Apart from objective truth (Christ – the Living Word, and the Bible – the written word), all we have is ethnocentrism, subjective human evaluation and proud legalism. This is not ministry. This is the conceited plague of men’s hearts. This is something outside of Christ. It is collective self righteousness. Self righteousness assumes self is superior, and prejudges others as inferior. And the world is full of it. The Christocentric minister recognizes that we are all fallen. All cultures are fallen. The missionary does not evaluate others by the subjective sunglasses of ethnocentrism, but instead, sitting where people sit, he manifests thoughts and ways that are higher than our thoughts and ways. (Is. 55) Thoughts that are Christ. And this is Life to people.
Ethnocentric vs Christocentric Gen46.34
Ethnocentrism is assuming that ones ways are higher than others’. “Every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.” (Gen. 46:34). Everyone has their “them”, which they look down on. To Egyptians, Shepherds and Hebrew were “them”. But the true missionary has discovered that God’s ways are higher than all of ours, and the only thing he “has” of any value, is that which he has received, derived, objectively, from outside of himself.
