THE CONTEXTUALIZATION

of “WORSHIP” in ECUADOR

PART 1

INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANCE

A church that is not relevant to its context will be ineffective in its ministry.Worship that is not contextualized will be meaningless to the people of that context.Every culture has a distinct way of expressing its faith in worship.(The exception is when people adapt to a foreign context and leave behind their original identity.)

Divine Revelation

God´s manifestations have always been within a specific context.God has always accommodated himself to a specific context in order to communicate with humans.We must follow his example.

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT:

• How did the Thessalonians worship God?

• How does a people group develop their own style of worship?

• My missionary context: How can the indigenous Ecuadorian church develop their own style of worship?

INTRODUCTION TO “CONTEXTUALIZATION:

• In what language did God speak to Abram? (Gen 12:1)

• In what language did God speak to Peter? (Acts 10:13,15)

• In what language did God speak to Cornelius? (Acts 10:3-6)

• If God wants to communicate with us, what language will He use?

• What is God’s “mother tongue” or “natural language”?

PRINCIPLE OF DIVINE ACCOMMODATION

God will “accommodate” to a people’s language, mentality, and traditions in order to communicate with them. He will speak to them through their culture.

PRINCIPLE OF WORSHIP

God expects us to worship Him through our own culture.

The History of Missions

Missions in the 1800s and the 1900s was part of Western colonization.Western culture was considered “Christian.”Other cultures were considered pagan.New converts had to become “Western” in order to be “Christian.”Ecuador has been no exception.

Ecuador

The gospel came to Ecuador through foreign missionaries.The resulting evangelical church is a foreign implant.And has not yet been contextualized.This is especially true in the “pueblos.”

We need to create an “indigenous” church in the “pueblos” of the Andes of Ecuador

so that Christianity will be seen by the nationals as relevant to them

This study focuses on the contextualization of the music-worship-ritual, which is the principal expression of religious belief in the “pueblos.”

Part I – The Theoretical Framework

Worship is communication with God. God speaks and acts. We respond. Worship expression is cultural.

In cross-culture missions, worship must be contextualized to the foreign culture in order to facilitate communication with God. Historically, in South America, this has not been the case. Worship is still “Western.”

In order to facilitate communication, the communicator must accomodate to the receptor. God is our example. The missionary is NOT the communicator, but the facilitator. The worship event is the platform for that communication, and therefore the missionary needs to construct a worship event that allows the receptors to communicate with God THEIR way, not the missionary´s way.The missionary cannot simply adapt worship to another culture without really understanding the culture.The missionary needs to be aware of his or her culture so as NOT to impose it on the receptors. Also the missionary needs to have a good understanding of the receptors so as to help them construct a worship event in which they feel “natural.” The goal of this investigation is to gain a better UNDERSTANDING of the Ecuadorian Andean Indian so as to be able to create a worship event that facilitates communication between them and God.

One way to begin to understand a people is THROUGH their pagan worship ritual.One way to begin to understand ourselves is THROUGH our Christian worship.Participant observation, filming and discussion, and comparing the two.

Part II – A Brief Historical Analysis of Missions

The History of Contextualization

Colonization by Spain and PortugalTHE CONQUEST OF AMERICA – MIXED RELIGION WITH COLONIZATION

The History of the Ecuadorian IndianThese two are closely related.

The History of Missions in Ecuador – TOTAL LACK OF CONTEXTUALIZATIONChristianity was imposed. Paganism was supressed. Syncretism resulted.

Part III – The InvestigationContext - Chillo Valley and El TingoThe three stages of research

PART 2

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Mission Mentality

In the past 40 years, mission terminology (and strategy) has been changing:From “Indigenization”To “Contextualization”And recently to “Appropriate Christianity.”

The Theory of “Contextualization”

Models of Contextualization The process of contextualization

Let us now combine contextualization with communication theory, emphasizing relevance theory because it emphasizes the need for accomodation. Code theory is more interested in the message and its transmission.

Sender ReceiverMessageEncodes Decodes

ChannelNoise

Feedback

Code Theory

Relevance Theory

CognitiveEnvironment

COMMUNICATOR

Intent MeaningEvidence

Context

Context

Cross-cultural communication: the communicator must adapt/convert to a new context in order to communicate effectively.

Cognitive Environment

RECEIVER

Context

ContextContextContext

Conversion

I propose that understanding must precede contextualization.

This comes from Relevance Theory as developed by Shaw and VanEngenUnless a missionary understands a people, the missionary cannot help them contextualize their Christianity. Instead the missionary will unconsciously impose his or her culture on them.

God

BibleWriters

Missionary

UniversalExperience

People

Goal: a people to know God from their perspective.

Error: to see God from the missionary’s perspective.

Missionary’s task: to facilitate from what God spoke to the Biblical writers, accommodate it through universals to the people’s perspective.

Our missionary biases:1. God has spoken.2. God accommodates to culture.3. The biblical writers did the same.4. We too must follow the pattern.

U S U A L R O U T E

P R E F E R R E D R O U T E

Evangelical worship

Change the form of our music ritual to theirs Indigenous festivals

CONTEXTUALIZATION THEORY

Change our understanding to that of their

music ritual

Leave our cognitive environment Adopt their cognitive environment

Traditional route

Proposed route

Let us now combine contextualization and communication theory with worship. Looking at worship from an ethnomusicological point of view as a musical event.

WORSHIP AS A CULTURAL, DIVINE COMMUNICATION

EVENT

The Starting Point for this dissertation is the following proposed model:

The Musical Worship Event

God

National Believers

MissionaryGod’s Revelation (Word and Works)

Musical Worship Response

My Theoretical Framework of WorshipThe missionary tends to impose their worship style on the nationals.The nationals see worship as something foreign.

The Musical Worship Event: A “Worship Service”

God

Evangelicals

Musical Worship Response

CONTEXTUALIZING WORSHIP

God’s Revelation (Word and Works)

IndigenousPueblos

?

Evangelicals expect indigenous folk to attend their service.

God

Musical Worship Response

CONTEXTUALIZING WORSHIP

God’s Revelation (Word and Works)

IndigenousPueblos ??

The Musical Worship Event: A “Worship Service”

Indigenous folk do not understand God through a service.

The Musical Worship Event: A Festival

God

IndigenousPueblos

EvangelicalsGod’s Revelation (Word and Works)

Musical Worship Response

CONTEXTUALIZING WORSHIPCan evangelicals create an event that will allow divine communication between God and the indigenous folk?

I also propose that a people can be understood through their worship.

This comes from anthropological theory combined with ethnomusicological theory.A missionary can better understand the spirituality of a people through their worship.

Music-Ritual

Tradition

Beliefs Extract

1

2

Ethnomusicological and Anthropological Theory

Music ritual is one way to discover deep-level beliefs.

Beliefs

We now not only have combined contextualization theory and communication theory with worship, but added ethnomusicological and anthropological theory. All four of these play a role in the theoretical framework and methodology used for this investigation.

Research BiasesEvery research project is based on a chosen theoretical framework which shapes the conclusions. Data is crucial, but secondary.

The study is exploratory, subjective and based on the researcher´s experience and reflection.

This investigation uses “phenomenology” as its principal way of knowing. Knowledge is progressively created during the investigation by both the researcher and the subjects.

Ecuadorians in the Andes will not give you a straight answer. They have a built-in hypocrisy. Therefore traditional methods of questionnaires and interviews are invalid.

DEFINITIONS

Worship is a “Music-worship-ritual”

“Pueblo”

“Contextualization”

“Cognitive environment”

“Folk-Catholic”

PART 3

THE INVESTIGATION

Ecuador: the Chillo Valley

Is filled with small towns (“pueblos”), which are traditionally “folk-Catholic.”Every town has a evangelical church. But not one town has been influenced by the Gospel.Because the church has not yet contextualized its “faith-expression.”

The Research Process

CRI: to understand the spirituality of the “pueblos” through their worship.This investigation took place over a three year period. Each year was a different phase of the research.2006 - The initial general investigation2007 - Case study in El-Tingo2008 – “On-site” reflection

Methodology 2006

Participant observation in various festivals in various towns.Film the worship service and hold workshops in five evangelical churches.

DATA 2006

Describe each festival and each workshop.

Results 2006

Evangelical worship and folk worship are TOTALLY different! (No contextualization has taken place.)Neither evangelicals nor folk-Catholics can clearly verbalize the meaning of their worship.Evangelicals see the folk-rituals as “pagan.”

PAGAN FESTIVALS EVANGELICAL WORSHIPOutdoors Indoors

Group Oriented Individual OrientedSeveral every year Weekly event

Every neighborhood participates Only leaders participateLong hours Short – 30-40 minutes

Social obligation VoluntaryDancing Clapping

Very little speech MonologueMeals included No meals

Children can participate No children allowedMobile Stationary

Acoustic Amplified electrically

Comparison of Events(Differences)

Methodology 2007

Focus on the Corpus Christi festival in El-Tingo.Historical research of the town.Workshop with town leaders lead by the local priest.

DATA 2007

Describe Corpus ChristiThe historical research of El-TingoThe town meeting led by the priest.

Results 2007

Town folk are more concerned about “how” to celebrate the Corpus Christi festival than about “why” they celebrate it. Decisions are made when everyone is present.The history of the town is very important to the people, but is disappearing with the older generation.

Methodology 2008

Participant observation in the Corpus Christi Festival in El-Tingo, focus on the “pingullero.”Personal reflection and interaction with the literature.

DATA 2008

Describe the pingullero.Go through my process of reflection.

3-axis of modernity Modern Thought

Post-Modern Thought

Relation of parts and whole Whole is the sum of its parts

Whole is a dynamic reality in itself

Function of Language Language represents reality

Language shapes experience

Knowledge Isolated propositions

Web of beliefs

3-axis Modern Conversion

Post-Modern Conversion

Metaphysics Individual Decision

Communal Living

Language Cognitive Dialogue

Epistemology Accept certain propositions

Paradigm change

3-axis Evangelical Worship

Corpus Christi

Metaphysics Individual Communion with God

Community Participation

Language Singing Shouting

Epistemology Doctrine Identity

SYSTEMATICTHEOLOGY

Ephesians 5:19Colossians 3:16

Worship is pre-scribed by Scripture

NARRATIVE THEOLOGY

The story of the People of God

Worship imitates Biblical

traditionMISSIONAL THEOLOGY

God accommodating

to a context

Worship is cultural

Theologizing about Worship

What happened in Latin America

MUSIC-WORSHIP-RITUAL

TRADITION

NativeBeliefs

ForeignBeliefs

MUSIC-WORSHIP-RITUAL

TRADITION

NativeBeliefs

ForeignBeliefs

Scripture

Syncretism Theologizing

Both are contextualization

What needed to happen

Results 2008

The “pingullero” is not the leader.They won´t celebrate unless everyone participates.The town folk theology is concrete, communal, and identity-based.My theology (as a Western missionary) is abstract, individualistic, and proposition-based.

Year Strategy Methods Findings

2006 Compare evangelical and indigenous worship.

Film the events.Discuss the videos in workshops.

•Evangelical music-worship-ritual and folk music-worship-ritual are TOTALLY different! (No contextualization has taken place.)•Neither evangelicals nor folk-Catholics can clearly verbalize the meaning of their ritual.•Evangelicals see the folk-rituals as “pagan.”

2007 Focus on the Corpus Christi festival in El-Tingo.

Film the Corpus Christi festival.

Informal conversations with people.

Historical research of the town.

Workshop with town leaders lead by the local priest.

•Town folk are more concerned about “how” to celebrate the Corpus Christi festival than about “why” they celebrate it. •Decisions are made when everyone is present.•The history of the town is very important to the people, but is disappearing with the older generation.

2008 Personal reflection Focus on the “pingullero.”

Interaction with the literature.

•The “pingullero” is not the leader.•They won´t celebrate unless everyone participates.•The town folk mentality is concrete, communal, and identity-based.•My mentality (as a Western missionary) is abstract, individualistic, and proposition-based.

THE INVESTIGATION

1 23

654

987

1

8

7

69

32

5

4

STRATEGY

INTERACTION REFLECTION

Philosophy of Research: “RESEARCH IS A SPIRIL WITH A NARROWING FOCUS”

PART 4

CONCLUSIONS

WESTERN EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY IS ABSTRACT, INDIVIDUAL, AND

DOCTRINE BASED

ANDEAN INDIAN THEOLOGY IS CONCRETE, COMMUNAL,

AND IDENTITY BASED

WorshipTradition

Identity

The Central Conclusion (so far)

Worship

Tradition

Doctrine

Implication: a North-American missionary needs to change from an abstract, individualistic, proposition-based theology to a concrete, communal, identity-based theology in order to help the nationals contextualize their worship in the rural Andes of Ecuador.

Implications for “El-Tingo”Worship needs to be a community activity, not an indoor meeting.The worship must reflect Jesus as the patron of the town.The Evangelical Church must become part of the town.The oral history of the town needs to be recorded and published.

Implications for the Andes of Ecuador

The Evangelical Church needs to recognize its foreign roots and “redeem” its national culture in order to create appropriate worship.The rural, Evangelical Church needs to develop a theology that is concrete, communal and identity based.

Implications for MissionariesThis process could be used by missionaries in a cross-cultural context in order to contextualize worship: 1. Reflect on one´s own worship in order to minimize one´s bias;2. Participate in the worship of the people; 3. Dialogue with them about it;4. Work together to create an appropriate worship event.

Extract

WESTERN EVANGELICALS

ANDEAN INDIANS

1

2

3

4

5

1. Use music-ritual to discover one’s own beliefs.2. Extract these from one’s cultural context.3. Participate with rural folk in their music-ritual to discover, with them, their beliefs.4. Dialogue with them about their beliefs and one’s own. Scripture?5. Create new forms of music-ritual.

Beliefs

Music-Ritual

A Process for Contextualizing Worship in Cross-cultural Missions

Tradition

Music-Ritual

Tradition

Beliefs Beliefs Beliefs

New music-ritual

Problems:

Who does the contextualization?The missionary or the town folk?Before or after their conversion?Difference in older and younger generations.Constant changes in identity and culture.Past influence of foreign missionaries in Ecuador.How does one define: who are the “town folk?”

PART 5

APPENDIX

A NARROWING RESEARCH CYCLE(by Jim Nelson and modified by Alan Gordon)

R. D. Shaw 2009 Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies

Data

Theory/modelHypothesisInductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning

Use the theory for data collection

Test the hypothesis with the data

Formulate an hypothesis from the data

Create/modify the theory

I started with a theory, and collected data using that theory. Then I formulated an hypothesis/conclusion and began to test it with new data. This process needs to be repeated several times.

AppendixFurther confirmation: Year 2009

The Local Town Council: decisions are made as a group.Planning the patron festival of 2009: they never question its meaning or significance. It just HAS to be celebrated.The Association for Community Development: seen as dividing the town; needs to be part of the town, not a private organization.