How to Develop Culturally Appropriate Resources as Part of an Overall Strategy for Missions: A Case Study in Thailand

By Jeffrey Lange

This e-book is an edited work of the author's doctoral dissertation on this subject. Any missionary interested in producing culturally relevant resources can benefit seeing how he went through the process to develop culturally appropriate resources for ministry in Thailand. There are over 180 pages in the appendices that you can download including a Creation to Christ Bible study.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeffrey Lange
• Release date: Oct 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465838216

Jeffrey Lange

The Langes are Independent Baptist missionaries and have been in Thailand since January 2004. Jeffrey was saved in 1995 and his wife, Theresa, in 1994. They were both saved through the ministry of Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, ND and married in April 2000. They have three children. God called Jeffrey to preach shortly after he was saved. He graduated from Master’s Baptist College, a ministry of Fargo Baptist Church, in May 2000. Two years later, God led them to prepare for ministry in Thailand. They arrived in Thailand in January of 2004.

Book preview

How to Develop Culturally Appropriate Resources as Part of an Overall Comprehensive Strategy for Missions: A Case Study in Thailand

By Jeffrey Lange

Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Lange

Smashwords Edition

Discover other titles by Jeffrey Lange at Smashwords.com:

The Story of Nam Khao Baptist Church

Indigenous Missions and Kite Flying

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

A Note to the Reader

Abstract

SECTION 1: Thai Cultural Profile

Chapter 1. Thai Buddhism

Chapter 2. Christian and Thai Buddhist Concepts Contrasted

Chapter 3. Thai Cultural Values

Chapter 4. The Thai Way of Meekness

Chapter 5. Communication

Chapter 6. Thai Cultural Entry Points to Gospel Witness

Chapter 7. Thai Social Networks

Chapter 8. Keys for Strategy

SECTION 2: A Strategy for Developing Culturally Appropriate Resources

Chapter 9. Summary of the Situation in Thailand

Chapter 10. Overall Comprehensive Strategic Objective

Chapter 11. A Classification System to Determine Literature Needs of the People

SECTION 3: Development of Culturally Appropriate Material

Chapter 12. An Evaluation of Resources in 2004 Compared with 2010

Chapter 13. Tracts

Chapter 14. Analysis of the Tracts

Chapter 15. Booklets

Chapter 16. Bible Studies

Chapter 17. Analysis of the Creation to Christ Course

Chapter 18. Current Projects in Development

Chapter 19. Conclusion

Chapter 20. Disclaimer and Contact Information

Appendix A. Suriyothai Tract and English Translation

Appendix B. What is Salvation? Tract and English Translation

Appendix C. Truth from A Friend – Parts 1 - 5

Appendix D. Creation to Christ – 24 Lessons

Appendix E. Creation to Christ Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

Appendix F. Creation to Christ Multiple-Choice Questions

Reference List

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Dedication

To my wife, Theresa, thank you for being my help meet. You are a tremendous wife and mother! You have made my life fuller and I’m a better person because of you. I love you!

To my children, Jonathan, Grace and Faith, I am so blessed to have you in my life. I thank God that he gave your mother and me all of you. You all have made my life richer and brighter. I can’t imagine what life would be like without each one of you. I love you!

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Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge my pastor, Rev. T. C. Scheving, senior pastor of Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, ND. He is the greatest Christian I know and watching his life over the years has taught me many great things about the Christian life. I would not be where I am spiritually today without him.

I would also like to acknowledge missionary Tom Gaudet. His vision for missions has challenged me greatly. He is primarily responsible for helping me go from a theoretical understanding of Indigenous Missions to practical applications. He saw the potential in the Hmong refugee camp in North-Central Thailand before I did and Nam Khao Baptist Church would not have existed if it wasn’t for him encouraging me to not give up on work with the refugees.

I would also like to acknowledge other missionaries, Milton Martin, Robert Creech, and Doug Hammett, who all helped mold and shape my vision for missions.

I would also like to acknowledge my parents, David and Nancy Lange, who helped me through the dissertation process and spent many hours reviewing and editing this dissertation.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Ronald Tottingham, Chancellor of Great Plains Baptist Divinity School. For many years, it was my desire to write a book that challenges current and prospective missionaries in Thailand to develop a culturally based strategy for missions. Dr. Tottingham not only provided a way for me to earn a doctorate degree, but also a way to see that book come to fruition in the form of this dissertation.

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A Note to the Reader

Thank you for purchasing this ebook. This is an edited version of my doctoral dissertation. Although the context of this ebook is in Christian missions, I believe those involved in any cross-cultural endeavor, whether in international business or with a non-profit organization, will benefit in learning how to develop literature that is culturally appropriate.

To someone reading this ebook that is not involved in Christian missions, the framework that I develop in this dissertation may not necessarily apply to your situation, but I believe you will benefit by seeing how the process works. By seeing this process in action, you may be able to develop their own or modify mine for your own applications.

One important note that I want you to know about is the appendices of this ebook can only be downloaded on a private page off of my website: www.vfmsea.com.

In my original dissertation, I reference several works that I developed using this strategy that I placed in the appendices. There are around 180 pages worth of material. However, due to the large amount of graphics used, the file size of this ebook was greater than the acceptable size set by Amazon and Smashwords.

Therefore, I have placed the appendices on a separate page on my website that you can view or download and print at your leisure.

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Abstract

It has often been said that A vision without a strategy is only a dream. Missionaries have a vision to reach the lost with the gospel and a goal to plant churches. Sadly, however, many missionaries lack a comprehensive strategy based on the culture of the target group which results in minimal effectiveness on the field.

In many cases, the missionary may never realize his goal of seeing a church flourish without outside help. Usually when a missionary leaves, the work will collapse unless another missionary steps in to keep it going. He never sees his vision become a reality – it remains a dream.

Military generals go to war with a comprehensive strategy to accomplish the mission. Likewise, missionaries are engaged in spiritual warfare for the souls of men and need a comprehensive strategy to accomplish the mission.

The focus of this dissertation is not a case study in developing a comprehensive strategy for missions. Rather, the objective is to focus on one aspect of a comprehensive strategy, namely, developing culturally appropriate resources.

The first step is to make a thorough study of the culture. The missionary needs to learn as much as he can about the people so that he is able to communicate the gospel message in a way that the indigenous people can understand. Section one of this dissertation, entitled Thai Cultural Profile, represents the results of over five years studying Thai culture. It becomes the basis for sections two and three.

Section two of this dissertation is the second step of actually creating a framework to produce culturally appropriate resources.

Section three moves into the application phase of section two. An evaluation of current resources that exist need to be made. Based on the newly-acquired cultural understanding, the missionary can determine if it is an effective resource or not. He will know the weak areas that need to be developed that will compliment his overall strategy.

Based on sections one and two of this dissertation, the missionary is able to go ahead and produce the resources that are not only culturally appropriate, but also needed.

This dissertation is a case study in how I applied this process to produce culturally appropriate resources for use in Thailand.

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SECTION 1: Thai Cultural Profile

Chapter 1 - Thai Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama. About 94% of Thai people are Buddhist, 5% Muslim, and less than 1% Christian (Wikipedia, Religion in Thailand).

Most Thai people have limited knowledge of philosophical Buddhism. Thai Buddhism, as it is lived and practiced, is a combination of traditional Buddhism and animism. When Buddhism spreads into a new region, it syncretizes (mixes) with the local beliefs of the people adopting Buddhism. That is why Buddhism as practiced in one country or region is different than in another geographical region.

Buddhism made its way to Thailand in the sixth-century Anno Domini (A.D.) and then mixed with the local people’s animistic beliefs. The result is what is called today Thai Buddhism. To the Western mind, mixing both Buddhism and animistic practices together contradict each other. Buddhism teaches that there is no spirit world while animism teaches that there is a spirit in everything. Thai people rarely, if ever, consider this great contradiction.

Nakorn, a former Thai Buddhist, became a Christian in his late 20’s. Last year, I talked with him about the blending of Buddhism and animism. After explaining the difference between these opposing beliefs, I asked Nakorn if he ever considered the contradiction between the two while he was a Buddhist. He thought about it, smiled, and said that he never once considered it. In an attempt to explain how Thai people deal with the syncretism of Buddhism and animism, one Thai monk put it this way:

A strong person can walk up steps without any help, but a weaker person needs to use a