Every human sees the world through their own unique and distinct cultural lens. But what does that mean? What is a cultural lens and how does that affect how we interact with our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in the faith? How do I know what my own cultural lens is and how it differs from others? How can we as a USMB family seek to understand each other better when our cultural lenses are very different?
There is a significant cue in what John encounters in Revelation 7 and the implications that come out of it. After John sees the 144,000 from every tribe of the Israelites, he then views a “vast/great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language,” and there were so many, they were “too great to count.”
One major observation we can make is that there is an obvious distinction in the great multitude. There is not “one color,” nor are they all the same. There is a clear difference between each nation, tribe, people and language. Our Creator’s heart is the pursuit of all people groups coming before the throne and before the Lamb. This is a celebration of his diverse and beautiful creation of humanity fully restored and reconciled back to himself and each other.
As we seek to align our hearts to the Lord’s heart, how can we, on this side of the grand love story, for the sake of seeing his kingdom come in and through us as it is in heaven, honor and understand the distinctions of his creation in each nation, tribe, people and language.
Acknowledge beauty and brokenness
First, we must acknowledge that each culture is “different, beautiful, broken and destined.” No one is better than the other; each culture is simply different. One very helpful article is “Reveling in the Cultural Kaleidoscope: The Different, Beautiful, Broken Destiny of Every Culture” by Shane Bennett. I highly recommend this solid and quick online read.
In this article, Bennett fleshes out how all cultures are different, beautiful, broken and destined. “Let us delight, with great hope, in the diversity around us,” Bennett writes. “Let us advocate for the beauty and inherent value of all peoples. And let us sow broadly this good news for which we have been made ambassadors.”
Our natural inclination is to say: The way I view the world, the way I judge the world, the way I function in the world, the way I look, the way I eat, the way I worship, the race or ethnicity I come from, the way I function in the family system I’m in—that’s the way, the “right way.”
Unless we understand that each human has this inclination, we can’t consciously realize that others are simply different, not weird or wrong. Disclaimer: Remember how each culture is not just different and beautiful, but also broken? I am not saying that everything in every culture is what is on God’s heart for and through his children. There are broken pieces and realities in each culture. But no one culture is above the other in that regard.
Discover my lens
Second, we must do the deep work of discovering our own cultural lens. Have you ever cut into an onion and had tears slowly start streaming down your face as if you’re watching the most emotionally jarring movie of all time, until the tears are uncontrollable? Realizing that the most potent part of the onion is at the center, the same is true with culture.
There are many variations of this cultural onion analogy but David W. Shenk, author, professor, missiologist and above all, ambassador of Christ’s peace, explained this well. I encourage you to watch a quick 15-minute teaching he does on this on YouTube: “A504 Eng. 10 The World of Religions. Onion Model of Culture”.
In this video, Shenk explains how religious systems as well as cultural systems are organized like an onion. The center is the “worldview” or the culture core (how we interpret and answer questions such as what is the meaning of the universe and what is my place in the universe), the most potent part of a culture.
Around the worldview, we find the “power” system (who has ultimate power). Around the power layer, we find the “values” of a culture (what is true, good and important). Around the values, we find the “practices” or emotions of a culture (what is felt and practiced). At the outer layer, we find the “things/artifacts” made within or from the culture (what is done or made).
Shenk, like many missiologists, suggests that if we really want a people group to experience generational transformation, how we present the good news to them must reach their worldview, their culture core.
And if every culture is different, then how a culture views, communicates, accepts and lives into the good news is also different. This is where books like The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame and Fear Cultures by Jayson Georges come in handy. This video on YouTube, “3D Gospel: Guilt-Innocence, Honor-Shame, and Fear-Power Worldviews,” is also one that gives great insight. Are you wondering what your cultural lens is? Visit The Culture Test website (theculturetest.com) for a quick insight. It’s also available in Spanish.
Seek to understand
Third, before we jump to the hierarchy of who is right or who is wrong, we should instead lean into our differences out of love and curiosity and ask, “Would you help me understand?” As followers of Jesus, we get to model another way of living in the face of cultural lenses that are different from our own. We can choose to either function out of suspicion, fear and prejudice or openness, acceptance and trust.
Let’s be honest. Cultural differences will arise as we walk with each other. These differences will inevitably cause frustration, confusion, tension and even embarrassment. But in the face of cross-cultural encounters and differences, we can choose to observe, listen and inquire to build rapport and understanding among each other. Or we can criticize, rationalize and withdraw, which causes alienation and isolation among each other.
Over the years, I’ve heard many say, “We’re all the same,” “There is no color” and “We need to be color blind.” But I bring us back to Revelation 7—and honestly, the entire storyline of Scripture—in which we see a clear distinction of all nations, tribes, people and language, all bowing before the throne and the Lamb. All are valuable and yet all are distinct.
As the USMB family of churches, we have choices to make on whether we do the hard work and lean in with our differing cultural lenses or lean back and isolate ourselves because this takes too much work. I call us to intentionally lean in toward each other because Revelation 7 is coming.
Joanna Chapa serves U.S. Mennonite Brethren churches and ministries as a mission mobilizer for Multiply’s East of the Rockies U.S. region. She lives in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and is part of GracePoint@Grulla. From 2016 to 2020, she served with Multiply in Peru, where she came alongside the Peruvian MB churches in their desire to see Jesus’ kingdom come in Peru as it is in heaven, something she is deeply passionate about. Before moving to Peru, she served as the Multiply short-term mission mobilizer in the U.S. Midwest and as an elementary physical education educator after graduating from Tabor College in 2009.
