Critical Contextualization: A Case Study of Lobi Funeral Rites in Burkina Faso

It is very difficult to be relevant in our Christian witness if we do not know and address the issues with which the people we are trying to reach are wrestling. For the gospel to meaningfully engage recipients with the purpose of transforming their worldviews, Christian witnesses must always encode the biblical message in such a way that its content remains faithful to biblical principles but also makes sense to its receptors in terms of its relevance. Such new experiences often challenge them in their social location. The rationale for this is that because the gospel is always received from within one’s own cultural identity, people cannot be confronted with things that are beyond their frame of reference and be expected to respond positively to them.