Gospel Contextualization

C. Rene Padilla is General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fraternity and pastor of a Baptist church in Buenos Aires.  Here is an insightful paragraph from his book Mission Between the Times: Essays on The Kingdom about the contextualization of the gospel in culture. 

"The contextualization of the gospel will not consist in an adaptation of an existing theology to a given culture.  It will not merely be the result of an intellectual process.  It will not be aided by a benevolent missionary paternalism intended to help the young church to select those cultural elements that can be regarded as positive.  The contextualization of the gospel can only be a gift of grace granted by God to a church that is seeking to place the totality of life under the Lordship of Christ in its historical situation.  More than a wonder of nature, the incarnation is a wonder of grace" (p. 109).