Update 02/23/2010: Okay, just to be clear. I've received several comments "informing" me of the fact that the movie Avatar is indeed playing in UB at the Urgoo Cinema. I am well aware of that fact. What made the Thailand viewing different was the fact that it was on a 3D Imax screen. That is NOT in UB. However, I will say that I highly recommend the Urgoo theatre. It has large screens and comfortable seats. It's spacious, clean and has good popcorn ... and I may yet go see Avatar again while it's still here, albeit on a screen that is indeed smaller than a three story building... One of the enjoyable things we had the opportunity to do on this recent vacation was to see several new movies in the theaters of Bangkok. It was fun to see several films that have not and will not ever make it to Ulaanbaatar. One of the treats was to see James Cameron’s mega-blockbuster film “
Avatar” in 3-D Imax. I know that there are lots of opinions about this movie. Some good. Some not so good. I went forewarned by many of it’s “pagan and environmentalist” themes. It may be because I tend to look for it, but I actually found a lot of Gospel in that film. However, that’s a write up for another day. I thought it was a beautiful, well-crafted movie. I’m not sure that I follow the complaints of “no plot” that some have made - again I thought the plot had Biblical undertones, which is actually true of every story worth telling. Again, probably controversial to some, but for another blog on another day (probably by a different writer on a different website). However, I did find this movie to be very helpful for anyone working in a cross-cultural situation. In fact, if I were a professor of missiology at a Bible school or seminary someplace, this film would be required viewing.
For those who haven’t seen it, Avatar is a futuristic tale of how us earth-folk are trying to explore, settle and tame the planet Pandora. The main reason for their interest in Pandora is a precious metal which can be found there, and the humans are wanting to mine the alien ground for it’s resources. There is a humanoid race of people who happen to live on this planet (called the Na’vi), and of course they tend to get in the way of the human mining interests. The corporate mining folks took a two fold approach to “controlling” the native population: penetrate the culture with humans taking on the form of the creatures on the planet, if that fails the old standby of military bombs and guns. The corporate guys tried cultural contextualization first. If that didn’t work effectively enough (read: quickly enough), bombs and guns would do the trick. It is actually a beautiful film to watch. The world that was created is a masterpiece. There are very few plot holes and visually it’s a truly stunning film.
I understand that a lot of Evangelicals are saying that James Cameron and company had some kind of “environmentalist, pagan, anti-American, anti-Christian, unbiblical” agenda with this film. I somewhat disagree, I think James Cameron was given a lot of money to tell a story that’s been told thousands of ways over thousands of years - through which he has once again struck pay dirt to direct the largest box-office grossing movie in history. I personally don’t think there was any intentional agenda, at all. But what do I know? He told the story from his world-view (which is probably not Biblical), but every good story that’s worth telling has Avatar’s Biblical elements of good, evil, incarnation and redemption. But again, my point is this: For the person working in a cross-cultural environment, there is much to learn here.
In summary form here’s what I observed:
1. Understanding a culture must come before serving a culture. Jesus said I did not come to be served, but to serve. That was his incarnational MO. He washed feet and fed people and healed people and laid down His life. However, I think it significant that Jesus didn’t just appear on earth as a fully grown human. Jesus was born into our earthly culture. He grew up in our earthly context and knew first hand the difficulties of living on this planet. Long before he washed the disciples feet, he understood what it meant to actually have dirty feet and skinned knees and hurt feelings. The film Avatar showed that it takes a lot more involvement than coming into an alien culture with a readiness to serve. It is incredible arrogance that says we will come here and teach you our language and build you our schools so that you can be educated in our system, without ever taking the time and effort required to understand and to learn about them. We then hold up our supposed ‘good deeds’ as service. Jake Sully’s (the main character in the film) line to the Na’vi “I am here to learn” should be the attitude of anyone seeking to work and serve in a culture that is not their own.
2. Learning the language is not the equivalent to understanding the culture. While this understanding involves language learning, it does not equate to language learning. It’s possible to learn the host cultures language and still have absolutely no clue as far as cultural understanding is concerned. Grammar and syntax may say a lot about a people, but real understanding comes with eating their food and singing their songs and understanding what they laugh at and what they cry over - with them. You can’t read those things on a book or learn them from a distance. The Avatar film reveals quite clearly the fact that Jake was well ahead of his other “avatar” co-workers - not because he learned the language better (in fact, in the film he didn’t know it at all at first), but because he was willing to become one of them in the ways that are most important.
3. The host culture’s perception of the outsider could be very surprising and is also critical to understand. In the film, the people who were on the planet Pandora for pure militant capitalism didn’t really care what the native population thought about the humans. However, later even the research folks were surprised at what the Na’vi really thought about the invading “sky people”. They thought they were doing good. However, because of their lack of understanding, even their perceived good was doing harm to relationships. They had no idea what the Na’vi really thought about them. I have asked of our Mongolian staff and Mongolian friends this question: What are your perceptions of us and the other foreigners in our organization? What do you think of us? After a few minutes of getting past the “polite” answers, it was enlightening to hear what their real thoughts and perceptions were. Some things were good. Some were not so good. However, knowing what the host culture thinks about us and understanding why they think this is incredibly valuable information when trying to work effectively in a cross-cultural situation. How we’re perceived may be very different from what we actually are or what our motives may be. However, effective cross-cultural understanding requires that we listen to perceptions. Another persons perception of me is actually their reality.
4. Incarnation is indispensable to effectiveness. Watching this film once again confirmed my personal conviction that Jesus-shaped incarnational ministry is really going to be the only effective ministry in the end. I don’t want to be overly critical of “big-bang” ministry. But I am highly suspicious of any ministry that has the pattern of coming into a new location with lights, cameras, action and eye-candy, draws a huge crowd and gets that crowd to respond positively, then packs up the road show to head back home with glowing reports of all the work that God did - leaving behind a crowd of people whom they never took the time to know or understand. We get this kind of thing in Mongolia a lot. Frankly, I wish a lot of these groups would either stay home or begin to really work with those of us who are trying to incarnationally live here. Their coming and going does do more harm than good. The Avatar film reveals this in a very graphic way.
5. Incarnational contextualization takes time and patience. I am becoming an outspoken believer in this. Cross-cultural ministry is not going to be effectively accomplished with a “hurry-it-up” microwave mindset. The mining/military folks at the Pandora outpost did not have the patience to wait for it. Of course, since their motive was less than pure, no amount patient waiting would have accomplished what they purposed. However, it serves as a reminder to me that the same holds true in mission and missional church planting. If we come in with a perceived sense of sanctified imperialism, I believe we’re missing the missiological mark. We have had individuals and organizations who have come into Mongolia and in less than two years have claimed church planting victory. The country is evangelized. The church is established. We can go to America and teach seminars now. Entire organizations are founded on the premise of “planting the church as quickly as possible” and “rapid reproduction”. Good has come from these groups and the folks in these groups. However, I wonder if our general Western impatience has done more harm the good in the long run. And while I believe that Jesus can build his church with asses of every kind (myself included), the greatest need I see in Mongolia is for teachers and trainers who are willing to do what it takes, however long it takes, to work, teach and train Biblical understanding in the local context, culture and language. In my particular organization we have a stated purpose of “planting prevailing churches”. I think the key word is prevailing. Prevailing requires more than a flash in the pan ministry stint.
6. The Gospel transcends everything - but will be ineffective apart from contextualization and cultural understanding. I love any movie, book or other pop culture item that is a window to the Gospel, because I love the Gospel. I don’t think you have to look hard at the Avatar film to see that window. Granted world views will have different ‘takes’, and I am sure someone with a pagan world view could see and relate to as much, if not more, than I have as a Christian. However, the Gospel of incarnation and laying down rights and life for the sake of others is crystal clear in this film. The movie shows that there must be a motive which transcends greed and profit when entering into a new culture - genuine love and compassion for people, salvation, service. However, contextualization and cultural understanding MUST accompany our preaching of the Gospel. Gospel preaching and Gospel living in a cross -cultural context will be totally ineffective if we move forward with our western assumptions, mindset and worldview. People will feel used, not loved. If we are entering ministry with a mere “get the church planted” agenda, and we only discuss the issue of “how” while merely assuming the issue of “why”, I am not convinced there will be much long-term good. The 2/3 world spiritual landscape today is a wasteland of “church planting movements”. I know that’s true for where I live. The “flash in the pan” has created spiritual burn out. The greatest need of the hour is long-term, contextual, Biblical discipleship which produces genuine, prevailing Jesus followers.
That is, after all, the heart of the “Great Commission” to begin with (Matthew 28:18-20)
Bernie Anderson
