In Week Two, we learned from brain research that the single most powerful draw for capturing people’s attention is something they find to be personally relevant. No one understood that learning principle more than the apostle Paul. A brilliant theologian, evangelist, and church planter, Paul preached the gospel plainly and persuasively. But in these verses, he makes it clear he was very aware of the different characteristics and mindsets represented in the people groups he reached out to, and that he studied them with the goal of connecting to each group as relevantly and personally as possible.
Culture is not only related to ethnicity and nationality. There can be generational, gender, socioeconomic, and many other kinds of sub-cultures among people living in the same neighborhood. For ministry in the 21st century, and certainly for Bible teaching, all world Christians relish the challenge and adventure of learning as much as possible about culture whether we God calls us to stay in our hometown forever or move to another continent.
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