Windows of opportunity

It’s hard to find a word with the ability to repel like ‘evangelism’. The word conjures up all sorts of socially awkward church images, like the excessive misuse of tambourines and shouting on street corners. But if we truly believe the message of Jesus is the best news that has ever been told, it’s worth telling well. And if we want to do it well, we should probably do our best to understand the people we want to speak to. So, with that purpose in mind, just what is the spiritual landscape of New Zealand?  

Most people would reply with just one word: secular. But New Zealand has never been a secular country. In fact, the idea that secularism and atheism are the country’s most accurate descriptors is misguided. In reality, there is a deep hunger for the transcendent among New Zealanders—an interest in new spiritualities, a growing attraction to national liturgies during Anzac and Waitangi Days, and an almost religious pilgrimage each summer to our new sacred spaces of mountains and beaches. And Maori have never accepted a mechanistic view of the universe.  
 
Writer Peter Matheson asserts that while church attendance might be waning, ‘meaning is back’. He is correct. Having a strong sense of human spirituality hasn’t made the church popular. Vast numbers of Kiwis have turned from Christianity because they view it as restrictive, puritanical and life-denying. New Zealand culture hasn’t slammed the door on church altogether, but maybe it’s time for the church to try to climb through a few windows instead? Kiwis have heard lots about morality from Christians, but perhaps we could introduce Jesus first through conversations about spirituality and the transcendent domains that people are already engaging in.

To many, this contextualising may sound like compromise, a skewing of the truth to appeal to hearers. But, as missiologist Professor Andrew Walls explains, ‘… each age and community makes its own selection of the Scriptures, giving prominence to those which seem to speak most clearly to the community’s time and place’. In this way the Christian gospel is indigenised—it speaks effectively to every culture in culturally relevant ways.

Yet, alongside this indigenisation, the gospel is always out of step in different ways from every culture, and raises a critique against them. In this way, the Christian is always a pilgrim in culture while not asked to step outside of it. It is within this tension that we begin asking the questions: ‘What is New Zealand society?’ and ‘How do we best contextualise the gospel within it?’

Describing the culture of New Zealand in general terms is a difficult task due to the multiplicity of groups, worldviews and perspectives found here. But it would seem that windows of opportunity for the church are to be found in the gaps that secularism leaves, particularly in its inability to provide adequate meaning for the world. We see this in the way that the country operates largely at an individualistic and naturalistic level, yet champions romance and national sport as transcendent elements to overcome the dissatisfaction of this conception of reality.

With this in mind, I’ll use some general descriptors from anthropologists to describe Kiwis in broad-brush strokes, and then consider what aspects of the gospel meld into these.

We’re a task-oriented culture

In modern Kiwi culture, most of us work a 40-hour week, generally organised in ‘nine to five’ working days—time to complete specific tasks for specific outcomes. Because of the dominance of this structure in the lives of people, status is often derived from a particular career choice, meaning more attention is given to tasks than people. Work is prioritised over relationships at a functional level.

In this context, the nature of God and the workings of the church should be communicated as being primarily interested in people over their professionalism. The free and impartial nature of grace is a powerful reality that needs to speak into the dominant culture of the workforce. And this should be reflected in the operations of the church—with programmes serving the people without taking precedence over the needs of those serving, a common trap in a consumer-driven church marketplace!

We’re an achievement-oriented culture

Stemming from this heavy task focus is a strong tendency to be achievement oriented. This focus on performance can result in a strong critique of us and others as people defined by qualifications, stockpiled lists of experiences, and contributions to a company or business. Unfortunately, this can also be translated into spirituality, as people seek to prove their ultimate value in their ability to adhere to a morality, and are therefore vulnerable to guilt and shame when they are inevitably unable to attain this fully.

The theme of Christ’s finished work is crucial in challenging this thinking. That Christian living, as described by Watchman Nee, ‘begins not with a big DO, but with a big DONE’. This message echoes what Paul argues in his letter to the Romans: that it is faith, not works that save us. In the words of the late Brennan Manning: ‘God accepts us as we are, not as we should be!’

We practice the concealment of vulnerability

With a pressure to perform well, and with the knowledge that this level of high performance is not maintained all the time, people are inclined to conceal the parts of themselves they don’t feel meet others’ expectations, leading to an inability to be vulnerable. With so much value attached to performance, it is no wonder that so many New Zealanders suffer from depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, this is often absorbed into church practice, with leaders reluctant to communicate personal failures and areas of shame.   

In light of this, the vulnerability of God becomes an incredibly significant gospel theme to communicate. God chose to be humiliated, stripped naked and to endure suffering. To take on shame so that humans could approach God without any shame. This is beautiful news that the church too often dilutes to a mere legal transaction.

We’re a highly individualistic culture

New Zealand culture is highly focused on the individual, partly due to advertising that encourages the cult of the self, prevalent in a market-driven economy. Our societal responsibilities don’t require the care of others outside of parental support—each person is only responsible for themselves. An individualistic approach to spirituality can also be promoted. Life is viewed through a lens focused on personal fulfilment and meaning, with gospel messages focused on salvation for the individual’s soul and overlooking salvation of the rest of the cosmos.

N.T. Wright describes the mission of the church as ‘a radical transformation of the way we behave as a worldwide community, anticipating the eventual time when God will be all in all, even though we all agree that things won’t be complete until then’. For a country like New Zealand that so values its land and culture, why is this not talked about more by the church?

As we seek to bring the best news in the world to the best people in the world (you know it’s true!), let’s think about the doors we’re bringing people through to introduce them to this great truth. Are we jumping straight into intellectual debates? Are we too quick to use theological language? Are we too quick to place demands on people? Do we too easily settle for a narrow, therapeutic version of the gospel? Let’s look for those windows of spiritual awakening and join conversations that are already happening before we settle on an agenda.

By Sam Burrows