Do You Witness Differently to Different Races?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jamal5000:
I know I do because defintions of life experiences radically transform across ethnic lines. Ideas like "Struggles", "Customs", "Bible", and "Morals" parametrically change. When the rules change, I find you need to modify your approach.

What have you all experienced?

Being Christ's Servant to All,
Jamal5000
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I find it is true also. Considering the circumstances, the Holy Spirit will move us to witness in different ways to different individuals. We just have to be the vessels and let Him have His way.

 

I have found that ministering across ethnic lines requires a level of humility and maturity. I will from time to time relate to them with the information they pass to me, ie: they are from the ghetto, so I ask questions and then relate that back to them as illustrations in the discussion of scripture.

I am white, caucasion. I can't get around that, so in the essence of "being all things to all men," I find that just being myself to them and showing genuine concern, NOT paying attention to ethnic background (being careful not to use slang terms on either ethnic side) affords me the ability to relate scripture. With scripture at the base of the conversation, the Holy Spirit will pick up the slack.

The place of central unity among all ethnic groups must be the scripture. On that basis, we are all considered to be equal. A denial of that always breeds strife and inequality.

PreacherDave

 

The plight of man is the same, regardless of race: Namely, all members of all races have sinned and must repent of their sins and trust in Christ alone for their salvation. The gospel is the same, regardless of race. Obviously, if you have to explain terminology in more understandable ways, you do. But the essential truths of the sinfulness of man and the power of God in salvation are universal and timeless.

 

There is something freeing about sharing Christ cross-culturally. Makes you kind of get past what really is bottom line unimportant--to the point that Christ is the bottom line.

 

TomVols comment is quite right. I have found the ability to relate cross culturally through expounding upon the scripture. It sanctifies the soul and washes our minds no matter who we are or what ethnic group we hale from.

PreacherDave

 

I use two guidelines when talking to another person. First is from Acts where Philip was called to simply walk alongside the Ethiopian. He waiting to see what the man was doing and what he was reading. Then he simply asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

For me, walking alongside is really important. Get to know the person a bit. Find out who they are and what they want to talk about.

The second guideline is to simply be ready to give answers when asked questions.

What I honestly hate, and have hated for as long as I can remember, is someone who comes 'at me' preaching away without ever knowing what is going on anywhere but in his or her own head.

To me, part of loving one's neighbor, wherever one is, is respecting them. That does not mean the mistaken idea that "whatever you believe is fine as long as you are sincere." That is bizarre. You can be quite sincerely wrong and go to hell!

But when I take time, I have found that there are so many out there who really are looking for something 'real' and 'true.' There is a quiet desperation in the hearts of so many people that if you take the time for them, they will open up bit by bit and you can start applying God's medicine -- His Holy Word -- to their pain and confusion. Sometimes you won't see the results, sometimes you will.

But whichever way that part goes, it is better to plant God's Word gently into a partly opened heart than dump it en masse on a defensively closed heart.

Sometimes it helps me to think of it this way: if a blind man gets hit by a car, it's rather ridiculous to get mad at him for being blind.

Thre are a lot of blind people who have been hit hard by life out there. In every culture and language and age. Let's find out where the injuries are before we start trying to fix them up! If they know we are concerned about them and not preaching at them, they will trust what we are saying much more readily.

Granted, every man and woman and child needs the same 'medicine' in the long run. But helping where it hurts most first is a thought... and you can't do that unless you find out about them.

So for me, the guidelines are to walk alongside and be ready to answer questions for the hope that I have in Christ Jesus.

 

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