The Bible’s clearest statement of the principle "meet people where they are" is found in First Corinthians 9:19-23. "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." I have written on this passage at some length elsewhere (Present Truth in the Real World (1993), pages 23-27; Everlasting Gospel, Everchanging World (2008), pages 13-18).

This passage contains Paul’s clearest mandate for an outreach that accommodates itself to a variety of cultures and backgrounds. The more the gospel worker enters into the life and culture of the recipients, the greater the success of the outreach. In so doing, Paul is taking risks with his own spiritual experience (1 Cor 9:24-27). He is even willing to risk being misunderstood. The first couple of chapters in Second Corinthians make it clear that Paul’s flexibility in mission led to considerable tension with the church in Corinth. The Corinthians seem to be asking how they can trust someone who is constantly "changing his mind" (2 Cor 1:12-20), whose "yes" is really "no" and vice versa. Presenting the gospel effectively is not without its risks.

A fascinating point comes into play in verse 20. To the Jew Paul "became" (a Greek aorist) like a Jew. But Paul already was a Jew. Yet there was a sense in which his Judaism had been altered by the gospel. Judaism was something he could re-adopt for the sake of the gospel. The use of "became" with the article suggests that Paul was referring to a specific occasion, perhaps that of Timothy’s circumcision or an incident like the one mentioned in Acts 21:23-26.

In verse 22 Paul sums up saying he has become "all things to all," with the final "all" being the sum total of Jews, under the law, apart from law, and weak that he had described in verses 20-22. There is a driving principle in all of Paul’s mission actions: Place no unnecessary barriers in the way of those who need to hear the gospel. It is the obligation of the one presenting the gospel to cross the divide between the presenter and those who need to hear the gospel. It is not the obligation of the hearer to bridge that gap.

For example, "To the weak I became weak." The term weak here is not used in the physical sense, it had to do with people who were over-scrupulous in spiritual matters. Rather than condemning their scruples, Paul abstained from things they thought were wrong even though he did not consider doing them to be wrong. He did not allow his freedom in Christ to get in the way of the "weak" coming to understand the gospel (1 Cor 8:4-13), which is the only way the "weak" could become "strong" anyway.

The passage suggests that we accommodate those who need to hear the gospel even to the point of seeming to become just like them. How to apply that in today’s world requires special insight from the Holy Spirit. I recommend the above-mentioned books to those who may want to go deeper with these ideas (available by CD or download at this site).