“Send” the Indigenous, Part 2

As Westerners, we are at a disadvantage when it comes to scripture. We start at a place that is far away from the Eastern minds of both the writers and the recipients. The differences in culture and cognitive style are considerable. At best, Westerners are Joe Friday (“Just the facts, ma’am…”), and Easterners are Mr. Miyagi (“First learn stand, then learn fly.”). We (Westerners) analyze the life out of the stories, the parables, and the object lessons that were a part of Jesus’ stock-in-trade. So much so that the real meaning is often lost. Take the invitation he spoke to some to follow him as an example.

To some fishermen, he said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Wow! Have we gotten a lot of mileage out of that one! We have created songs and an entire evangelism strategy out of it.

But the truth is that Jesus never intended this to be a lesson of any kind. It was a play on words. It was clever. And it was aimed specifically at the fishermen he was recruiting. That’s all. But we (in our Western minds) have taken that one line and turned it into a personal calling and an evangelism plan of attack. And we have a whole linguistic subculture that revolves around it.

We use fishing words like “bait”, “hook”, “catch”, and “capture.” We talk about “reeling them in” or “wearing them down.” Worst of all, we even refer to the “one that got away.” (Is it merely coincidental that evangelists and fishermen are both thought of as people who stretch the truth?)

And how do you think the victims of such an approach feel? They are the ones with baited hooks in their mouths. Do you think they aren’t savvy enough to figure that out? Believe me, people are plenty savvy today. They can spot someone with an agenda a mile away. If you haven’t tried, you should ask someone who has been there.

Now, although Jesus spoke the words that have given us our most prevalent evangelism strategy, it is our left-brained, systematic, Western mind set that has failed us in our understanding of what he really intended. To do that we need to look at the example he set forth instead of that one line. And what was his example?

Incarnation.

He became one of us. Therefore, if he had been trying to catch fish he wouldn’t have bought a rod and reel. He would have become a fish. But over and above all of that, Jesus’ whole approach to people wasn’t at all like the way Christians approach non-Christians. Jesus approached people like a friend would, not like someone who was looking to get a notch on his gun belt. So it matters how we “send.”