The Word Became Human and Lived Among Us

In one paragraph

Dwayne Bristow, a missionary with the Navajo Brethren in Christ Mission in New Mexico, brought the morning message. Drawing on seventeen years of living and working among the Navajo people, he asked whether the way Christians carry the gospel to others is truly incarnational or whether it quietly becomes something else: the imposition of one culture's habits onto another. The whole message turned...

Read together

1. Isaiah 43:19 God saying He will do something new, already happening, making rivers in the desert, used to introduce the concept of God doing new things and speaking to those who listen
2. John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and was God, all things made by Him
3. John 1:14 The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, used to anchor the incarnational ministry theme
4. 1 Corinthians 11:13-16 Whether it is proper for a woman to pray with head uncovered, and whether long hair is disgraceful for men, used to illustrate how missionaries imposed cultural standards on native people
5. John 14:5-11 Thomas asking how they can know the way, Jesus answering I am the way the truth and the life, Philip asking to show them the Father, Jesus saying if you have seen me you have seen the Father, used as the central text for incarnational ministry
6. Colossians 2:20-23 If you have died with Christ to the world's ways why let others tell you how to live, rules about don't handle taste or touch, self-imposed worship having no value for holding back corrupt desires

Talk about it

1. Dwayne described how he had to adjust from being 'on time, on time' oriented to being event oriented when he moved to the Navajo reservation. Where in your own life has a comfort zone or a habit turned out to be less important than you thought, and what did that cost you to let go of?
2. Dwayne said that God spoke in Isaiah 43 that He was going to do something new, and then added 'it's already happening,' and asked 'don't you recognize it?' Where do you think God might be doing something new right now that people around you are not recognizing?
3. Dwayne talked about how missionaries told Native people to cut their hair, change their clothes, and stop their traditions, essentially saying 'quit being an Indian if you want to be a Christian.' Where do you see that same impulse, dressing the gospel in our own cultural clothes, showing up today, maybe even in your own life?
4. Dwayne drew a distinction between incarnational ministry, revealing the father through how you live, and impositional ministry, forcing your religious standards on someone else. Which one would the people closest to you say they see from you most often, and why?
5. Dwayne ended by asking whether we could say to someone, without hesitation, 'if you have seen me, you have seen the father.' What would need to change in your daily life for that to honestly be true?