I’m thinking about the Incarnation during this Christmas season and thought you might find this interesting. According to the author of the quote below, “the term creative-access evolved in the 1990’s from the earlier restricted-access once missionaries discovered alternative opportunities for accessing peoples isolated from the gospel. Creative-access methods are used in countries in which access by traditional missionaries has been restricted for some reason.”
From chapter 8 “Innovation in Mission Operations: Creative-Access Platforms” in Changing Face of World Missions, The: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends (pgs. 230-231):
The New Testament is full of examples of creative-access methods. The incarnation of Jesus himself is a model. God chose to cross the divine/human cultural boundary and to come to earth as a child born in a livestock feed trough. He soon became a refugee to Egypt, was raised the son of a carpenter, was followed as a radical rabbi, was crucified as a traitor, and was raised as the Messiah. The platform was strategic. It provided access and identity among a strategic people group at the center of God’s plan to reach all peoples on earth. It allowed Christ to live out his sacrificial mission of atonement. God incarnate was able to establish a lasting, witnessing relationship with the marketplace people of the world through this platform in Israel. He did not come as a high priest housed in temple dwellings but as the son of a craftsman who became an itinerant teacher from Nazareth. The creative-access platform of Jesus Christ laid a foundation for the launching of a global movement of churches planting churches that continues to this day.
Merry Christmas from Circumpolar.
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It provided access and identity among a strategic people group at the center of God’s plan to reach all peoples on earth. Access Platform
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