The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,” they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed. (Judges 12:5-6)
The ancient examination has stood the test of time: universally, people are suspicious of those who cannot pronounce words like they do. But the “Principle of Shibboleth” is broader than language, and it is a common problem of International Churches (ICs). Shibboleths are those things that different people see and do differently from others, whatever they may be. It is the thing that makes us say, “He is not one of us”. Many International Church (IC) pastors have felt the sting of rejection by accidentally stumbling on a point of culture, often one that they did not even know existed.
Most IC pastors will look in their own souls and see what prejudices they have toward others. A good pastor will pray through these matters, confessing faults, and seeking to love all people, regardless of their national origin, skin color, or mother tongue. Every pastor, especially IC pastors, should embrace the words of scripture: “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Col. 3:11). An open and positive attitude is necessary and anyone who serves in an international church must, by the nature of the calling, learn to love and respect all people and all peoples.
The members and attendees of most international churches, also, tend to accept their multi-cultural reality. After all, most ICs either have this reality in their names or on their signs. Often it is one of the attractions of the church, that you are able to meet, worship, and serve with believers from all over the world.
But cultural divisions and Shibboleths still exist in ICs, and this is one of the great challenges of the international church. Different cultures mean different perspectives, different methods, different styles of leadership, different ways of making decisions, different practices in worship, different styles of parenting, and all of this lays the groundwork for misunderstandings, suspicions, and conflicts. To be truthful, accents and pronunciations are the least of our concerns. Of course, all churches, even mono- cultural ones, deal with divisiveness, and cultural issues are just how these matters play out in an international church.
1. When do Shibboleths become serious problems?
Shibboleths become problems when some practice or method that feels unusual or too different feels forced upon the church. It does not matter if the method in question has always been done in the IC, or if it is perfectly normal in churches of another nation. It just feels foreign and “wrong”. Here are some possible scenarios:
- A new cultural group in the church gains some prominence, and starts to have part of the leadership in worship, but their style makes some in the church feel uncomfortable: a long prayer time in the service, singing that seems “Charismatic”
- A leader takes an action that seems autocratic to some
- A change in the budget preparation or spending of the church
- An appeal for money for something that the church has not agreed to
- A marriage or parenting seminar that seems to teach things that sound unbiblical to some
- Or a refusal to allow an outside group to meet in the church for things like yoga classes, dance clubs, or a business seminar
It comes back to the issue of “Who is in charge?” Is this an American church? Are the “long termers” really in charge? Whose church is it? This can especially be dangerous when there are a significant number of local people who relate to the international church. They may notice how things are done differently in the IC from their own local churches. For many different reasons it may feel “wrong” to them.
In one IC I am familiar with, a group of locals in the church were plotting to take over the church. They were waiting until they had a majority, then they would seize control and an elder from their inner circle would be the boss of the staff, especially of the senior pastor. Some even wanted to throw out all of the expats. Fortunately, their coup d’état did not succeed, and eventually they all left the IC and attended local churches.
2. Never underestimate the harm that jealousy can cause
Another common cause of problems in the IC is the simple jealousy that someone may have toward the church leaders, especially the Senior Pastor and spouse. Of course, the jealous person may refuse to accept the fact that they are simply envious, and they will cloak their criticisms in spiritual words. They are just “concerned” or they want to “pray for the pastor” and so forth. Or they may become vocal and critical of some things that the pastor and/or spouse do.
It is also not unusual that the IC pastor is paid more than the local pastors are paid, and maybe even more than some of the people are paid. The scripture says that the laborer is worth his hire, or his salary, but sadly, some believers have it in their minds that the pastor should not be paid any more than the least salary earner in the church family. But this also is a sign of envy, a feeling that one person’s success threatens their own success. And I have known some missionaries in the IC church family who are also jealous if the IC pastor makes more than they do, and they will use their influence to criticize the pastor and his/her spouse, especially if the missionary is from the local nation and the pastor and spouse are expatriates. (Not every missionary in an IC is a problem. In my experience most are blessings.)
They can use the Shibboleth argument, that the expat pastor just doesn’t do things right, that he/she doesn’t understand the people, or the local customs. They can abuse the esteem that most believers have for missionaries in general, and start insinuating themselves into the leadership of the church. “When he/she is gone, then we can do things right here,” or words to that effect. They put the stamp “temporary” on the pastor and his/her leadership, and can’t wait until they leave.
Jealousy is a grievous and dangerous sin, and is to be avoided at all costs. Jealousy blinds people. Sadly, some people just want to be up in front of others to be seen and respected. Especially if they do not receive much respect in their workplace. The tragic life of King Saul is a scriptural example of how jealousy can destroy someone. But before it destroys the one who is jealous, it can also severely harm the pastor, his/her spouse, and the church fellowship and witness.
A jealous local person, or a jealous member of a sizeable ethnic group in the church, can find fault with every different way and thing that the pastor does. Even if he is simply doing those things that would be entirely acceptable in his home culture. And the expatriate pastor may never even know that there were some expectations that he/she was not meeting.
For example:
- Failure to visit a home on their birthday;
- Not standing at the exit and shaking hands with everyone after the service;
- Wearing shorts on a hot day in the summer;
- Presenting a budget and goals and action plans to the church;
- Praying too long or not long enough;
- Smiling too much in church, or not smiling enough;
- Failure to secure a good job for a member of the church
These are classic faux pas, or “false steps” of cross-cultural or multicultural life.
3. Some suggestions for avoiding needless Shibboleths
I do not believe in ICs that we can ever avoid all Shibboleths or faux pas. There are just too many ways to be misunderstood. I have known good pastors of ICs to have problems in their churches simply because of circumstances that they did not see coming. But that does not mean we are helpless.
Here are some suggestions that I hope will be of help to you as an IC pastor.
- Pray, pray, and pray. In your prayer time, be humble before the Lord and let Him put on your heart the needs of people around you. Ask Him to make you sensitive to things that you have no idea about. Ask Him to give you the knowledge, beyond your experience, to effectively lead the church. If God has called you to pastor the church, then trust that He will provide for you the wisdom you need to pastor
- Be humble. Be quick to admit failures or insensitivities on your part. Even if it was something you had no idea about, confess as much as you can. As the Lord inspired Paul to write, “As much as it depends on you, be at peace with all people” (Romans 12:18)
- Be patient. There have been days and even weeks in my ministry where I read 1 and 2 Timothy every day for a period of time. There God said, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim. 2:24-25), and “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2)
- Be intentional. Each year you may want to have a discussion among leaders of the church about what things could be done better. You may survey the church body also and let them give you their feedback on what things are helpful to their Christian life and what things are a distraction for them. Remind the church of the international character of your fellowship
- Be a good judge of character. While being positive and redemptive and hopeful toward all, let the Lord show you how to properly assess someone’s maturity level without judging them. This is an essential spiritual skill for church leaders. 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 give lists of the spiritual requirements of church leadership. Avoid appointing to positions of leadership jealous, petty, immature people. Love them, and pastor them, but do not put them in leadership
- Learn the unspoken expectations of people in your church. If you are an expatriate, and if you have a significant group of locals in your church, you need to be familiar with what the locals think and believe, and how they do church. If you have a sizeable ethnic group in your church, learn also from them what their expectations are. To the degree possible, we should try “to be all things to all people” in order to win some to Christ, have peace in the church, protect our own ministry, and help people grow in their faith
- Do not put stumbling blocks in front of people. To stay sane and emotionally healthy, you may need to do something that some in your church may take offense with — like jogging in short pants or going swimming or seeing a movie, etc. Let God give you the wisdom to know when and where you need to be discreet and careful. Do not let fear run your life. Be reasonable, but when and where you need to be discreet, let the Lord give you the strength not to do something
- Be present with your people. Work smart, not just hard. Your presence as pastor can be used of God to bring harmony and unity in your church. Choose when and where to be, but, to the degree possible, be seen and let your presence be felt by the church
- Final suggestion: make some close friends in the church. Get some people in the church who can advise you and who will love you and protect you. Bond with these people. Let them know you love and trust them, and that you are there for them. They can save your ministry and help you avoid pitfalls
The words of God through the apostle Paul point us in the right direction:
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Romans 14:13-19 ESV)
David Packer
