our own paradigm, worldview, and perspective and expect them to fall on their knees in repentance when they don’t even understand what we’re talking about!

Each culture has its own way of thinking. It’s not wrong! God created all cultures so this way of thinking was created by Him as well. What a boring world it would be if we all thought the exact same way. It would be easier to evangelize, but then who said God made this life easy? There are four different paradigms: guilt/righteousness, shame/honor, clean/unclean, and fear/power. Every people group operates within all four paradigms with varying degrees of majority. As I said before, the West operates with a guilt/righteousness paradigm. The shame/honor paradigm is found throughout the Muslim world. The Basic explanation is that Jesus took our shame upon Himself when He went to the cross. The story of the woman at the well (found in John 4) is usually used with this paradigm. When we sin, we are shamed. Jesus died in order to take away that shame from us.

The fear/power paradigm is one that is found in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and any animistic cultures (including Native Americans). People from these places have a lot more of a spiritual awareness than we do and it impacts their lives in almost every way (making them superstitious). These cultures often have witch doctors and other spiritual guides that they seek out to rid themselves of demons and spirits. Miracles and healings and any show of God's power are very impacting. But so are stories! Stories of how Jesus and His disciples healed people will touch their hearts and make them want to know more. They believe that there are spirits out to hurt them. But Jesus is more powerful than Satan! He died to have a relationship with us. The veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two because He wanted to have a relationship with us. But the story doesn't end there....He didn't just die. He rose again. He is alive. He defeated death. And he offers us the chance to live with Him forever.

Last, but definitely not least, is the clean/unclean paradigm. This worldview is found all over the world. I have found that this is the best paradigm to work from when talking to children (no matter which country). My mom (without knowing it) used this paradigm to explain the Gospel to me at the age of six when I had done something bad. She was in the bathroom and had just showered so the mirror was all foggy. She explained to me that when I do bad things, Jesus loves me anyway and died on the cross and forgives me for my bad things that I do. My mom showed me the "dirty" mirror and said that Jesus wiped away my sins, making me clean (at that moment she took the towel and wiped away the condensation). It clicked! Just like the dirty mirror, I was dirty too. Jesus wiped away my sins and forgave me. For people with this paradigm, they feel dirty, gross, and unworthy. They may not know why. But when we do bad things, we are unclean. How can a pure, clean, holy God accept us when we are dirty? Remember in the movie One Night with the King when Esther bursts into the room, dripping wet? This is us coming before the throne of God. But because we have given our hearts to Jesus and accepted Him as ruler of our lives, we are pardoned. He wipes away the dirtiness and makes us clean.

When we speak to people using words and a worldview that they can understand, their lives can be impacted. Of course, nothing can be done without the Holy Spirit, and only He can truly change a person’s heart and mind. After having that class, my mind has been completely opened to seeing things from a different perspective. I really think that I have been forever changed by that one simple teaching.

And there it is...a teaching that made my understanding of effective evangelism leap forward. Happy Leap Day!

Time with God

I was having my "Jesus Time" a week ago and was having a hard time. I didn't feel any emotions. I just felt like I was hitting a brick wall and not really connecting with God. So I asked God if the brick wall was a demonic thing or from God. I felt Him saying to me that my time with Him isn't always going to be this super emotional encounter. In the past, my time with Him was usually defined by "feeling" like I was connecting with Him. My Jesus Time had become so defined by emotions that if I wasn't "feeling" anything then I was obviously doing something wrong. I just felt Him telling me that it wouldn't always be like that. Kind of like visiting with a friend, you don't always "feel" something. It just feels good to spend time with them, but you're not emotional. God was trying to tell me that my time with Him should be like spending time with a friend. My time won't always be this emotional encounter, and not feeling Him isn't a bad thing.

I feel like Christians today don't really know what it means to spend time with God. As if a "quiet time" or whatever has to be this super spiritual thing, when in reality, God just wants to spend time with His creation like friends spend time with one another. Sometimes there will be emotions, but not always. Reading His Word, talking with Him (sharing my concerns and desires and anything I have on my mind), and just listening to what He has to tell me is what He wants.

Winter 2012 Newsletter

I sent out a winter newsletter about a month ago and was asked to repost it here, so here you go!

Old Place, New Start...

Hello from Oregon! “Oregon?!?!” You say. “Why from Oregon?” Well, that’s a very interesting story. You may remember two years ago when I was preparing to go on the mission field to Central Asia. I came to Oregon to fundraise and see family. While here, I had the chance to reconnect with a pastor and his family, whom I have known since I was little. After graduating, I contacted the pastor’s wife and asked if I could come back and share what God with the church had done in Central Asia. On October 14th, in a facebook message, I was asked if I would like to move to back to Oregon and become the children’s pastor of the church. I thought it was a joke at first, but she was totally serious. After nearly 3 weeks of prayer, asking for counsel, and having received 2 dreams from the Lord, I contacted them back and formally accepted the position. I arrived here on December 6th with my poor car fully loaded and started work the next day. It’s been challenging and crazy, but I have loved every minute of my job and look forward to what God has for me and the children here in Oregon.

Mexico…Building Homes, Loving People…

When I accepted the children’s pastor position, I wasn’t really sure what God was doing with my life. I know that God is calling me to full-time missions; it’s the “when” that I’m not sure about. A few weeks ago, I was asked to join my church’s mission team to Mexico. After prayer and an “all clear” from my pastor to miss a week, I decided to join the team. I’m going to Mexico! We’ll be there from March 24th-31st, and will be working with Amor Ministries in Mexico building homes for poor families. These families have no electricity, no running water, no place to live, and no relationship with Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to give them a home and share the saving news of Jesus Christ with them. But I can’t do it alone. The trip cost is $500. Any gift you can give will be greatly appreciated. All funds can be sent to East River Fellowship with a Mexico Missions-Chelsea Scriber in the memo line. You have the opportunity to be a part of my support team as I prepare to go. If you would like to, you can check out my church’s Mexico mission trip video from last year to see what they did at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ORKcCEark.

Prayer Requests…

 My Mexico team as we prepare to go and as we raise our funds.
 The children that I am in charge of, that they would not just learn a bunch of head knowledge, but that they would come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
 That God would give me wisdom, creativity, and health as I carry out my duties.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your support. It’s been a fun, crazy road, and you’ve been there supporting and praying for me. I can’t thank you enough.

Blessings, Chelsea