Category Archives: Cultural intelligence

Three reasons to read the Bible through the “lens of honor and shame”

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Honor and shame, , , ,

#1: When we understand that the ancient world of the Bible is characterized by the pivotal cultural value of honor and shame—we can better understand God’s Word. 

  • The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) said: “Now the greatest external good we should assume to be the thing which we offer as a tribute to the gods and which is most coveted by men of high station, and is the prize awarded for the noblest deeds; and such a thing is honour, for honour is clearly the greatest of external goods … it is honour above all else that great men claim and deserve.” [1]
  • “Athenians excel all others not so much in singing or in stature or in strength, as in love of honour” –Xenophon [2] (c. 430–354 BC)
  • “For the glory that the Romans burned to possess, be it known, is the favourable judgment of men who think well of other men.” [3]–Augustine of Hippo (354–430)
  • “The ancients name love of honor and praise as their premier value.” –Jerome Neyrey[4]

So to be a faithful interpreter of the ancient texts of the Holy Bible, we benefit from being familiar with the cultural values of the world in which the Bible authors wrote—namely, the pivotal cultural value of honor and shame.

#2: As we read the Bible through the lens of honor and shame, we’ll see more readily that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is not only remedying the guilt of persons—God is also covering the shame and restoring the honor of persons.

Notice these verses which address the covering of shame and restoration and even the elevation of honor of those wo follow Christ:

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. –John 1:12–13 ESV

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? –John 5:44

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, –John 17:20-22 ESV

 …if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.  –Romans 10:9–11 ESV

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  –2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 ESV

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. –2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 ESV

For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. –1 Peter 2:6-8 ESV

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. –Colossians 1:27 ESV

#3: As we read the Bible through the lens of honor and shame, we recognize that these same cultural values are vitally important to many Majority World peoples today. This helps people from the West and Majority World understand each other better—and build meaningful friendships more easily.

  • We (Westerners) become aware of the powerful motivation of “saving face”—protecting oneself (and the other person!) from embarrassment. We learn the art and the value of indirect communication.
  • We recognize that job title, age, and “position of authority” is just as significant as effectiveness or job performance.
  • We learn that kinship and family “name” can be much more important than it is to people living in highly individualistic societies. We learn to honor the family more deeply.
  • We develop the ability to value relationships as much as tasks, and that just being together is honoring of the people with whom we gather, and is as valuable as any accomplishment.
  • We learn to put team or group ahead of the individual—requiring us to submit our own desires to those of the community. This can encourage us to be more patient. When everything inside says, Stand up and speak and make your ideas known!—we instead exercise patience and calmness in honor of the larger group.

Since early 2009, I’ve been reading my Bible through the lens of honor and shame. I say this plainly:

As I journey in life as a follower of Christ—I have gained a better sense of my own honor before God as my Father, and have become more comfortable in relating to people from non-Western cultures. A big reason why is that I’ve been reading the Bible through the lens of honor and shame.

[1] See Jerome H. Neyrey: Honor and Shame in the Gospel of Matthew (Louisville: Westminster Press, 1998) p.5
[2] ibid, p. 17
[3] ibid, p. 17
[4] ibid, p. 17

Seven bestowals of honor—when God called Abraham

Bible commentary, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Honor and shame

Seven bestowals of honor

The Call of Abraham is found in Genesis 12:1–3. If we understand that blessing is an important way of bestowing honor in an honor-shame culture, then I contend that inside of this Call are seven bestowals of honor promised by God to Abraham.

First, let’s look at the verses:

1  Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

2  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

What Abram did in response to God’s call was a tremendous risk, and constituted a huge counter-cultural act of boldness. Why? Because it violated the traditional way that men accrued and preserved their honor: kinship, land, and livestock. Despite this great risk, consider these seven honor-laden rewards that Abram (who became “Abraham”) would receive by believing God’s promise and acting in obedience:

  1. “to the land that I will show you”—God was promising Abraham that, although he was to leave the honor of his father’s land, Abraham would gain the honor of another land. This was made plain in later revelations from God that this “promised land” was to be the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:18–21, Gen. 17:8).
  2. “I will make of you a great nation”—this was God’s promise that, although Abraham had no son, had no heir, and therefore had none of the highly-prized honor that comes by having a son to carry on his name—Abraham would nevertheless, according to God’s promise, be the father of a great nation. Further promises from God revealed that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5). God also said, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you” (Gen. 17:6). God’s promise to honor Abraham in this way is of inestimable value.
  3. “I will bless you”—this is God’s bestowal of divine favor on the man Abraham. In the economy of honor and shame, to be blessed by God Almighty (Gen. 17:1) constituted an enormous accrual of ascribed honor.
  4. “I will make your name great”—this was God’s promise that Abraham would gain a public reputation of great honor. Abraham would become a man of renown and glory in the “public square.”
  5. “so that you will be a blessing”—this is God’s promise that Abraham would become a benefactor. A man can only be a benefactor of blessing if he himself is a man of means; he must first himself be a person of wealth and honor if he is to be a means of blessing to others. God’s promise that Abram would “be a blessing” is another promise of honor.
  6. “I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse”—this is God’s promise to pay close attention to the social, public dimension of Abraham’s relations. As blessing is to honor, so also is cursing to dishonor; this is a vivid acknowledgment by God of the public nature of honor and shame. God is guaranteeing that He will not allow Abraham to be shamed by his enemies. Again, this is an extremely valuable bestowal of honor from God to Abram.
  7. “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”—this is God’s way of explaining the extent of the honor which is to accrue to Abram’s account. God promises that Abram’s honor will not be limited to his own family, local community or region. God promises that Abraham will ultimately have the weighty influence that extends to all the families of the earth—a global significance, global renown.

Again, from the cultural perspective of honor and shame, God told Abram to abandon the traditional source of honor (in that culture it was a truly unthinkable act; this was a huge risk) … in exchange for the honor that God himself was able to give.

God is establishing a prototype in Abraham. He is demonstrating that people who follow God exchange their traditional source of honor for honor that comes from one eternal source—God himself. This honor cannot be revoked or lost; the honor is embedded in God Himself, and revealed in His blessings.

Consider the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22—in which Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son. This represents the climax of a lifestyle of risk which Abraham lives out by faith in covenantal relationship with God—and which, in the end, is commensurate with the immense honor, inexpressible in value, granted him by God.

Would Abraham have taken such enormous risks had it not been for the utterly astounding set of promises made by God that Abraham would gain immeasurable honor from both God Himself and from the nations?

“Top-line, bottom-line” or “Glorious honor from top to bottom”?

The Call of Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3 is sometimes seen through the lens known as “top-line, bottom-line.” Proponents of this “top-line, bottom-line” view say that God gives to us his blessings (top-line); therefore, believers have an obligation, a responsibility, a duty—to share those blessings with the nations (bottom-line). We are blessed to be a blessing, as the popular missions song goes.

While the Call of Abraham covenant may be seen in this light (for, indeed, we do have an awesome responsibility!) I wonder whether this may be primarily a Western cultural reading of the passage. Could it be that the seven-fold bestowal of honor to Abraham suggests that there is no “top-line, bottom line” separation in the way that Abraham would have received and understood the promise? Could it be that every aspect of the covenant, including the responsibility to bless others—was an expression of great honor bestowed by God upon Abraham, and therefore an enormous, glorious delight?

I contend that from top to bottom, from beginning to end of the passage of Genesis 12:1–3, for Abraham to be included in God’s global purpose was an astounding honor. God’s promise/command that Abram would “be a blessing” is not just a delegation of duty; it is another facet of the magnificent diamond of honor by which Abraham would himself (through his descendants) become a most-honored benefactor to the nations. This is an extension of the divine patronage that originates in Almighty God himself—the ultimate Patron—for whose glory the universe was made.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29 ESV). We are Abraham’s offspring as followers of Christ! It follows that, in the spirit of God’s promise to Abraham, we as Great Commission Christians should embrace the sacrificial responsibility—as well as the eternal magnificent honor—of declaring his glory to the nations.

Is listening THE catalyst for blessing the nations?

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Godly character, Listening, Powerboat vs Sailboat

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,
but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7 ESV)

The Bible teaches that when it comes to spiritual fruit, “God gives the growth.” But with our modern management orientation in Christian ministry, we often think we can control outcomes. This is understandable because of the high-control mindset—so common in the secular environment of the Western world; but is it biblical?

I once attended a small gathering of mission leaders for a “Sailboat Retreat” during which we compared the powerboat mindset with the sailboat mindset—and what it could mean for Christian mission ministry. (Note: If you want to understand the difference between the powerboat and sailboat mindsets, click here for a brief article.)  One of the things we discussed is that money is very often a controlling force in ministry. As a result, fundraising is what often shapes ministry. This can be quite unhealthy, an example of “the tail wagging the dog.”

In keeping with the sailboat theme of “catching the wind of God”—one of the ideas we considered in our sailboat retreat is this:

Instead of having money as the single greatest catalyst for ministry, what if that catalyst was simply listening—listening to God and His Word, and listening to people?

To make this contrast clear, take a look at two “formulas” for ministry. With the “powerboat” formula for Christian mission, the catalyst is money:

Money drives ministry for results
Money drives ministry for results
  • Money drives the process; no funding = no ministry = no results.
  • Money comes first; listening is almost optional and comes last.
  • Primary emphasis on fundraising and methods to raise money.
  • Western nations have more funds, therefore wealthy nations tend to control ministry.
  • Implies reliance on expensive structures, technology, “missions machinery.”
  • Money makes “mission” go fast.
  • Tremendous pressure on people for results—measurement of outcomes—in order to maintain funding. This shapes ministry strategy and reporting protocol.

With the “sailboat” formula for Christian mission, things are very different. The variables are the same, but the priorities are different. The catalyst is listening—to God and people.

Listening shapes ministry for faithfulness
Listening shapes ministry for faithfulness
  • Listening replaces money as the catalyst for global missions.
  • Listening comes first; money is almost optional and comes last.
  • Primary emphasis on—listening to God—catching the wind of the Holy Spirit.
  • Implies a quantum leap by Christian mission leaders in the West relative to listening to Christian mission leaders in the Majority World—while at the same time adopting more of a servant role rather than a leadership role in missions.
  • Ministry can go forward without excessive reliance on funding.
  • Sometimes fast, sometimes slow; it depends on the wind of God.
  • Results are up to God, and can greatly exceed the plans of people, or not. Either one is okay, because God is in control. What is required is that God’s people be found faithful.

Obviously, there are generalizations involved in making formulas and it would be easy to critique specific pieces of the formulas above. Nevertheless, the point of this is to imagine: What would be different in your cross-cultural partnership, if you put listening ahead of funding? What if listening to God and to people was by far the most important, the most catalytic practice, in your cross-cultural partnership ministry—or any ministry, for that matter?

Visit this blog for more resources on the sailing mindset in Christian ministry: http://sailingfriends.wordpress.com/

Recent Changes in Christian Approaches to Islam

Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Global trends, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership, Stories and reports, World news affecting partnership, ,

This article by Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo provides great insight into the challenges and tensions concerning Christian ministry to Muslims.

Recent Changes in Christian Approaches to Islam

It deals with such things as:

  • The impact of 9/11, and how various governments dealt with the issue of violent Islamic extremists
  • Various efforts concerning Christian-Muslim dialog and the InterFaith movement
  • The Insider Movement in missions and areas of concern

The article is nuanced and is written by a Christian intellectual who is a former Muslim. I recommend it highly. Below the article is “An Assessment of the Insiders’ Principle Paradigms”, by Jay Smith—also a valuable perspective.

New video teaching about honor and shame

Bible study, Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Honor and shame,

“Big Shame or Big Honor? Exploring the Dynamics of Honor and Shame in Cross-Cultural Partnership” by Werner Mischke may be seen here: https://vimeo.com/43444852

Presented at the 2012 COSIM conference, this teaching:

  1. Shows how the story of the Prodigal Son uses honor and shame concepts to introduce the message of salvation through Christ,
  2. Examines the key dynamics of 
honor and shame from a 
social-science perspective—
with examples from Scripture,
  3. Explores honor and shame 
as the pivotal cultural value of the Bible, and of most of the Majority World / 
unreached peoples, and
  4. Examines applications 
to cross-cultural ministries 
and partnerships through understanding the dynamics of honor and shame.

For a free 30-page article by Werner Mischke, “Honor & Shame and Cross-Cultural Relationships”, visit: beautyofpartnership.org/about/free. To contact Werner Mischke about Bible-based training in honor and shame dynamics, write to werner@mission1.org.

Does Jesus have cultural intelligence? Part 2 … Relating to the quintessential deviant

Bible study, Cultural intelligence

In my last post, I introduced the idea of Jesus having cultural intelligence (CQ) based on his remarkable conversation with a Samaritan woman, “the woman at the well.”

This conversation—along with its impact on the woman, her Samaritan community, and Jesus’ disciples—is recorded in John 4:1–42.

“Woman at the well” by Martin Howard. Used by permission with Creative Commons license.

In this post I’ll begin exploring one aspect of the cultural intelligence of Jesus, based on this “formula” or definition of CQ, which comes from Brooks Peterson: [1]

“Knowledge about Cultures plus Awareness of Self and Others plus Specific Skills equals Cultural Intelligence.”

Let’s look at the first part of this definition: “Knowledge about Cultures”.

What specific knowledge did Jesus have about the Samaritan woman, and her Samaritan culture? What knowledge would Jesus have had, based simply on his living in his society like any other man of his day?

According to the ESV Study Bible the tensions between Jews and Samaritans were intense, and sometimes led to great conflict and bloodshed:

Tensions often ran high between Jews and Samaritans; thus Josephus recounts fighting between Jews and Samaritans during Claudius’s reign in the first century a.d. being so intense that Roman soldiers were called in to pacify (and to crucify) many of the rebels (Jewish War 2.232–246).

For additional insights about the social and cultural distance between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, consider the comments below from Jerome Neyrey, a scholar who has written extensively on the pivotal cultural value of honor and shame in the ancient Mediterranean world. Neyrey writes:

Of what might the Samaritan woman be a “representative”? Looking at 4:6-26, we argue that the narrator has concentrated in this one figure many of the characteristics of marginal persons with whom Jesus regularly deals in the synoptic gospels. She is an amalgam of cultural deviance. In terms of stereotypes, she is a non-Jew, who is ritually unclean; she is a “sinner,” a publicly recognized “shameless” person. … As a shameless woman, she embodies most of the social liabilities which would marginalize her in her society. At a minimum, she represents the gospel axiom that “least is greatest” or “last is first.” Ultimately, she represents inclusivity into the Christian group in a most radical way. The stereotype of gender expectations serves to portray her precisely as the quintessential deviant, the last and least person who would be expected to find favor with God (see 1 Cor 15:8-9). Her status transformation in 4:6-26 is basically that of a person moving from “not in the know” to “in the know” and from outsider to insider.[2]

What are we to conclude about Jesus? From this cultural reading of the passage we learn that Jesus related profoundly to the “quintessential deviant”. Jesus includes the Samaritan woman in his story and mission, despite her social and cultural deviance. It’s a radical kind of inclusivity.

Jesus knew all these things about Samaria and the Samaritan woman. Nevertheless, Jesus was totally intentional in going there. With regards to the verse, “And he had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:4 ESV), the ESV Study Bible says:

Jesus had to pass this way because of geography (it was the shortest route), but the words may also indicate that Jesus’ itinerary was subject to the sovereign and providential plan of God (“had to” translates Gk. dei, “to be necessary,” which always indicates divine necessity or requirement elsewhere in John: 3:7, 14, 30; 9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9).

Indeed, “Jesus’ itinerary was subject to the sovereign and providential plan of God.” Concerning this entire episode of his cross-cultural encounter with the Samaritans, Jesus said to the disciples,

…My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:34 ESV)

It was the will of the Father who sent him. Jesus considered his cross-cultural encounter with this Samaritan woman—the “quintessential deviant”—as vital to life as eating. What are the lessons for us?

My next post will explore the things that Jesus knew about the Samaritan woman because of his divine knowledge—and what implications this has for understanding the cultural intelligence of Jesus.

========================
1. See Brooks Peterson: Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures (Boston: Intercultural Press, 2004, p13)
2. See Jerome Neyrey: “What’s Wrong With This Picture? John 4, Cultural Stereotypes of Women, and Public and Private Space”, accessed at http://www.nd.edu/~jneyrey1/picture.html

Does Jesus have cultural intelligence? Part 1

Bible commentary, Cultural intelligence
“Woman at the well” by Martin Howard. Used by permission with Creative Commons license.

Jesus was Jewish. He was born into a Jewish family and related to Jewish people. So many of his interactions recorded in the Gospels were with Jewish religious leaders. All of his disciples were Jewish. So it is common for us to think that Jesus did not interact with people from other cultures.

But in John 4:1–42, Jesus had a remarkably effective conversation with a non-Jewish woman—a Samaritan woman.

Does this conversation prove that Jesus has cultural intelligence (CQ)? [1]

One could say that the cultural distance wasn’t that much between Jesus’ Jewish culture and the Samaritan culture; it was much less than, say, the cultural distance between a white middle-class American and a primitive tribe in Africa.

So one might conclude … Jesus and CQ? Not so much.

However, I believe you can attribute supreme cultural intelligence (CQ) to Jesus Christ. In this series of blog posts, I make a case for the cultural intelligence of Jesus Christ based on three things:

  1. Jesus is omniscient. One can attribute cultural intelligence to Jesus Christ by the Scripture-based belief that Jesus is God, and God knows all things. “Great is our Lord … his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5 ESV). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ESV). Jesus is perfect in every type of intelligence. It follows therefore, that in knowledge, facts and relational skills, Jesus Christ has complete and perfect understanding of everything, including every culture that has ever existed on earth. Jesus knows how to build relationships with anyone and everyone, regardless of tribe, ethnicity, social class, language, religion, or other cultural difference.
  2. Jesus crossed a huge divide between Jews and Samaritans. There were huge social and cultural differences between Jesus and the woman from Samaria. (I will explain this in greater detail in the second post in this series.)
  3. Jesus built this relationship with ease, despite the huge divide. Jesus initiated a conversation with the Samaritan woman—“the woman at the well”—and this conversation was profoundly meaningful. The cross-cultural relationship-building skills of the Savior were demonstrated by the fact that this woman became a follower of Jesus. Moreover, Jesus was introduced by the woman to her larger Samaritan community where Jesus further developed meaningful relationships, again demonstrating his extremely high degree of relational skill. (I will explore this further in the third posting in this series.)

According to Brooks Peterson,[2] cultural intelligence may be defined by this ‘equation’:

What I hope to show in this series of posts is that Jesus demonstrated cultural intelligence (CQ) by his:

  • knowledge about both Jewish and Samaritan culture
  • awareness of both himself and the Samaritan woman
  • specific skills and behaviors

Finally, in the fourth posting, I will offer practical suggestions based on my observations—for followers of Jesus Christ who are involved in build cross-cultural relationships and partnerships.

You are invited to share your comments!

=====================================

1. The term, cultural intelligence, or CQ, is a field of study to help people better work together in cross-cultural settings. See Wikipedia for more info. I am using the term, cultural intelligence, to derive insights about the wisdom of Jesus Christ, believing that he is an outstanding example to his followers for building relationships cross-culturally.
2. Brooks Peterson: Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures (Boston: Intercultural Press, 2004, p13).

New book on cross-cultural partnership focuses on money and missions

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership

Mary Lederleitner has provided a valuable service to the Church. Her book, Cross-Cultural Partnership: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission, has much from which we can learn.

In my blog, I intend to highlight several things from the book which liked or which I found particularly helpful. I’ll begin with this quote from chapter 2:

A core concept in many collectivistic societies is “face.” Many people in individualistic cultures make the mistake of assuming it is the same thing as reputation. However, its meaning and role in society is far greater. Individualistic cultures navigate life by utilizing a currency of money, but collectivistic cultures navigate life by using a currency of face.[1]

For those of us in the West, the idea that “face” has its own “currency” is for most a new idea. But when you apply this understanding to cross-cultural partnerships, it can bring insight to financial and accountability misunderstandings. In her book, Mary frequently connects a principle to a real-life story and makes the principle come alive.

Individualistic societies like those in America and many Western nations have very different ways of thinking about money in comparison to the more group-oriented peoples of the Majority World. So in a cross-cultural partnership, handling money and accountability in a healthy way requires an extra measure of wisdom and cultural intelligence on all sides.

Considering all the “complexities of money and mission,” it is no wonder that so much can go wrong and often does. Cross-cultural partnerships are challenging, but when done in a healthy way—informed by both Scripture and cultural intelligence—Mary believes they can be a powerful kingdom-building strategy. Needless to say, I agree with her.

Mary writes from her many years of experience working as a CPA with Wycliffe International; this afforded her many opportunities to serve as a bridge between a predominantly Western agency and indigenous Christian mission organizations. She tells many stories “from the trenches.” Thus, Mary has a strong grasp of both the peril and value of cross-cultural partnerships. Add to that Mary’s high regard for biblical guidance and wisdom … this all combines for a compelling vantage point from which to write and serve others who are engaged in the world Christian movement.

I highly recommend Mary Lederleitner’s book, Cross-Cultural Partnership: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission.

1. Mary Lederleitner: Cross-Cultural Partnership: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission (Downers Grove, InterVarsity Press, 2010) p. 45.

The Beauty of Partnership, Standard Edition—learning journey for individuals and small groups engaged in cross-cultural ministry

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Training
The Beauty of Partnership Study Guide, Standard Edition, is perfect for individuals and small groups who are engaging in cross-cultural partnerships, but are unsure about what constitutes truly healthy and wise practices. It is ideal as a six-week study for small groups.

Developed over the past two years, The Beauty of Partnership is a missional learning journey for followers of Christ and “average church members” — to gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for healthy cross-cultural partnerships. The front cover subhead reads: “Equipping followers of Jesus Christ for healthy cross-cultural partnerships to bring hope to the peoples of the world.”

More than a book with good information and concepts, this study guide leads people on an interactive journey to discover how they can be successful in cross-cultural relationships and partnerships. It is appropriate for believers engaged in cooperative alliances—between local churches/ministries in the West and their counterparts in the Majority World. It is a learning journey designed for believers to experience in community.

The research for The Beauty of Partnership was completed in 2008 as part of a four-credit independent study course which I did at Phoenix Seminary under Dr. Malcolm Hartnell. The design and editing for the study was largely done in 2009 and 2010. Built on the principles of adult learning theory (inductive/input/implementation/integration), the study has three inter-related areas: godly character, cultural intelligence, and organizational competence.

Suitable for a 6-week study for small groups, mission committees, frequent mission trip goers, and others engaged in cross-cultural partnership ministry, the 8-1/2 x 11 book is one-third study guide, and two-thirds readings. The readings are all part of a guided study, and users develop their own conclusions, spiritual insights, and applications based on the Bible studies, readings, reflections, and practices.

Authors included in the readings of The Beauty of Partnership Study Guide are Alex Araujo, Stephen M. R. Covey, Duane Elmer, Jon Lewis, Mary Lederleitner, Bryant Myers, Brooks Peterson, and Daniel Rickett.

At the 2010 COSIM conference, I will be leading a workshop on Tuesday afternoon June 8, called “The Beauty of Partnership: Learning journey / curriculum for lay persons and small groups.” I will be introducing this new mission eduction resource for lay persons. The study guide will be available at the COSIM conference at a significant discount.

If you would like a review copy of The Beauty of Partnership Study Guide, or if you would like to be contacted by email as soon as this study guide is available, please write to me, Werner Mischke.

What is “knowledge paternalism?”

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Godly character, Helping the poor, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert are the authors of this excellent book

From When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert …

All of us need to remember that the materially poor really are created in God’s image and have the ability to think and to understand the world around them. They actually know something about their situation, and we need to listen to them! This does not need to degenerate into some sort of new-age ,“the-truth-is-within-you” quagmire. Like all of us, the materially poor are often wrong about how the world works and can benefit fro the knowledge of others. In fact, a key trigger point for change in a community is often being exposed to a new way of doing something. But it is reflective of a god-complex to assume that we have all the knowledge and that we always know best.

Knowledge paternalism may be a particular temptation for Christian businesspeople from North America, many of whom are showing considerable passion for using their God-given abilities to train low-income entrepreneurs in the Majority World. This passion is a wonderful development and has enormous potential to advance Christ’s kingdom around the world. But the fact that a person successfully operates a software company in Boston does not ensure that this person has the best business advice for a highly vulnerable farmer living on one dollar per day in the semi-feudal institutional setting of rural Guatemala. Humility, caution, and an open ear are in order.

I appreciate the respect the authors show to the materially poor for the knowledge they do possess. This need for this is amplified when Christian leaders from North America enter into cross-cultural partnerships with Christian leaders in the Majority World, who as indigenous followers of Christ, usually have a clearer understanding—better knowledge—of how to share the love of Jesus and build God’s kingdom in their community.

The ideal in a cross-cultural partnership is to learn from one another and to learn together. This has the effect of deepening the relationship reservoir from which to pursue your ministry goals, and to work through inevitable misunderstandings.

For more on paternalism: What is “resource paternalism?” /  What is “spiritual paternalism?”