Note: This article originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of CRUX (Vol. 55, No. 1).

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.¹

So sings Bilbo Baggins as he sets out from the Shire, that bucolic homeland of hobbits far removed from the goings-on in Middle-earth. Reluctant at first to leave his comfortable and peaceful domestic life, Bilbo joins a company of thirteen dwarves seeking to reclaim their treasure from the dragon Smaug. As narrated in The Hobbit, Bilbo makes the journey “there and back again,” but the experience changes him—the wizard Gandalf remarks on the difference as they return to Bag End: “Something is the matter with you! You are not the hobbit that you were.”²

Indeed, Bilbo is never quite the same after his first adventure—nor, it turns out, is his adventure finished, even as his own role draws to close. In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo leaves the magic Ring he obtained on his quest to his nephew Frodo, who subsequently takes on the burden of carrying this Ring to the only place it can be destroyed, a fiery mountain where it was forged, deep in the heart of Sauron’s evil realm. Strikingly, Frodo soon echoes Bilbo’s song, though he speaks the words slowly as he and his hobbit companions leave the Shire, and he exchanges “eager” feet for “weary” feet.³

Along the perilous way, Frodo is accompanied by three close, trusted hobbit friends, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Eventually, they are joined by Gandalf and representatives of the races of Men, Elves, and Dwarves, together forming “the Fellowship of the Ring.” Their treacherous journey is further complicated by the hobbits’ characteristic suspicion of strangers and foreigners, as well as the longstanding strife and rivalry between Men, Elves, and Dwarves. For example, soon after reuniting with Gandalf, Frodo describes to him his ambivalent reaction to the human Ranger named Strider:

I have become very fond of Strider. Well, fond is not the right word. I mean he is dear to me; though he is strange, and grim at times. In fact, he reminds me often of you. I didn't know that any of the Big People were like that. I thought, well, that they were just big, and rather stupid: kind and stupid like Butterbur; or stupid and wicked like Bill Ferny. But then we don’t know much about Men in the Shire.⁴ 

Later, Gandalf intervenes in a heated exchange between Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf concerning the rift in relationship between these two races:

“It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned,” said Gimli.

“I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves,” said Legolas.

“I have heard both,” said Gandalf; “and I will not give judgement now. But I beg you two, Legolas and Gimli, at least to be friends, and to help me. I need you both. The doors are shut and hidden, and the sooner we find them the better. Night is at hand.”⁵

Crucial to the common quest are the dynamics between characters from varied backgrounds, and one of the most powerful currents in the novel is the growing trust, affection, and deep solidarity among the odd assortment of hobbits, Men, Elves, and Dwarves in and around the Fellowship of the Ring.

If Tolkien can stir the hearts and capture the imaginations of his twentieth- and twenty-first-century readers with his tale of an unlikely Fellowship united by a common quest, how much more compelling is the New Testament’s call for diverse first-century believers to find fellowship in their common faith in Christ? Like the longstanding rifts between Men, Elves, and Dwarves, centuries-long alienation between Jews and Gentiles virtually precluded any concept of companionship in following Christ. The account of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10, for example, makes this clear. Nonetheless, believers like Peter experienced personal transformation in their sense of identity in Christ, their vision of his kingdom, and their vocation in life, often through Spirit-led encounters with those of different backgrounds.

And if narrative accounts like that of Peter and Cornelius shed light on certain dynamics of first-century Christianity, within its context of increasing plurality in ethnic and cultural expressions of faith, how does twenty-first century Christianity fare with its unprecedented diversity in composition? Is there corresponding evidence of personal transformation through encountering believers of diverse backgrounds? If so, what do believers today perceive and profess about these experiences? For whether they pursue their venture with eager or weary feet, Christians who embark on cross-cultural encounters within the body of Christ find themselves on a long Road “where many paths and errands meet.” Like Bilbo and Frodo, they look toward an open-ended journey: “wither then? I cannot say.” The end is uncertain because, as Janine Paden Morgan notes, “Deep transformation is not a given.”⁶

Morgan makes this observation in relation to “Christian students who choose to study abroad,” finding “great adventure in strange new lands.” What they experience in those lands “may be challenging, confusing, and even frightening. But in those places of discovery, if they are open to the possibility, the young Christ-followers may undergo transformations of character, perspective, and identity.”⁷ With the world at our doorstep in urban North America today, it is not necessary to travel across the city, let alone the globe, to encounter believers from diverse backgrounds. Nonetheless, given our hobbit-like propensities for comfort and familiarity, travel or study abroad can provide opportunities not necessarily accessed closer to home. Morgan underlines that “journey from home, in the opportunities and challenges it presents, can lead to transformation of the believer’s sense of spiritual identity, to a clearer understanding of [one]self in relation to God and the world.”⁸

In light of these opportunities, this article explores the experiences and reflections of some recent student travelers, each of whom participated in an immersion experience, either in Nairobi, Kenya, or San Jose, Costa Rica, between 2013 and 2017. These students spent an intense two weeks learning on location: taking in academic lectures, participating in local churches, visiting various ministries, and soaking in the experience of Christian community in a particular place within the Majority World.⁹ A comprehensive study undertaken from January to June 2018 presented the opportunity to ask the students in-depth questions about what they learned through their  “road to the unknown” and how that learning had shaped them in subsequent months and years.¹⁰ Gleaning insights from their discoveries can shed light on our own journey of faith, when we, too, encounter believers from other regions of the world that are unfamiliar to us.

Research findings indicate that, like Bilbo and Frodo, these students left home on a certain quest—in their case, a journey of faith to learn more about global Christianity.Research findings indicate that, like Bilbo and Frodo, these students left home on a certain quest—in their case, a journey of faith to learn more about global Christianity through in-depth engagement with local expressions of faith in a particular foreign context. Like their hobbit counterparts, they encountered other peoples from diverse backgrounds. And, like Peter in Acts 10, they recounted aspects of transformation in their sense of identity in Christ, their vision of his kingdom, and their vocation in life. We will look at each in turn.

Identity in Christ 

“What’s our formation as people in Christ . . . coming from two different contexts?”¹¹ This question, raised by a student interviewee, serves to crystallize the core issue of our common quest: as Christians, we are members of one people of God, but our distinctive experiences of faith are shaped within particular historical and cultural contexts. This was brought home to one particular student as she reflected on her own half-Caucasian and half-Asian heritage, asking, “What does it mean to be biracial?” She commented that, growing up in a largely Caucasian city, she felt “more confident in my Caucasian side because . . . [it seemed] so much more dominant or acceptable or powerful.” Yet through exploring her Asian roots more deeply, and particularly through engaging with African Christians in Nairobi, she discovered deeper connections with “my Asian side . . . what makes me proud to be Chinese and what’s valuable about that culture.”¹²

Conversely, another Chinese student confessed how her personal interactions with African Christians prompted inner transformation from cultural racism to unexpected, Christ-infused love. Echoing Frodo’s frank admission of his previous ignorance and disdainful attitude toward Men, this student admitted a general fear of and condescension toward Africans within Chinese culture. But through personal encounter with the Kenyans she met, she says she started to learn from them and “appreciate their culture, their history, their dancing, [their] theology.¹³

 Other students also revealed “hobbit-like” prejudices that were challenged through their encounter with African Christians. For example, one student reflected, 

I came into the course with a very arrogant mindset asking, “What could I possibly learn from Africa? What could Africa teach me?” I was deeply affected by [Professor A. E.] Orobator’s humility [and] the lived theology [manifested by] other professors, [and I was] challenged by the reach of the church, and understood the necessity of contextualization.¹⁴

 In addition, these cross-cultural interactions in other contexts of global Christianity shaped one student’s sense of personal and pastoral identity:

I came to recognize the sins of my country and my consumer identity. If structural sin is real (and it is) and if corporate sin is biblical (and it is), then I am the cause of much suffering in the world. I have the blood of my Christian brothers and sisters on my hands. As a result, I sought to study the Scriptures about how to deal with my crisis of faith. . . . I found the practice of sack-clothing to be an embodied way to deal with sins. . . . I know it is a posture of my pastoral identity.¹⁵

Finally, and significantly, one student who travelled to both Africa and Latin America recounted a renewal of personal identity in Christ as follows:

Through my experience both in Kenya and Costa Rica, I have engaged more thoughtfully with my local culture. God has also healed me because I used to think that I have to abandon my own culture if I become a Christian. Now, through my studying in the GoGlobal courses, it opens my eyes to see God’s blessing in my Chinese culture. I truly believe that God has called me as a Chinese Christian. My Chinese background becomes a blessing from God, not a block to God.¹⁶

Together, then, these student voices reflect various facets of inner transformation in relation to their identity in Christ. Like Peter and the circumcised believers who accompanied him on the road to Caesarea to meet with Cornelius and his Gentile relatives and friends, the Regent students travelled to a foreign cultural context. In their interactions with the local believers there, they grew in their understanding that “the message [God] sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36; NRSV, emphasis added).

Vision of God’s Kingdom

I wanted to go in asking . . . What does the church in Kenya bring to the table? And then hold that in perspective with what does the church in North America bring to the table? . .  We all sit together around the table of the King, and what does each nation bring? . . . How [is God] working with [his] people here in Nairobi? And what does that mean for—if I feel some call back to Abbotsford—for my people there?¹⁷

In keeping with the previous section, student questions form the framework for the analytical discussion in this section. Given the stance articulated in the quote above, what did students describe gaining from their immersive learning experiences? From the wide range of responses to an online survey, individual interviews, and a focus group interview, three core themes emerged regarding the students’ vision of God’s kingdom: engaging diversity, encountering the local, and “enlarging the borders of our tent” (Isaiah 54:2) by participating meaningfully in the global Church.

Engaging Diversity

According to the student travelers, the Kenyan and Costa Rican students they studied with, their course facilitators, and the local theologians and leaders they encountered, one of the most significant benefits of the students’ immersion course was the quality of relational engagement experienced. Fundamental to this depth of interpersonal connection was the diversity of participants interacting intensively in a (largely) new context of faith. As one student summarized:

It was not just Canadian students and African students, but it was actually people from [almost] every different continent . . . Australia, Africa, Asia, North America. And to have that breadth—I think I did not really expect that that would add as much as it did. As we all study at Regent, obviously [you’d assume] we think in similar ways, but we don’t! And we shouldn’t. So that just really, really enriched the experience.¹⁸

Local students in Kenya and Costa Rica echoed the same observation. One Kenyan student elaborated further:

Talking to classmates, the diversity of the class enriched the experience, because when you encounter different students, you realize that they are experiencing God in a different way. But when you talk further, you find that the experience is not too far from yours even though the context is different. God . . . is doing a new thing in this area as much as he is doing a new thing in your area.¹⁹

Within this context of rich ethnic and cultural diversity, the student travelers also highlighted the advantages of studying alongside local students in Kenya and Costa Rica. One student stated, “Easily, one of the most beneficial effects of [taking] the course was [studying alongside] Kenyan students.”²⁰ The importance of sharing a learning journey with these indigenous Christians formed a motif throughout the research data. For example, one student described “one of [the] most stunning memories from the course” as an impromptu conversation between several visiting students and a Kenyan student who insisted on buying tea for the group, against their inclinations. She described how 

a whole conversation spun out from that, just about the importance of reciprocity and of him being the host here in his country and we’re guests to him. And I think I really saw first-hand the importance of that dialogue and cross-cultural learning: you have to have that posture of openness and willingness to learn from the other. . . . That was really significant.²¹

The benefit of engaging with others extends beyond the diverse student participants to their interactions with guest theologians, as well as church and ministry leaders. One student articulated the gains he felt as follows:

Having mentors in the faith outside of the Western tradition has introduced a critical dialogue to my mentors [back home] . . . who are predominantly Caucasian. For example, our friends in Kenya had a more critical view of systematic theology (whereas my [North American and European] theology professors . . . tend to view it more positively), . . . and favor a more praxis-focused approach to theology because of their context. I believe exposure to this critical dialogue is healthy for my growth as a Christian because it challenges me to see multiple perspectives and corrects my own blind spots as a follower of Jesus. It just makes Christianity a lot more plausible and vibrant to someone from a post-colonial context.²²

Encountering the Local 

A second core theme that emerges in the research findings is the significance of experiencing local expressions of Christianity in a new context where the gospel and culture interact in notable ways. For example, one student was especially struck by the relational values within Kenyan cultures, remarking that “showing hospitality means opening up their whole life.”²³ Conversely, another student commented with appreciation that course instructors “were honest about the downfalls of that culture as well,” such as certain manifestations of the prosperity gospel and other “areas where there could be improvement or realignment” with the gospel.²⁴

The student travelers were impacted not only by experiencing new cultures but also by encountering some of the lived realities that are common in the areas they visited. While exposure to poverty and suffering was not the primary focus of their immersion experience, students were especially struck by facing these situations both in Nairobi and in San Jose. One student spoke of her time in Kibera, Nairobi, one of the largest informal settlements in the world where most of the inhabitants live on less than one dollar per day, as “particularly memorable.” She returned following the course to do volunteer ministry among disadvantaged youth, and she appreciated “being able to see in practice what African theology was talking about in the classroom.”²⁵ Another commented on seeing in Kibera “how God is real in the midst of the messiness.”²⁶ 

Another emphasized how “the trip to Kibera . . . was one of the most amazing things that I experienced” in terms of understanding the gospel as good news. She explained that her prior concept of mission involved “going to the nations and bringing something of value and . . . doing something helpful in the name of God.” She then described entering Kibera and the tremendous sense of powerlessness she felt with the realization that “I could bring ten million dollars into this slum and it would not do anything.” She went on to declare, “If Jesus is not real, they have no hope.” The student continued, 

For me, this trip really spoke to the power of the Gospel and how the Holy Spirit and Jesus work personally and relevantly in ways that I can’t. . . . I think [realizing] that we are participating but not in control . . . was very humbling for me personally.²⁷

What seemed to strike the students most forcefully as they encountered new expressions of Christianity was their exposure to the local churches. One student observed, “I think the biggest benefit was being encouraged by what the local church in Costa Rica was doing: how they were faithful to God and to the gospel and caring for people in that community in that context.”²⁸ Likewise, a student from Brazil, when visiting a very small church in a poor area of San Jose, noticed 

the happiness, the joy that they have just to be Church there, just to be together helping one another. And they received us with, basically, a banquet . . . and we feasted together, we read the Bible together, and we worshipped together. So that was one of the highlights, just to see that small church with so little resources being so vibrant and alive.²⁹

Students who studied in Nairobi also emphasized their impressions of the vitality of African Christianity in the churches they visited. Interviewees highlighted several aspects of Kenyan church life, including the experience of lively worship, “how their discipleship was so communal,”³⁰ the number of strong women leaders in the church, “how engaged people were in their church, and how their growth and faith was so participatory.”³¹

One student’s reflection captures the sense of expansion and blossoming many of the travelers felt as their horizons were broadened through exposure to Christianity in another context: “It helped me to understand that the Church is much more beautiful than I thought. . . . It’s this colorful expression of different cultures, different theologies, different understandings.”³²

“Enlarging the Borders of Our Tent”

A third core theme from the research findings is students’ enhanced appreciation of the Christian faith as a global movement. In discussing their immersion experiences, students described gaining a deeper understanding of global Christianity in general, African or Latin American Christianity specifically, and the importance of contextual theology. For example, a Chinese student spoke of having gained a wider perspective on the Christian faith: 

Before taking this course, I think most of the information I got about church or what I have learned about Christianity was mostly from the Western church. So taking this course in Africa really helped me to see a greater, fuller picture of Christianity, if you say, world Christianity or global Christianity.³³

Similarly, a Canadian student expressed the heightened perception she gained that “because God is a global God, . . . not a Western God, he is a God that speaks into every single culture and encapsulates every culture.”³⁴ She went on to adopt an analogy from the scholar Andrew Walls, likening the church throughout the world to a theatre in which the audience in each section has partial and particular views of the actors on stage.³⁵ The student explained, 

No one in that theatre can see perfectly everything that’s going on, and so to understand God better and the way that he works in the world we have to actually be able to see . . . what other cultures are seeing. We have to be able to . . . start with acknowledging our own limitations[;] . . . we come with a specific lens. And it’s only when you can pull those lenses together and start dialoguing about it that you get a bigger picture of who God is and what he’s doing in the world.³⁶

Another student put it this way: “Overall I learned more about the universal body of Christ, which is, despite differences in cultural and ritual practices, one united family, that can learn from each other’s spirituality.”³⁷

Students also provided specific examples of what they learned from African and/or Latin American Christianity. While full development of this content lies beyond the scope of this article, a few examples from survey responses can provide a taste of what stood out to students. Students reported certain highlights from their encounters with African Christianity including “Ubuntu theology, how Jesus is seen through African eyes, the dynamic faith of African Christianity, the good and bad of colonialism;” “the distinctiveness of AICs [African Initiated Churches], public theologies;” “a framework for engaging meaningfully with non-Western theology, an understanding of history shaping Africa;” and the freedom “to dance when the spirit of the Lord moves you and to not be ashamed!”³⁸ 

Likewise, a student reflected upon what he learned through his exposure to Christianity in Costa Rica as follows:

I think one of the biggest theological things that I got out of the course was the emphasis on the kingdom of God . . . [and] how the reign of God is very holistic and meet[s] every aspect of your life. That’s definitely helpful for me and especially in the research and work I’ve been doing with refugees.³⁹

Another survey comment captures fairly widespread student perceptions regarding their enriched appreciation for African or Latin American Christianity:

Perhaps more than anything, I left Kenya with a deep, deep sense of the vitality of African Christianity. Christianity is alive and thriving on the African continent, which is not often spoken of in the Western world. Africans are thinking deeply about theological issues, and they have much to contribute to the global discussion.⁴⁰

Finally, some of the most prevalent learning outcomes students reported were related to the complex field of “contextualization.” Dean Flemming explains this term as follows:

Today there is a burgeoning recognition among Christians around the globe that in order for the Christian message to be meaningful to people it must come to them in language and categories that make sense within their particular culture and life situation. It must be contextualized. Contextualization has to do with how the gospel revealed in Scripture authentically comes to life in each new cultural, social, religious and historical setting.⁴¹

One student admitted that before beginning her theological studies, she considered contextual theology to be simply “wrong,” explaining that “the idea of contextualizing theology to me meant changing the message of the Scripture or changing our image or vision of our God to suit our culture.” Yet, she continued, through her experience in Kenya,

I’ve been able to meet people who were really wrestling through contextualization from different cultures, and this helped me to see how much my own culture has contextualized Christianity. . . . Maybe there is a richness to many expressions of worship, many ways of prayer, and many names for God and for Jesus, even. . . . As you read the Scripture, like [the book of] Revelation, all people, all nations, all tongues, all cultures are there worshipping in front of the throne. And they are not just all one, but they’re all still distinct. It is amazing to experience that [diversity in expression of worship] and it is amazing to be able to continue appreciating that and learning about it now.⁴²

Other students are less tentative in their affirmations of their learning in this regard. One student wrote:

There are life issues other cultures address and wrestle with theologically that had not occurred to me as a white Westerner, like ancestor worship, witchcraft, and polygamy. Western theology is . . .  only one theology, one perspective of God’s work in the world. Other cultures are developing theology consistent with scripture, appropriate to their culture, yet different from Western theology.⁴³

Another student concluded:

I had the opportunity to take both the African course and the Latin American course. A simple comparison of the course material and readings would show how important contextual theology is. Perhaps, the simplest way [to put it is in] an unfairly small maxim: Space matters. God uses, redeems, reconciles . . . in real time, in real space. The fragrant smell of African summer theology does not fill the lungs in the same way the jungle air of Costa Rica does. And God intends that.⁴⁴

 Clearly, then, these student travelers gleaned insights about what each regional expression of faith brings to the table of the King. However limited their exposure through these intensive courses, they nonetheless reported an enhanced awareness of and appreciation for the vision of God’s kingdom as it is depicted in Revelation 7:9, with “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” 

Vocation in Life

“In my life and the vocation that the Lord has entrusted to me, how is it then that I want to move?”⁴⁵ So asked a student in the focus group, raising the question of what impact, if any, the experience of engaging with diverse Christians in a new setting might have upon students’ own sense of vocation in life. The research findings indicate that students responded to their cross-cultural learning experiences in a variety of ways touching on personal vocation, subsequent theological studies, and ministry.

A few students described undergoing a profound shift in vocational calling through their experience in Kenya or Costa Rica. For example, when asked if he benefitted from taking the course, a Japanese pastor responded, “First, I got a special calling from God during this course. This is a spiritual experience within the course, not so much intellectual or academic.” He explained further, 

God gave me special direction, a calling to explore Japanese Christianity and the contextualization of the gospel. . . . That became part of my calling besides my pastoral . . . work, the contextualization of the Christian gospel into Japanese culture, society, and community.⁴⁶

Other students, while not experiencing a change in vocation, noticed a significant shift in the way they carry out their work. One student commented on how encountering different viewpoints on the Christian faith provided her with “a new appreciation for dialogue and for trying to reach mutual understanding.” Her research during the course had involved peace-building between Muslim and Christian women in Kenya, which she said prepared her for her move to a majority Muslim country just months after the Kenya course: “I had already sort of opened my understanding to appreciate similarities and commonalities between Christianity and Islam. So I was able to have conversions that . . . were open, that were meaningful and that were leading towards truth.⁴⁷

A number of other students described the impact of these immersion courses on their subsequent theological studies, with the clearest expression as follows:

It shaped every course I took. How could it not? It reframed the way I understand Christianity and the role I play in it. I had a new imagination for God’s work in me and the People of God. I am not who I used to be, nor who I thought I would be. I will list just a few ways. It shaped the questions I asked during my course; it also led me to notice who was asking the questions in the classroom and which voices were silent. I saw power structures in classes I was utterly unaware of despite sitting with the same students for two years. I sought out the hushed voice. I chose groups with people who did not look like me and went to places where I would be uncomfortable for Christ’s sake. . . . At graduation, I was standing next to a fellow [MDiv student] . . . and he noted how my disposition was different than my fellow [MDiv classmates], bent towards justice. That bent is echoed and amplified because of [my experiences in] Kenya and Costa Rica.⁴⁸

Further, students attested to the influence of these cross-cultural courses upon their subsequent ministries. They identified values, such as welcome and hospitality, that they witnessed more intensely in foreign Christian contexts and that they now seek to emulate in their home contexts. They also highlighted specific skills they had gained. One student observed that the skills of “intercultural sensitivity,” which were somewhat honed through how her “eyes were opened” in Kenya, are assisting her in her current work with international students from China, India, Iran, and Russia.⁴⁹ Still other students revealed transformations in their perspective on ministry. For example, one respondent explained that his engagement with Mavuno Church in Nairobi affected his current student ministry: “It’s encouraged me to think more missionally, to think how can we invite the Holy Spirit to galvanize movement in society, and change people’s hearts and minds for Christ.”⁵⁰ Two others spoke of a new sensitivity to “theology of place.” One of these students related this to his ministry among immigrants in downtown Vancouver and his heightened awareness of the different expressions of theology that are embedded within various cultures and peoples now living in Canada.⁵¹ The other explained how her experience in Kenya “forced me to ask questions of my own location, similar to what we do of scripture. . . . How do the questions being asked for the original audience in scripture intercept with the questions being asked now in my society, in my culture?”⁵²

Finally, several students also revealed the influence of the immersive travel experience on their subsequent pastoral ministries. For example, one pastor serving a local church in Canada described his “more collaborative team approach” and the opportunities he had for “sharing the wealth of what I learned” in Kenya with fellow church leaders while discussing church planting, discipleship, leadership training, or other aspects of ministry.⁵³ A pastor in China reflected on the continuing impact of her experience in Kenya on her ministry as follows:

Right now I am continuing to think [about] and process . . . the relationship between the gospel and culture. . . . My experience in Kenya helped me to really see [that] culture does not equal the gospel, and the gospel can really have its impact in every single culture. . . .  I am challenging people to think more creatively about our own culture and the gospel . . . to see how we are influenced, shaped, maybe bounded by our own culture, and how we are infusing the church with our own cultural habits and customs. . . . [We need] to let our own life and our church be more Christ-like rather than Chinese culture bounded. And in doing so, we are also preparing ourselves to be better missionaries and sending churches, because in the future, I believe Chinese churches will send many missionaries to other places or regions in the world.⁵⁴ 

“There and Back Again”

To return to our hobbit friends, we find that their stories end in transformation. As Gandalf wisely notes, Bilbo is changed by his adventure with the Dwarves. Frodo undergoes even more dramatic character formation as a result of his epic travels, as do the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Indeed, by the time the Fellowship officially disbands, the hobbits have formed lasting ties with friends from two different kingdoms of Men, while Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf have agreed to teach each other about their cultures’ deep-seated appreciation for forests and stone caves, respectively.⁵⁵

Again, if we are captivated by the dramatic transformation wrought on Tolkien’s characters through their experience with diverse companions on the Road to the unknown, how much more striking is the Apostle Peter’s conversion through his journey to Caesarea and encounter with Cornelius and his community? After all, it was this experience that led Peter to the stunning realization that the gospel of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit were not only for Jews but also for Gentiles.

This discovery was later affirmed by the Jerusalem Council, recorded in Acts 15, which “marked the church’s first critical departure from Jewish tradition and experience. What is more, it gave rise to situations that were open-ended and unpredictable.”⁵⁶ As the gospel took root and spread among Hellenistic peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean world, new situations and questions arose, requiring believers to seek the mind of Christ in every social and intellectual sphere of life. In the course of this expansion, Christianity took on increasingly diverse expressions among different cultures while maintaining the essential unity of faith in Jesus.

Just as first-century believers like Peter experienced profound personal transformation through engaging in the cross-cultural diffusion of the gospel, so twenty-first-century believers have the opportunity to experience discovery and growth through encountering the Christian faith in new contexts today. Whether these new encounters take place across the globe or within our local milieux, followers of Jesus can benefit from deepening their experience of fellowship with diverse believers in our common faith in Christ. In the process, they can gain an enhanced sense of their own spiritual identity and a clearer understanding of what it means to be part of the global Body of Christ in its universal and particular dimensions. Again, personal transformation is not a given. Yet the testimony of these students reflecting on immersive learning experiences in Kenya and/or Costa Rica reveals that many did experience change in aspects of their personal identity, vision of God, and vocation in life. 

Such opportunities for cross-cultural immersion invite us into similar avenues for spiritual growth. According to transformative learning, the most prevalent theory in adult education today, “transformational learning shapes people; they are different afterward, in ways both they and others can recognize.”⁵⁷ Among the many approaches to transformative learning, N. K. Charaniya explores “cultural-spiritual transformation” in which one’s identity is challenged and “then expanded through engagement with experiences that are intellectual, relational, and reflective. Finally, the culmination is a clearer or more pronounced understanding of self and of one’s role in the world.”⁵⁸ 

Trevor Hudson, a Methodist minister and pastoral therapist, cautions that transformation is not ensured, insisting rather that “transformation into greater Christlikeness comes as a gift to those generously open to the Holy Spirit.”⁵⁹ If the reflections examined above are any indication, these students are recognizably growing as “interculturally competent world Christians,” engaged in a “cycle of learning” that evolves slowly as they

develop the capacity to encounter God in new contexts, to participate in the worldwide Christian church, to enjoy the rich diversity of God’s creation, . . . to share their faith graciously with peoples of other languages and cultures . . . [and to] become increasingly committed to reach out to others with Christ-like humility, empathy, and love.⁶⁰

May they—and may we ourselves—continue this journey of faith as “the Road goes ever on and on.”