Music is a mirror reflecting a community's life and a medium of exchange; not just entertainment but a vital component of culture, a locus of social meanings and values. Cultures are never static. Music is a vehicle for modification and variation of cultural meanings. Strangers, too, are a means whereby cultures may be infiltrated and enriched. This article considers the various cultural components—music, gift-exchange, strangers, and social change—as the social fabric out of which the inculturation of the gospel must be woven. And it is a cross-cultural parable containing lessons for local congregations and communities.
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