Discipling in a Multicultural World

Ajith provides a unique perspective on Disciplemaking that deserves pondering, especially by those of us from the West. He covers discipleship and so much more. The blended insight from culture, psychology and humanity alongside of biblical reflection is immense.

Definitely.

Many books have been written on discipleship, but most are based on western cultures. Ajith Fernando offers a solid biblical perspective on discipleship with practical application which is valuable no matter where you work in the world. While applicable in any setting, it is especially helpful for those of us working multicultural settings. You'll find this book to be a valuable resource. We are currently reading it is a team of missionaries working in Cambodia. Thank you Ajith for this fantastic book!

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) commands Christ’s followers to “make disciples of all nations.” That discipleship has at least two basic components: conversion, symbolized by baptism, and change, realized through ever-increasing obedience to Christ’s commandments. Notice also its multicultural shape. Christ commands His followers to disciple “all nations,” which means “people groups,” not “nation-states.”In Discipling in a Multicultural World, Ajith Fernando outlines “biblical principles about discipling” and presents “examples about how they apply in daily life and ministry.” Fernando is the former national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka, which he now continues to serve as teaching director, and the author of seventeen books. This book is the fruit of mature biblical reflection and decades of practical ministry experience.Fernando divides the book into two parts: “Introducing Spiritual Parenthood” and “How People Change.”Part 1 uses the metaphor of spiritual parenting to describe discipleship, which he defines as “an affectionate relationship of caring between people who see themselves as having a parent-child relationship.”Part of the genius of this metaphor is that it’s multiplicative. Consider what Paul wrote to Timothy: “the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). As Fernando notes, “Four generations of Christians are mentioned here”: Paul, Timothy, reliable people, and others.The parenting metaphor also jibes well with the New Testament understanding of the community of believers as a spiritual family. This understanding cuts against the grain of both Western individualism and the familism of the developing World. “Many church communities [in the West] have diluted the biblical idea of the solidarity of the community and its importance in the life of a Christian,” Fernando writes. The challenge of discipleship in Western contexts involves, in part, incorporating individuals into the body of Christ.By the same token, however, the familism pervasive in most traditional cultures, including that of the Bible, presents a different challenge. For many converts in Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim contexts especially, to become a Christian is a lonely experience because one is immediately cut off from one’s family and extended community. Fernando wisely notes that converts belong to “two families—their earthly family and the family of God.” Discipleship in such contexts requires a delicate balance between honoring one’s earthly family and ongoing membership in one’s spiritual family. Disciples in these contexts often experience suffering, persecution, and loss of honor — a pattern we also see in the New Testament. Fernando offers wise advice about how disciplers can help disciples navigate these negative experiences.Drawing on the work of missiologist Paul Hiebert, Fernando identifies three kinds of transformation in Part 2, “How People Change”:(1) cognitive transformation, where a person’s belief system changes;(2) affective transformation, where we personally experience God; and(3) evaluative transformation, where we evaluate the beliefs and practices of the prevailing culture.He devotes the bulk of this part of the book to describing what the Bible says about these three kinds of transformation, highlighting the role of Scripture, prayer, the discernment of right and wrong, and the experience of healing in the discipleship process.Three chapters — 10, 11, and 12 — focus on right and wrong. “In the Bible and in today’s culture,” Fernando writes, “people respond to issues of right and wrong along three lines: (1) guilt and forgiveness, (2) honor and shame, and (3) fear/bondage and power/liberation. Although all three lines are present in every culture to a degree, Western culture typically follows the guilt/forgiveness line, while traditional cultures follow the other two.In a multicultural world, disciplers must understand all three so they can help disciples make sense of Christian faith and practice in culturally adequate ways. While the entire book contains mature biblical reflection seasoned with practical ministry experience, these three chapters are the best part, in my opinion.I close this review with two sentences from Fernando’s concluding paragraph. First, “Disciplers are servants of disciplees, doing all we can to help them grow and be fruitful.” This mindset is crucial, both to avoid authoritarian forms of discipling and to count discipling’s costs. Spiritual parenting, like parenting, isn’t easy.Second, in light of that cost, Fernando prays: “In this busy world, may many Christians rise to pay the price of investing in people in this comprehensive way.”Amen to that!

This timely book is a breadth of fresh air. If you want to know what discipleship looks like, slowly read and digest this book.‘Discipleship’ has become a buzzword of our age. Many speak about the importance of discipleship in our churches but few truly understand the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ of discipleship.With decades of experience in Bible soaked cross-cultural ministry, Ajith Fernando carefully and insightfully sheds light on this often misunderstood topic. Not only does this book clearly steer away from a shallow unbiblical pragmatic approach but it also takes its cues from the strong foundation of God’s inerrant Word.Fernando successfully teases out God honouring principles from the Bible and helps his readers see how these principles apply in our multicultural world. In other words, he places the Bible next to our newspapers (cultural exegesis) and helps us see challenges and methods of discipleship.The world that we live in is increasingly multicultural. In addition to broad biblical principles, this book also guides the readers in discipling people from other cultures. Fernando gently encourages his readers to understand foreign concepts like honour, shame, family abandonment, and persecution. Christians would be equipped to better serve brothers and sisters from other cultures by reading this book.This short book is an easy read. You don’t need to be a theologian to glean its wisdom. Fernando writes with a clarity and charity accessible to all kinds of audiences.I thank Crossway for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ajith Fernando is a writer who knows his subject. This is not a master's thesis of principles he thinks will work, but principles borne of a life of discipling. I think one of the most telling quotes in the book is the one he begins his first chapter with, from Richard Brohier: "[Discipleship is] ...what we are supposed to do--rather than what we do, and I guess it is because our culture of individualism sees it as a program rather than a lifestyle of sacrifice and inconvenience."In this book, the author challenges us, but not, for the most part, with new and surprising material, but with material that reminds us what we need to be doing and may not be. This handbook for pouring your Christian life into others reminds us of the cost and includes a lot about the content. He includes some considerations for cross-cultural contexts, but much of the book is significant for one who disciples in their own culture as well.The author includes several brief, but content-rich appendices that are not to be missed.This is an important book that I recommend to those who want to be effective disciplers, including, but not exclusively, those who work in multi-cultural situations.