A reading for Cultural Anthropology by Walter Trobisch (adapted
from Readings in Missionary Anthropology II, edited by William
Smalley. Used under the educational "fair use" provision of the
1976 U.S. Copyright Acts.) "Jesus took the man aside, away from
the crowd ... and said to him 'Be opened.' With that his ears
were opened, and at the same time the impediment was removed."
(Mark 7:33-35) What we need is a message tailored for each
individual. In a concrete situation, general principles alone
are not enough. Let us therefore take three people aside -- away
from the crowd. Let us try to help them and take responsibility
for them as a congregation. All three of them are real persons.
They come from three different African countries, thousands of
miles apart, but I shall not tell you from which countries and I
have changed their names. They have given me permission to use
their cases as an example, so I am not breaking their
confidence. Joseph is a 26-year-old teacher at a mission school.
I never met him, but