Contextualization Gone Hog Wild
October 13th, 2008
(By Jesse Johnson)
What happens when cultural contextualization goes too far?
The LA Times recently answered the question with this article, which has one of the most interesting headlines I have ever seen: “Pastor pleads not guilty in biker brawl case.”
The gist of the incident: in Southern California there is a large population of Hell’s Angeles, and so it was of course necessary to have a church that targeted those people. The pastor, obviously, had to act like a Hell’s Angel in order to reach Hell’s Angels.
His website describes those in his church as people who “love Jesus and love to ride hard.” The Set Free Soldiers, as the church is called, describe themselves as “too good for the bad guys, and too bad for the good guys.” How Pauline.
Eventually their contextualization got the better of them, and a bar fight broke out between the Set Free Soldier’s and the real Hell’s Angeles. In the course of the fight, two of the Hell’s Angels were stabbed. (You have to love a church that fights the Hell’s Angels and wins.) Details are not given, but I’m sure it was very Elijah-like.
The police responded, and their investigation led them to the pastor’s house, who along with four other members of his church, was arrested (they practice church membership!!). The LA Times describes a pre-dawn raid which netted the police “dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition at four homes owned by Set Free.” Why exactly the church owns four homes depends on if you believe their pastor—who says they are to help rehabilitate released convicts; or the police—who say they use them for “gang activity.”
The pastor, Phillip Aguilar, was arrested when police found brass knuckles and a gun in his home. As a convicted felon, that is a no-no. Aguilar, who is 61, claims the weapons are not his, and that they belong to his son who still lives with him (his son is 29).
Here is where the case gets interesting. Prosecutors are charging that the church is actually a gang. The church’s defense is that they are a ministry comprised of former gang members. The church’s attorney says the church members don’t have “the background that you traditionally see in gang cases.” The reporter for the LA Times notes that when Aguilar appeared in court, he was “wearing black, plastic-rimmed glasses, with a web-like tattoo around his left eye and a dyed blond buzz cut.” If their defense is that he looks more like a pastor than a gang member, then this could be a short trial.
In case it matters, the church has thousands of members, and they hold weekly services.
Dangerous things happen when you set aside the clear requirements for church leadership. The Bible says that elders are supposed to be above reproach, not violent, and not quarrelsome. An elder is to “manage his own household well . . . keeping his family in order . . . he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that the he may not fall into disgrace” (1 Tim 3:2-7).
The idea that a pastor can bypass those clear guidelines because, after all, there were prophets in the Old Testament that used violence, that did not have submissive children, that were not well thought of by outsiders, etc., is a non sequitur. To say that because a pastor is ministering to people from a rough background, so they would not be able to relate to a pastor that actually followed the guidelines in 1 Tim 3, is to argue the exact opposite of what Paul tells Titus in Titus 1; because of how sinful the Cretans are, it is all the more important for elders to be dignified, upright, and holy.
When a person says that ignoring explicit commands of the New Testament is okay because of the community that a pastor is in, or because of how sinful the culture is, or because prophets likewise did not fit into what Paul commands pastors to do, that person is using absolutely absurd (and dangerous) logic.
Pastors should not reflect the lowest common denominator in their culture–in the name of contextualization or otherwise. They should reflect the qualifications of 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. This is true under normal circumstances, and is all the more true when the culture is sinful.
Jesse:
Thank you for this article.
There is much confusion and debate regarding contextualization, and I trust that this illustration will serve to remind people how important it is for us all to take the Scriptures seriously.
Jesse,
Thanks for this article. It is intersting because I am seeing that contextualization can also be called “graded absolutism” here in one church in South Carolina.
Have you ever heard of graded absolutism?
Thanks again.
Well, that sure is a long way from blue jeans and guitars!
Jesse:
Don’t you think this has a whole lot more to do with personal sin issues and failure to obey biblical guidelines than contextualization?
I’m not sure how contextualization is the main point here.
“Pastors should not reflect the lowest common denominator in their culture–in the name of contextualization or otherwise.”
I wish more young pastors in our day took that as seriously as Scripture does. Unfortunately, this kind of thing seems to be on the increase – and all in the name of “reaching the culture”.
I know some 1%ers, in fact they have been some of my best friends for over a decade until I was called out of darkness and into the light of Christ.
I rarely see them now, but through them, I heard of and met some of the Set Free Soliders. Although I am heavily tattooed from my sinful past life, it doesn’t take a scholar to realize that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Christ. How would I be denying myself, if I am indulging in my flesh by joining a so called Christian organization that frequents bars and various 1%er parties? Whose behavior, conduct, and speech is no differnt than any unregenerate person I have known.
It is written that light has nothing in common with darkness, and Christ has nothing in common with belial, therefore we are to come out from their midst, so that the Lord will be our God and we may be His own. These are fundemental Christian truths, if I had ignored them for a leather vest, a back patch, and a reputation, James 2:19 would have been more applicable to me than anything else.
I did a little research on these guys a few years back, and they are heavily involved with Paul and Jan Crouch and Philip Aguilar has been on TBN. Their practices are more cult like than anything resembling the true Church, just google them and you can find all sorts of stories about how they tried to intimidate a Calvary Church for speaking out against them…I’ll pray they don’t read this blog, or who knows, they could show us just how Christian they are and show up at Grace.
Art,
I’m glad you read this, as some of your comments two weeks ago were largely what provoked me to write it. Last week you made the following arguments: The NT’s commands to avoid coarse jesting don’t apply to a pastor in Seattle because (literally, these were your two points): Ezekiel used harsh language and because Seattle has a more vulgar culture. This article was written largely to show that those two arguments don’t make sense. OT prophets did much that would be inappropriate for NT pastors, but that is so obvious it should not even need to be said.
Your second point is the more important one here: Granting your point that people in Seattle can’t order a latte without cussing (which I’m granting just for the sake of argument), it does not follow that explicit commands to NT pastors should be set aside. My point is that this logic is seriously flawed; the NT says in the face of sinful culture the standards are increased, not decreased.
This is the essence of contextualization: set aside the NT commands for the church to accommodate a sinful culture. This is flawed and leads to (at minimum) bad press for the church.
Jesse
At first, I thought this was a joke…from one of those satire websites. Evidently, this actually happened. This has SNL written all over it, which is sad, in that these individuals actually claim to be Christians. Truly frightening.
(Brass knuckles???)
Why wouldn’t you have dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition inside the homes you are using to rehabilitate violent ex-convicts? (Sarcasm!)
This is discouraging because I wanted to reach out to the homosexual community. My wife and decided we wanted to contextualize to do so. She’s going to change her image to look more masculine and I am going to take on very feminine traits even though we’re not homosexual. It sounds like you guys are not into that kind of contextualization.
“I did a little research on these guys a few years back, and they are heavily involved with Paul and Jan Crouch and Philip Aguilar has been on TBN.”
Philip Aguilar. I thought that name was familiar. He is a wild and crazy guy, and an oppressor and surely without much brain power, a false disciple.
I think it was Jesus People USA, or CRI, who reported on this phony a while back.
That’s is a great post! Thanks. I love the line: “You have to love a church that fights the Hell’s Angels and wins.”
Thanks again.
I was being sarcastic by the way.
I was being sarcastic by the way.
I’m glad you said so. You just never know what people will do… as this article demonstrates.
Jesse,
What’s your definition of course jesting?
Trevor,
With thanks to my pastor, here is the a summary of what I take coarse jesting to be:
Coarse jesting is talk that is “determined and pointed” to make even an innocent statement into something that is obscene or suggestive. It is the filthy talk of a person who uses words or circumstance to display his immoral wit. It is the stock-in-trade of the clever commenter who is never at a loss for sexual innuendo. It is contrasted with the word before it (NKJV: “silly talk”). While “silly talk” refers to a sort of low-brow humor, “coarse jesting” refers to a more sophisticated sophistry. They both come from the same heart, and Paul says it is a heart given over to moral “filthiness.” For that reason it is something which is not fitting for a pastor, even if—actually, especially if—it is tolerated in the culture.
Jesse
While there’s certainly something to be said for a pastor caring deeply for his sheep, this seems to be an example of that being taken way to far, and thinking that the pastor needs to actually be like his sheep. I know this doesn’t seem very popular these days, but it seems as if pastors and churches would spend considerably less time focusing on their audience, and more time focusing on the message (Christ crucified for our sins), we could avoid a lot of these problems.
Patrick
http://www.TheologyOfOmaha.com
From a related article linked on the referenced article page:
Police believe the Set Free Soldiers initiated the meeting and wanted to ambush the Hells Angels.
One Set Free pastor caught fleeing with a bloody knife in his car told police the brawl began when the Hells Angels’ leader confronted Aguilar and accused him of claiming affiliation with the Hells Angels, the documents state.
The Hells Angel leader allegedly told Aguilar that Set Free Soldiers was not authorized to take business from the Hells Angels.
Set Free member Glenn Schoeman told police he was afraid the Hells Angels would now be “green-lighted” to kill him and other Set Free members because they had drawn blood in the fight, the documents state.Schoeman has since been charged with a felony count of concealing evidence in the stabbing for allegedly hiding the knife, as well as street terrorism.
Looks like it’s more a militia type thing than a “cultural contextualization” thing, or maybe a mix of the two. But you know, I read this stuff, these folks demanding all these “rights” and all puffed up and proud about fighting back, and my heart can’t help but to break as my thoughts turn to this:
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him,putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the goodpleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:6-11, NASB)
Here’s a “Praise the Lord!” for people like Shawn, who know and love the truth of God’s Word. Far too many people see the freedom in Christ as a license to do whatever seems right for them, instead of freedom to do what’s right according to God’s standards. I’m encouraged by honest Christians, like Shawn, who seem to be so rare these days.
When Paul said that he became all things to all men,so that by whatever means they would come to a knowledge of the saving grace of Christ,I have no doubt the he did not have the types of the Set Free Soldiers in mind!
This is contextualization gone too far.
This is one of the few times I’ve looked up your web site, and I too was a little unsure if the article was a spoof!
Unbelievable. I wouldn’t have called it contextualising though, but rather pathetic mis-use of Scripture. Almost sounds as if the “Pastor” isn’t a Christian at all!
Have heard lots of the same excuses for bad behaviour, bad language, bad thinking and bad ethics before, both inside and outside the Christian churches.
Enlightening article. I am a graduate of the Master’s College living in Northern AZ. I am a Navajo and currently Pastor a church on the Navajo Reservation. In recent years I have seen a growing resurgence of “culture”; by culture many mean a return to Navajo religion, a religion masquerading as culture. A growing number of Navajo Christians here are flocking to practices that are clearly paganistic. Perhaps many of these Christians feel they must accommodate pagan practices in order to preserve Navajo culture. For example, our church invited a guest to provide information on their discipleship ministries at another part of the reservation; they use the Navigator discipleship program. He is white and married to a Navajo lady. The ministry is very commendable and they seem to genuinely want to honor the Lord. To make a long story short we eventually came to the topic of involvement in Navajo religious practices and how they felt about it. He described several practices, which I know clearly represented pagan worship, in which he participated with his wife. He justified his involvement as an attempt to show his in-laws his acceptance of their beliefs so that sharing the gospel with them would not be too offensive. I informed him that it was probably not the best way to present the gospel to them. After an extended discussion on the merits of presenting the gospel using “culture” he brought up the idea of contextualization. I told him my viewpoint was that as God’s spokesmen we must make a distinction between the gospel and pagan beliefs, in principle and practice. Any attempt to integrate, or use “cultural” religious practices as a spring board to present the gospel is detrimental, if not wrong. Eventually we agreed to disagree. Pray for our people, as this error in understanding the exclusivity of the gospel is under attack on our reservation, that many will not be led astray.