Kingdom Oneness in Gospel Witness: Men and Women Commissioned Together The writings of Paul give much explanation of how the Lord was establishing His church and causing it to expand rapidly throughout the Roman world. One of its key distinctives was a radical, counter-cultural, new order way people were to live, work and minister together. …
Reconciliation: Jesus restores women to Genesis 1 Then came Jesus. And the plan of redemption takes significant ground when it comes to women. Jesus treated the women around him in ways entirely counter to the post-Genesis 3 patriarchal culture. No other Rabbi had female disciples. Jesus did. Women were not even allowed to be taught …
Reconciliation and Oneness in Gospel Witness:Once we recognise the limitations communicating in a second language brings and honour one another’s languaculture, we can experience unity together and the richness of God more fully. As Eddie Arthur, missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators, writes, Just as each culture brings something new to humanity, so does every language. …
Consider another true story from our movement. (The identity, voice, and personal details have been changed.) This story illustrates how one national leader approached the dynamics between resource-abundant and resource-limited staff members. Use the reflection questions below to aid your learning. https://www.ldhr.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2022/05/Case-Study-Wealth-2.mp4 Transcript Some years ago, the national leader in a nation with staff members …
Consider this true story from our movement. (The identity, voice, and personal details have been changed.) For the sake of this exercise imagine you are the National Leader responsible for this city and cross-cultural leader. Answer the questions following the video. https://www.ldhr.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2022/05/Case-Study-Wealth.mp4 Transcript I’m from France, and I lead a team of recent graduates serving …
In the missionary world, it is not uncommon to see leaders from resource-abundant countries serving in resource-limited countries and teaming up with other local Christian leaders to develop ministries. Although all missionaries must have stable finances to work full-time in our organizational environment, the difference in amounts available for expenses can be highly contrasting. Unfortunately, …
How we handle finances often directly relates to how we view authority, decision-making, and the collective values of our culture. For example, there seems to be less consensus or accountability in how the leader decides how to use finances in high power distance cultures. In such contexts, the saying: “He who has the money has …
Practical Action Intercultural Team Discussion First, individually and then as a team, reflect on how your communication has worked over the past few months. What are some ways the voices of native speakers might have had more influence than those of non-native speakers? Take time to hear from each other. Ask the following questions: How …
Learning from the Story Applying the Posture and Paradigm Tool for Navigating Power Structures:Revisit the lesson “Navigating Power Structures – Posture and Paradigm.” Consider downloading the worksheet to take notes on how you see this playing out in this story or ways in which the “Posture and Paradigm” could be applied. Questions to Consider:Reflect on …
As teams, we need a common language to communicate and cooperate in ministry. In most contexts globally (not just within our organisation), that will likely be English. Many (if not most) teams will consist of native speakers and others who have a variety of different languages as their mother tongue. How does using a common …
This is a true case study from our global movement. The identity, voice, and personal details have been changed. Please select this story, or another story from the wealth, ethnicity and race, or gender sections, for deeper study using the tools and questions below. First, listen to her story while practising the “Posture” of “Navigating …
Consider how you live out your identity (your personality, social behaviours, and interactions) and how your language plays a role in expressing it. How does operating in a second (third or fourth) language create difficulty expressing your own identity? For example, someone might be hilarious in their heart language, a deep reflective thinker, or a …
Practical Action Enacting Incremental Change Learning Objectives: For male staff to engage with their unconscious bias and assess their current view of women For female staff to engage with their self-perception and unconscious bias To make safe opportunities for women to share their stories with men and learn from them To understand the culturally-influenced bias …
Consider this true story from our movement. (The identity, voice, and personal details have been changed.) For the sake of this exercise, imagine you are a Regional Leader and you hear this story at a Regional Conference. Listen to the story and plan if or how you will speak with the National Director leading this …
Read Go deeper by reading and reflecting on the article: “Biblical Basis Overview of Gender” by Sheri Onishi. Personal Reflection Consider the four metanarrative topics you just studied. Creation: Take some time to reflect further on the truth that you are “imago Dei” of Almighty God. You are called to an intimate love relationship with Him …
The Fall: “He will rule over you” (Genesis 3:14-19)Unfortunately, we don’t get to see how a pre-Fall partnership between the man and the woman looked. The first sin leads to hiding, blaming, and isolation from one another and God. And then, God explains the consequences of their actions in Genesis 3:14-19. After Genesis 3, God’s …
We will use the “Posture and Paradigm” worksheet to help address one of these areas (ethnicity and race, gender, linguistics, and wealth) in our leadership context. In each of the following lessons, there is an opportunity to learn from staff members in our movement through actual case studies. You will find the case studies mixed …
Naaman Healed of Leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-19)After examining ethnicity in the metanarrative of Scripture, take time to reflect on the story of Naaman. Characters in the Story Naaman: (Hebrew: נַעֲמָן, “pleasantness”) commander of the army of the king of Syria (called in those days Aram). He was highly respected, courageous, and a national hero. However, …
Practical Action Seeking the Lord in Prayer True reconciliation – In addition to learning how to accept and respect diversity, we must remember to pray and listen to God. Practical Action Enacting Incremental Change Begins With Me Be an observer. Join an authentic tour in a very new or foreign culture to you, perhaps a …
Practical Action Identify the “Others” in Your Leadership Intercultural Leaders must be committed to Truth Telling. (Colossians 3:9-11, John 8:31b-32) Telling the truth will give freedom in our global movement to begin a conversation around prejudice and racism with authenticity. Take a moment to reflect on your own culture and the cultures you lead. What …
Examine the following overview of how ethnicity and race show up in the grand metanarrative of Scripture in the four areas of our ‘Biblical Foundation’ section of the module: Creation, The Fall, Reconciliation, and Oneness in Gospel Witness in God’s Kingdom. Creation: All People Created in God’s Image (Genesis 1:27) The Bible doesn’t start with …
The killing of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer in the United States in 2020 surfaced racism as a significant subject of discussion across the globe. Depending on where you live in the world, when you think about racism, you might think of current or historic racial transgressions in South Africa, …
In this next section, we will examine the cultural impact of power distance and how to approach the misuse of power as an intercultural and cross-cultural leader in the following four areas: wealth ethnicity and race gender linguistics Navigating Power Structures – Posture and Paradigm Each of the four topics is individually vast, and many …
Navigating Cultural Power Structures and Injustice Read More »
Do you realise how your own unconscious biases in these areas might be impacting you without you even realising it just as it did for the people in the video? Were you able to answer the riddle or were you shocked by your own unconscious bias in the area of gender? Watch this short video …
Throughout this module, we have thought about the biblical background to intercultural leadership and some of the challenges and necessary skills needed to succeed. One of the greatest challenges that we face is the issue of cultural power dynamics in leadership. There are many ways that power impacts our actions and decisions as leaders; sometimes, …
Think about it: Do you allow others to lead out of their worldview-based strengths as an intercultural leader? Do you reflect on what uniqueness they might have, or do you try to press others into operating based on your way of seeing the world? What do you need to do about this? Think back over …
Maybe you have come across these worldview bases (guilt v innocence, shame v honour, fear v power) before and have engaged with how you might share the gospel in a contextualised way like the Global Frontier Mission video explained. If you have not, why not spend some time comparing and thinking about these three gospel …
Practical Action Small Group or Team Reflection and Exercise Think about it: How can I/we grow in not jumping to conclusions but instead learn from our observations by validating our assumptions? Using the field observation cycle, what patterns can I/we establish to help us be more effective cultural learners? Practical Exercise: Observe Cross-Cultural Media Find …
How will I pause and reflect when faced with behaviour that causes an emotional reaction in me? What questions do I need to answer to determine where my drive to confront or withdraw originates? How do I err on the side of caution, knowing that it is often my “cultural norms” causing me to react …
Our ultimate aim as intercultural leaders is to take the gospel to the world. As we do that, it’s important to remember that we take our personal, cultural, and even organisational values with us. The message is filtered through us as we communicate with others. We need to keep in mind that there is a …
Practical Action Group Activity 1. On a Google Jamboard (or similar), write the following verses which instruct us on how to relate to one another: Be of the same mind with one another (Romans 12:16, 15:5) Don’t complain against one another (James 4:11, 5:9) Speak truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25) Be hospitable to one …
Consider the metanarrative: The Fall: Commonly, the heart (sin) response to encountering people with different values is consciously or unconsciously looking down on them and viewing our values as superior. The brokenness and conflict that come through value differences directly result from The Fall. Reconciliation: Understanding our own values and the values of others creates …
A word about hybridisation of worldview… Hybridisation is a subject that people often think about when considering the three bases of worldview we are thinking about. Now that travel around the world is so easy, and has been for decades, with us living around people from all sorts of cultures and nations, are the three …
Practical Action Reflection Questions Ideally, discuss with your team or another friend taking the course. Where do you see each of the emotional responses to sin from Genesis 3 in each worldview basis? List the strengths and weaknesses that might exist in living out of each worldview basis. What challenges might exist for an individual …
Where do you keep your ketchup? The determining factors of team effectiveness are how culturally competent the team members are and how their leadership manages diversity. (Don’t miss this – read that sentence a second time!) Contributing factors for a highly ineffective team are when one culture tends to dominate, causes confusion, cooperates weakly, and …
Some people or groups hold values very different from our own. These values can lead to serious conflict, depending on how closely we need to interact or cooperate. However, that is not the only way we experience value clashes. In many situations, as individuals and groups, we often find that two or more of our …
We all have values. They are shaped from many different sources and grow and develop throughout our lifetime. Our family, relationships, culture, community, faith, and upbringing all impact our values; the list is endless. Values – the ideas and beliefs we hold as special – really matter to us. They are often the things that …
Practical Action Discuss Your Personalised Team Culture Map Access your team or leadership sphere’s personalised Culture Map. To receive a map, select one person on your team to create an account on Erin Meyer’s website and purchase access to the country mapping tool (Cost: USD 3.95 for 24 hrs). Next, map out the countries represented …
Watch Erin Meyer’s Global Leadership Network Ted Talk (34 minutes), considering it in the four specific sections listed below. Pause the video after each section to answer the following questions: How might the different parties feel in this situation? Take specific time to reflect when she mentions cultures very different from your own. How did …
Notice Scripture’s metanarrative in this section: Creation: God mandates the creation of culture pre-fall deeming it “good” and a natural strength. The Fall: The combination of Diversity + Sin leads to conflict, cultural dominance, and team dysfunction (to name a few) causing a team to be highly ineffective. Oneness in Gospel Witness: Leveraging diversity as …
Multicultural teams are either highly ineffective or highly effective but seldom average. The graph below reflects the research of Dr. Carol Kovach and Nancy Adler, showing the relative productivity of a series of 4-6 member problem-solving teams. Kovach and Adler’s research concluded something remarkable: Culturally diverse teams have the potential to outperform monocultural groups significantly. …
Take a moment to complete this true or false quiz about the effectiveness of multicultural teams.
(30-minute group Bible discussion or personal reflection) Read or listen to the passage below as a team (or personally). Use the questions that follow to stimulate your conversation. Optional: Watch The Bible Project’s 1 Corinthians overview A reinterpretation of “El Greco” by Russian Artist Vladimir Zunuzin, “St. Peter and St. Paul (El Greco Improvisation)” oil …
From a “Single Story” to a Reconciled Relationship in Your Leadership (25 minute personal reflection exercise) For this exercise ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you have developed a “single story” narrative in your own heart towards a culture or group of people. This “single story” could be between yourself and other CCCi leaders …
From a “Single Story” to a Reconciled Relationship in Scripture (20 min group discussion or personal reflection) Choose one of the following options. Study the passage and record your thoughts. Option 1: ZacchaeusRead Luke 19:1-10 or listen to Simon Yu, a Taiwanese-American serving in South Korea, read the passage.: ”Christ And Zacchaeus” by Niels Larsen …
Questions to think about: 1. Record your reflections on the short film “Altro Mare.” What emotions did you experience? In what ways do you see the theme of “shattered diversity” at play in the film? 2. Consider the metanarrative of Scripture outlined in the introduction. Where else in Scripture is unity shattered? List as many …
It’s crucial to note that this creation of culture is pre-fall. Read Psalm 139:14-16 and Revelation 21:22-27 in your heart language. Alternatively, click the links below to hear them read in English by some of our global staff. As you read or listen to these passages, keep two things in mind: First, the word translated …
Discuss together: 1. How might Psalm 139 relate to our understanding of ethnic identity and your understanding of your own ethnicity? 2. Focus on Revelation 21:26. What is God’s desire ultimately for the nations (ethnos) of the world? What do you think it means that the nations will bring their “glory and honour”? What does …
These common definitions will aid your discussion: DIVERSITY – 1) The inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, colour, religion, socioeconomic stratum, etc. 2) Biblically speaking, God’s heart for diversity is reflected in creation (Gen. 1:21-28), redemption (Gen. 12:1-3, Matt. 28:19), and restoration (Rev. 7:9).1CULTURE – The customary beliefs, social forms, and material …
Throughout the training, we will indicate how this grand metanarrative of scripture is woven through our Skills & Tools and Actions of an Intercultural Leader sections by using the following icons: CREATION: The Cultural Mandate THE FALL: Unity in Diversity Shattered RECONCILIATION: Unity in Diversity Restored ONENESS IN GOSPEL WITNESS The next four lessons expand …
Take a Cultural Intelligence 360 Assessment Refresh your knowledge of the four vital components of Cultural Intelligence by watching this 3-minute video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ_LclEJU8k Reflect and Discuss Together After completing your CQ 360° Assessment and your CQC Certified Debrief, reflect on your experience with your coach or a peer leader. What did you learn about yourself …
Reflect on Your “I Am From” Poem In peer groups of three to five, share your “I Am From” poems and reflect on these questions together: How are you currently growing in self-discovery of your national, ethnic and regional subculture identity? What similarities and differences did you notice between the poems in your group? Honouring …
Now let’s review your prework! Review Your Cultural Learning Journal Scan your Cultural Learning Journal and make the following observations: Identify several main themes in the observations you recorded. Which themes stand out to you? What questions does your learning journal surface? How can you continue to explore answers to these questions? In what ways …
Begin a Cultural Learning Journal Purchase a simple notebook, use a part of your regular journal, or create a note on your phone to record cultural learning or challenges you experience both within your life and leadership. This practice will help you begin to see areas where culture is impacting your life that you may …
Intercultural? Multicultural? Cross-Cultural? Before we launch this module, watch this video defining some of these terms and why they matter in how we approach culture within our organisation. https://vimeo.com/688657816
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