Using Cross-Cultural Examples in Preaching with Cultural Sensitivity

The apostle Paul's missionary journeys took him across diverse linguistic and cultural landscapes, from Jerusalem to Athens to Corinth, and his letters reveal a preacher who adapted his message to his audience without compromising its substance. When he addressed the Areopagus, he quoted Greek poets; when he wrote to predominantly Jewish communities, he marshaled Old Testament texts. This pattern of cultural adaptation, grounded in theological fidelity, establishes a biblical precedent for preachers who draw on cross-cultural examples to illuminate Scripture for their congregations.

The Biblical Warrant for Cultural Adaptation

Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 14 prioritizes intelligibility over display. The apostle directs believers to prefer prophesying—speaking God's word in the vernacular—over speaking in tongues precisely because the former edifies the church ^[8]. The principle extends beyond the specific question of spiritual gifts: communication that serves the hearer's understanding honors the purpose of preaching. When Paul contrasts speaking in foreign languages to "piping in one tone" or "sounding a trumpet without any certain note," he underscores that proclamation must be comprehensible to be profitable ^[8]. A preacher who imports an illustration from another culture without adequate explanation commits a similar error—the example may be vivid to the preacher but opaque to the congregation.

The dispersion of Israel among the nations carried, according to Zechariah's prophecy, a missionary purpose. The scattering was not merely punitive but preparatory: "Like seed sown far and wide, they shall, when quickened themselves, be the fittest instruments for quickening others" ^[6]. The cosmopolitan character of Jewish life in the ancient world, with its commercial networks and linguistic flexibility, equipped the early church for cross-cultural proclamation ^[6]. Contemporary preachers inherit this legacy when they draw on global Christian experience to enrich local congregations, provided they do so with the same care for context that marked apostolic preaching.

The Danger of Superficial Appropriation

Cultural sensitivity begins with recognizing that illustrations are not neutral. An example drawn from another culture carries embedded assumptions, historical freight, and potential for misunderstanding. The preacher who casually references a practice from another tradition—whether a liturgical custom, a social norm, or a theological emphasis—without acknowledging its context risks two errors: distortion of the source culture and confusion in the receiving congregation. The sin of presumption, which one commentary describes as acting with "an insolent or arrogant attitude" ^[3], applies not only to deliberate rebellion against God's law but also to the careless handling of another community's sacred practices or lived experience.

Matthew Henry's exposition of Colossians 3:12 emphasizes that believers must "put on compassion and kindness" as the elect of God ^[7]. This exhortation applies directly to the preacher's use of cross-cultural material. Compassion requires that the preacher approach another culture's practices with humility, seeking to understand before seeking to illustrate. Kindness demands that the preacher avoid caricature, whether by exoticizing the unfamiliar or by flattening complex traditions into simplistic contrasts. The preacher who uses an example from African Christianity, Asian theology, or Latin American ecclesiology must do so with the same care one would expect if the roles were reversed.

Practical Guidelines for Responsible Use

First, the preacher must verify the accuracy of the example. Anecdotes circulate in homiletical literature that have been embellished, decontextualized, or simply invented. A story about worship practices in a particular region, for instance, should be traceable to a reliable source—a published ethnography, a firsthand account, or a conversation with someone from that community. The principle that "all human beings are born sinners" and that "the wicked indulge their sinful nature" while "the godly fight against it" ^[1] applies to the preacher's own temptation to prioritize a compelling illustration over truthfulness.

Second, the preacher should provide sufficient context for the congregation to understand the example. A reference to a theological controversy in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, for instance, requires at least a brief explanation of the historical and doctrinal background. Without that context, the illustration may confuse rather than clarify. Paul's own anxiety about his preaching—his "weakness" and "trembling" in Corinth—reflected not personal fear but "a trembling anxiety to perform a duty; anxious conscientiousness" ^[5]. The preacher who takes time to contextualize a cross-cultural example demonstrates similar conscientiousness.

Third, the preacher must avoid using another culture as a foil. The structure "unlike those people, we believe..." or "in contrast to that tradition, we hold..." often reveals more about the preacher's biases than about the theological point at hand. Where genuine doctrinal differences exist, they should be stated plainly and charitably, not weaponized for rhetorical effect. The commentary tradition itself models this restraint: even when noting that "from the devil there is not generation, but corruption," the text attributes the insight to Augustine and Bengel without polemical flourish ^[2].

The Preacher's Accountability

The preacher who uses cross-cultural examples bears responsibility not only to the congregation but also to the communities being referenced. A careless or reductive portrayal can reinforce stereotypes, perpetuate misunderstanding, or cause offense. The principle that believers are "claimed by God" and therefore accountable to him ^[4] extends to the stewardship of truth in preaching. The preacher who misrepresents another tradition, even inadvertently, fails in that stewardship.

When cross-cultural examples are used well, they expand the congregation's vision of the global church, challenge parochial assumptions, and demonstrate the universality of the gospel. They remind hearers that the faith once delivered to the saints has taken root in every inhabited continent, producing diverse expressions of worship, theology, and discipleship. The preacher who draws on this richness with humility and care honors both the source culture and the congregation being served.