Worship and Arts (Part 1 of 2)
Ethnodoxology in Christian Mission: Theory, Methods, and Resources for Praxis and Training
Ronald E. Man, D.Min.
This paper will give an overview of the historical and theological reformation that has occurred in
the understanding, practice, and teaching of worship and its contextualized artistic expressions in the past
50 years, and will look at that movement’s effect on the world of missions and the global church.
The deepening comprehension of the relationship between worship and missions will be chronicled, as
well as the part that globalization and communication have played in giving people exposure to, and a
growing appreciation of, the richly diverse artistic expressions of world cultures. The application of
ethnomusicology and the new field of ethnodoxology to the work of world missions will be explored, and
also the new attention given by mission agencies to the important role of the arts in the church worldwide.
This session will examine some of the biblical and cultural issues related to the contextualization of the
arts in different cultures. Special attention will be given to the World Lutheran Federation's Nairobi
Statement on Worship and Culture, as well as other tools that can inform, guide and enrich the debate.
Finally, some important lessons and cautions will be highlighted to help guide future thinking.
Ethnodoxology and Mission: Contextualized Worship and Arts for the Global Church
Dr. Ronald E. Man. Worship Resources International
This paper will give an overview of the historical and theological reformation that has occurred in
the understanding, practice, and teaching of worship and its contextualized artistic expressions in the past
50 years, and will look at that movement’s effect on the world of missions and the global church. The
deepening comprehension of the relationship between worship and missions will be chronicled, as well as
the part that globalization and communication have played in giving people exposure to, and a growing
appreciation of, the richly diverse artistic expressions of world cultures. The application of
ethnomusicology and the new field of ethnodoxology to the work of world missions will be explored, and
also the new attention given by mission agencies to the important role of the arts in the church worldwide.
This session will examine some of the biblical and cultural issues related to the contextualization of the
arts in different cultures. Special attention will be given to the World Lutheran Federation's Nairobi
Statement on Worship and Culture, as well as other tools that can inform, guide and enrich the debate.
Finally, some important lessons and cautions will be highlighted to help guide future thinking.
Title: “Translated” or “Transformed”: The U se of Western Hymns in the Evangelization of the
Lisu of Southwest China
Aminta Arrington, PhD (Cand), Biola University
Translated western hymns have a bad reputation in missiology. The term “translated” seems to
convey a less than authentic expression of Christian faith. However, that was not how it happened when
the Lisu of southwest China were evangelized by missionaries from the China Inland Mission in the
1920s and 30s. The Lisu people exerted much more agency over their translated western hymns than the
term “translated” implies. While the kernel of melody and message remained intact, four-part harmonies
replaced unison singing. A capella replaced piano or organ accompaniment. Phrases meaningful in a
Victorian context were transformed into phrases meaningful in a Lisu mountain context. Abstract
theological terms were replaced by concrete phrases. Western rhyming schemes were laid aside and Lisu
poetic couplets were used instead. The end result is that in the everyday arena, in the practical living out
of what it means to be a Christian for a communal and still largely oral-preference people such as the
Lisu, the Lisu Christian hymns are the centerpiece of worship and devotion, of prayer and penitence. In
other words, in the process of cross-cultural transmission, the Lisu hymns were not so much translated, as
they were transformed.
String Bands and Jesus: Indigenous Worship in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea
Sarita D. Gallagher, Asst Prof of Religion, George Fox University
During the 1970s-1980s, the Christian Revival Crusade (CRC) in Papua New Guinea experienced
a spiritual awakening. It was during this time that the first indigenous expression of Christian worship
was developed among the Binandere people of Oro Province. Prior to this time worship and liturgy
within the local Oro churches had been adopted directly from the Western church. While the nationwide
revival that developed out of this region was characterized by numerous motifs, the ongoing development
of indigenous worship and prayer continued to mark each stage of the revival. Through the power of the
Holy Spirit, signs and wonders, and the introduction of “language songs,” the local church shifted from a
position of passivity and syncretism to one of missional action. The adoption of “language songs” by
new Binandere converts enabled the local CRC churches to self-theologize and influence the entire region
in what became a nation-wide revival.
“Creative” Contextualization and Worship: African Immigrant Churches in Lost Angeles
Roberta R. King, Fuller Theological Seminary
The forces of globalization are forging new pathways in the contextualization of worship.
Dynamic, transformative, and revitalizing, the transplanting of local worship traditions in new global
contexts are interconnecting and linking historical mission and local church worship traditions worldwide.
Significantly, such worship praxis offers revitalizing elements and arenas for theologizing, doing church,
and living “christianly" in a globalized world. This paper explores the global-local dynamics of
transformative worship via contextualization processes. Based on current research among African
immigrant churches in the Los Angeles basin, a brief survey of the breadth of African church plants and
their worship traditions, is followed by a case study of a Congolese, French-speaking church plant, that
identifies and critically analyzes current dynamics in contextualization. It addresses the following
questions: 1) What are the worship and theological dynamics African believers bring with them to the
USA? 2) What is the role of worship, in particular music and the performing arts, in new contexts of
worship? and 3) How do music, liturgy, and culture contribute to revitalizing the global Church? Finally,
it addresses emerging issues in contextualization through the creative arts, or what may be called ‘creative
contextualization,’ and their forging of new missiological pathways for the 21st century?