Worldview Awareness and Engagement in USA A Look At Three Worldview Awareness and Engagement Approaches Now Offered & Operating in the USA

The Three Most Common Worldview Approaches in USA A Biblical, “Panta ta Ethne” Approach to Identifying, Engaging and Influencing Non- Biblical Worldviews toward Christ (This Worldview format also draws on compatible social science findings and facts.) A Business-Setting Worldview (Cultural Intelligence) Approach Designed for Business People Working in Cross-Cultural Settings An American (Mainly Anglo) Classical Biblical Approach to Worldview Awareness and Challenge

Background & Basics of A Biblical, “Panta ta Ethne” Worldview Approach Worldview realities that take a Church Planter to a Biblical “Panta ta Ethne” Great Commission Focus Worldview Realities that take a Church Planter to Scientific Research Findings Concerning Worldview that are Compatible with a Biblical “Panta ta Ethne” Great Commission Focus

Background & Basics of A Biblical, “Panta ta Ethne” Worldview Approach Worldview Realities that take a Church Planter into a Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement

Worldview realities that take a Church Planter to a Biblical “Panta ta Ethne” Great Commission Focus Worldview realities that take a Church Planter to a Biblical “Panta ta Ethne” Great Commission Focus From Abraham to Revelation God developed a “panta ta ethne” awareness and engagement approach for Christian believers to follow. There are close to 2,000 references in the Old and New Testament related to God’s plan for a “panta ta ethne” focus. The Great Commission focus flows out of a developing ethnic people group approach to the mandate for “making disciples” within each and every “panta ta ethne”

Worldview realities that take a Church Planter to a Biblical “Panta ta Ethne” Great Commission Focus Worldview realities that take a Church Planter to a Biblical “Panta ta Ethne” Great Commission Focus Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 24 and Acts 1 & 2 provide a cohesive summary of Christ’s plan for the emergence and implementation of His “panta ta ethne” focused Great Commission Christ’s plan was and is to start with a “panta ta ethne” focus in each person’s Jerusalem, that continues into one’s Judea and Samaria and even to one’s “uttermost.” Each believer is to be aware of each ethnic group around them and engage them in their heart language. (See Acts 2)

Worldview Realities that take a Church Planter to Current & Compatible Scientific Research Findings Modern research findings in the fields of anthropology, pedagogy, psychology along with common sense are found to be compatible with the Biblical “panta ta ethne” focus A narrative perspective concerning the basics of worldview research findings

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Christian believers are called upon to continually be aware of and looking for each ethnic person and people group around them, starting in their Jerusalem and going to the uttermost Christians are to inform themselves of the linguistic situation among each of the “panta ta ethne.” God’s choice for the Greek books of the New Testament to be recorded in Koine Greek instead of Classical Greek is an illustration and indication compatible with the Acts 2 “heart language” hearing event. Last year, SIL was asked by the US academic community to become responsible for identifying even the dialects of each language group in the world. SIL has agreed to do so.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement The worldview of each person begins forming at birth in the idiom of each person’s heart language. Consequently each person’s worldview is housed in idioms of his or her heart language (mother tongue). Worldview formation watersheds occur at 4-6 years of age and by years of age, if not earlier.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Individuals are seldom aware of the elements of their own worldview until they age Some are made aware of certain of their worldview elements when those around them continue to point out specific worldview beliefs, values, habits, attitudes and practices. Some are positive and some are negative. Persons often quite easily recognize worldview traits in others, especially those close to them, while not recognizing their own.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement To engage and attempt to influence and change another person’s worldview in favor of a Christian and Biblical worldview is more successfully achieved when engaging the other person’s worldview in their heart language. If not addressed in their heart language the risk is that the other person’s worldview will not be engaged, and thus seldom result in lifestyle change.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Multilingual persons, who are multilingual from birth, or who became significantly multilingual within the 1 to 11 years of age formation period, present a more complex worldview situation for those engaging their worldview in order to influence those person’s worldview to change in favor of a Biblical and Christian worldview.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Multilingual and thus multicultural gatherings of persons when evangelizing them and planting a church among them also present a very complicated, and thus difficult worldview engagement situation. The heart language engagement is compromised and multiple barriers to worldview understanding and lifestyle change occurs. At best, in such cases individuals understand enough to “know better” but don’t “do better.”

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement In cases where the Gospel sharing and the broader and for sure deeper discipleship relationships are attempted and discipleship sharing is conducted, but not in the heart language, individuals seldom “get the picture” and again “learn and know better” but no lifestyle changes result from the relationship. The same is true when worldview change is only attempted through academic teaching without functionally being with the person when daily worldview events occur.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement More and more is being learned daily by us highly literate individuals concerning the very different learning styles of literate and oral communicators More and more is being learned by us highly literate individuals concerning the conceptualization abilities or styles of oral communicators

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Early on in the ministry of Jesus to His disciples we see Him in the Sermon on the Mount trying to help His disciples understand how there was going to be a more moral and Christian interpretation of even the Ten Commandments. They had a very difficult time “getting the picture” of the lifestyle change that Jesus was instituting and calling for His disciples to embrace. They failed in the Samaritan village.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Exegesis in a person’s heart language is critical for conceptual understanding to occur and for lifestyle change to occur. This is one reason why we are so determined to put the Bible into the heart language and dialect of every ethnolinguistic people group in the world. That aim should not be ignored and allowed to die when they arrive at our American shores. Heart language is a must.

A Collective Restatement of the Basics of Worldview Awareness and Engagement Translation and use of excellent exegesis in one language for use in another heart language usually looses its focus and thus is not understood for it did not engage those people in their heart language

Eight Deadly By-Products of Neglected Worldview Identification and Use These are Singled Out for Emphasis

Increased generic witnessing, preaching and church planting habits that do not engage and speak to the worldview of the people within the EPG Increased knowledge of the Bible without significant and measurable change toward maturity in Christian lifestyle and propagation of the Gospel according to New Testament principles and practices Syncretized Christian beliefs and lifestyles Ritualism and legalism in the churches

Likely rejection of the Gospel as irrelevant to them within their cultural, worldview setting Inability of believers to relate the Gospel to the lost within the EPG in relevant cultural and linguistic ways that would result in spiritual and lifestyle changes Inability of believers in the churches to see and understand ethnic distinctions that are barriers or bridges to the Gospel Increased “backdoor” losses in the churches

A Business-Setting Worldview (Cultural Intelligence) Approach Designed for Business People Working in Cross-Cultural Settings

An American (Mainly Anglo) Classical Biblical Approach to Worldview Awareness and Challenge

See the following Internet site for the Classical Biblical Worldview Engagement approach. You can read the columns below and other columns at ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

Prepared by: Dr. Jim Slack For: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Use in Church Planting Forum March 2008