The Asbury Journal

Article Title

Living Water in Indian Cups: A Call for Cultural Relevance in Contemporary Indian Missions

Authors

PrabhuSingh Vedhamanickam, Asbury Theological Seminary

Abstract

There has been a concentrated effort in contemporary India to stereotype Christianity as a western agent involved in destroying Indic religions, desecrating Indian cultures and destabilizing the nation. While there have been some attempts to contextualize the gospel in Indian missions, in the theological and missiological realms, there is an urgent need to incarnate the gospel in culturally relevant ways due to three critical factors: The cultural diversity of the nation, the rise of Hindu nationalism and the paradigmatic shift from Indian cross cultural missions to local, indigenous movements. While the multinational companies in India are tailoring their strategies according to the Indian markets, Indian Christianity seems to uncritically import and uncontextually apply some of the mission strategies from the West, which perpetuates the stereotyping of Indian Christianity as a West-dependent faith. The four key principles that enable us to serve in a culturally relevant manner in contemporary India are: Sensitive listening, Humble learning, Contextual laboring and Authentic living.

DOI

10.7252/Journal.01.2011F.04

Recommended Citation

Vedhamanickam, PrabhuSingh (2011) "Living Water in Indian Cups: A Call for Cultural Relevance in Contemporary Indian Missions," The Asbury Journal: Vol. 66: No. 2, p. 57-66.
Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/asburyjournal/vol66/iss2/5