Only in Micronesia?

Challenges of the Church Today The church in Micronesia has made great progress in meeting the challenge of inculturation; today it is tightly woven into the fabric of society.  The danger, however, is that the church may have become too domesticated.  Fitting comfortably into the large niche that has been carved for it, the church might be a little too accommodating to society.  If the risk of the past was that the church might overlook the value of island culture, the danger in our own time is that the church might become a prisoner to culture.  The church is called to be a prophetic voice calling whole peoples, not just individuals, to the service of the Lord.  It is tempting for local churches to abandon their prophetic role on the grounds that the Micronesian way is non-confrontational.

The church in Micronesia also faces the danger of becoming too inward-looking.  It can easily become so preoccupied with its membership, prestige and wealth that it loses sight of its broader evangelizing mission. Just as fund-raising is competitive in the Pacific, so is the design and construction of churches, with each local community eager to outdo the others.  Someone once stated, with some justice, that competitive church-building is the national sport in Micronesia. It is tempting for the church to bask in its pride of place in the community rather than risk walking the alleyways of Babylon.  It is safer to tend its flock exclusively instead of offering outreach to the broader community, to restrict its message to narrowly defined religious topics rather than attempt its larger task of providing healing service to the world. 

Taken from http://www.micsem.org/pubs/counselor/frames/churchmicronesiafr.htm

One of the biggest problems of inculturation is that in a culture there are sins that are part of a culture. Things like pride, insensibility to the pain of others, or even the intability of marriage. These things can sleep into the lives of the church, especially when local members or a younger generation takes office.