Phil Bishop, Kinesiology
University of Alabama
Last year we had an extensive evangelistic campaign on our campus that was financed and led by a ministry group unfamiliar to me. I tried to be as supportive and as engaged as much as possible— because I want to encourage anyone who wants to minister on any secular campus.
Unfortunately, what struck me most was their failure to understand the university campus culture. They spent a huge amount of money and energy and had much less impact than they could have had. Why didn’t they consider our campus culture?
Culture Matters
One of the key things I have learned in traveling abroad has been that culture matters. Different cultures do things differently — not wrongly, just differently. We have to understand their culture and start where they are.
In my zeal, I can ruin my testimony if I ignore the culture. One of my earliest Faculty Commons trips was to Uzbekistan (pictured above) right after its separation from Russia. It was my first time in a Muslim country, and I was trying desperately to learn as much about the Uzbeks and Russians who populated the country as I could.
I tried to find common ground with phrases like, “Salaam Allahkum.” For the most part, the Muslim half of the country fully accepted the existence of God yet misunderstood Jehovah and Christ, whereas the Russian half the country accepted neither.
A Memorable Blunder
In Uzbekistan I made a memorable blunder. At various times I spoke to all-Muslim and all-Russian groups. I correctly greeted the Muslims with the Muslim greeting; when I used the Muslim greeting with the Russians, I was met with bewildered looks.
This principle applies on campus. Are my colleagues more like Muslims, needing a clearer view of God, or like Russians, needing to be convinced of the possibility of a God? I can lose my audience on campus with a misplaced word.
As academicians we live in a culture with our own language, social status, and rituals. One thing I have seen in all cultures: People want to be treated with respect, to be valued, and loved.
When I visit other countries I come bearing gifts. I try to learn a few local words to use. I have tried to follow John Wesley’s dictum to:
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
© 2008 Phil Bishop Used by permission of Faculty Commons.