As I packed my suitcases tonight, I finally figured it out: I'm over-thinking this trip!
Each piece of clothing I surveyed for possible inclusion in the suitcase was accompanied by an inner dialogue: "Kind of frumpy--what does *that* communicate about worshiping a holy God?" "A tie? Really? Are you trying to establish yourself as The MAN?" "White running shoes? Why don't you just wear a sign that says 'I'm American'?"
Clothing choices can certainly communicate volumes, but the fact is that I'm obsessing about what goes in the suitcase because I'm obsessing about worship and culture.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all about worship and culture. In fact, one of the sessions I'll be leading in Kyiv is on the fully awesome Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture. But in my attempts to be a sensitive outsider I'm losing sight of the fact that I'm still an outsider. I can present the biblical foundations of worship as I understand them, but I can't release myself from the way I interpret them in my culture and I can't do much to help Ukrainian churches work them out in their culture.
I have to let go of all my second guessing--"will the contemporary folk hear this as hopelessly traditional?" will the traditional folk be scared off?" "will everyone be freaked out by this sounding vaguely Orthodox?"--and simply trust that even as a translator will be translating our words, the Spirit will be translating the ideas, and will be inspiring participants to new levels of faithfulness in their own community's worship culture.
Peace,
Greg
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