• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

Have you heard about monoculturals?

Posted on November 4, 2016 by wtdavid

To be ‘monocultural’ is the idea of looking at another culture only from the perspective of our culture of origin.  However, have you ever heard of ‘monoculturals’?monoculturals

Monoculturals is a term that refers to people who see themselves as being connected globally to people from all different walks of life.  It’s the feeling that there is one ‘culture’ to which everyone has access and in which you engage others.   Facebook, Twitter, and the global music culture create the opportunity for people to relate to others from Cambodia, Paraguay and Denmark.  We have the possibility of ‘reaching out and touching others’ from a host of different places.

There is a caveat.  The caveat is that we can begin to ignore the specific underlying cultural assumptions and views of one another because of the ‘monoculture’ in which we believe we are all living.  The veneer of being ‘united’ can cloud the reality that there is more to each person than just a specific post or song lyrics.

If we apply this to our larger agency, we know that we are ‘united’ by a common culture, a ‘monoculture’ if you will of an unwavering commitment to multiplying disciples and communities of believers among the lost.  However, we can easily lose sight of the ‘cultural’ differences that mark each one of us and create unnecessary tensions in our relationships with one another.

Just as we did when we first started to learn a new language and culture, we should give ourselves more to listening well to others, and particularly to asking probing questions that will help us better understand what is ‘underneath’ each one of us in terms of our personal cultural values and assumptions.

Filed under: Community, Crossing cultures | Leave a comment »

Ever feel lonely?

Posted on May 19, 2016 by wtdavid

Ever feel like you are standing in a crowd, but no one recognizes you and engages you in conversation? Ever feel like you are the unnecessary ‘extra’ in a group and wish someone could just ‘beam you up Scotty’?  Ever feel lonely?loneliness

Loneliness is that emotion where we deeply sense our loss of connection to others; where we know in our hearts that we are ‘unplugged’ relationally.

That loneliness can be the result of a number of factors. We may be a ‘foreigner’ in a culture where we have been called to live and minister, and we feel that loneliness because nothing is familiar.  We may be an ‘older person’ surrounded by the new younger generation of workers, and we sense that loneliness because we feel ‘old’ and misunderstood.  We may be a single on a team of married couples, and we feel that loneliness  because we are like that proverbial 5th wheel, not sure of our place and role.  We may be from one culture, working among a team with a majority of members from another culture, and ministering together among another culture.  In that situation, we feel that loneliness because we are always fighting to have ourselves heard, misunderstood and appreciated.

I am not trying to be simplistic by saying that community is one of the best ways to dispel loneliness in our lives. However, the Bible certainly leaves us with this distinct impression.  However, our communities often tend to accentuate rather than dispel loneliness. That happens because we, as individual members, look to the community to meet our needs, rather than offering acceptance and engagement to all members of the community.  When we move towards others in the community and relationally ‘plug back in’ with those who are part of our community, we begin to dispel the cloud of loneliness.

At a wedding that Rebecca & I attended a few weeks ago, the pastor made this comment: “Love is all about initiative: we taking initiative to move towards others, just as God took the initiative to move towards us.”

I’m not sure how all this works out, but calling us back to examining what gospel community should truly look like, is certainly a first step.

Filed under: Community, Crossing cultures, Gospel | 6 Comments »

Why is it so hard?

Posted on April 29, 2016 by wtdavid

Have you ever said that to yourself?  I’m guessing that at some point, most of us have. worth

Work life, in general, has its ups and downs.  There are relational issues, company policy miscommunication, and work scheduling struggles.  However, cross cultural ministry adds a whole other element.  We are called to navigate work life, ministry life in another context and culture than our own home context and culture.  It’s not that we just double the difficulties.  We exponentially increase the struggles we face in trying to make ourselves (heart and mind) understood among another people group that holds a different worldview than we do.

Along with that exponential increase of struggles comes the strong temptation to question one’s calling.  Statements pop into our mind like: “What am I really doing here?  Am I actually having any impact?  Is it all worth it?”  Sometimes that questioning comes in the form of anger, frustration, or simple criticism of all that we see and experience around us.  It can even issue in the strong desire to just ‘go home’.

These are the times when my heart (our hearts) needs to here two truths, and probably my heart needs to hear them numerous times.

First truth: We love because He first loved us.  The verse in 1 John 4:7 which talks about loving one another begins with that simple word: “Beloved”.  We cannot love others if we don’t first know and daily appropriate for ourselves that we are loved, that I am loved by God.  That truth has to go ‘downtown’ to my heart and displace those feelings of inadequacy and self-pride.

Second truth: This is not my final home, nor is my home culture my final home.  It’s not a ‘way up there in the sky’ kind of philosophy, but God has reserved a ‘home’ for me, for each of His children, with Him.  My heart, our hearts will not find their ultimate rest until we find it in Him.

It is hard!  So, let’s drive those truths into our hearts; let’s drive those truths into one another’s hearts when we are with one another.

Filed under: Crossing cultures, Gospel | 2 Comments »

Language learning, culture and humility

Posted on December 8, 2015 by wtdavid

Most of us are activists at heart.  That’s one of the ‘core skills’ of a cross cultural worker; whether plodding or charging ahead, the cross cultural worker will move forward.  We’ve got that ‘checklist’ mindset where each part of the church planting task gets ‘checked off’ as we move forward to the next part.

Language learning?  Nine months of intensive study in a language school and we can check that requirement off.  Cultural learning?  Digest two to books on Haitian culture plus a weekend stay with a Haitian family and we can check that requirement off.  It’s just so straightforward.language learning

Yet, something in that ‘process’ doesn’t rime with Paul’s confession: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12.9)

During my first few months of language school, one of our professors announced that he was going to share the ‘secret’ to staying long term France.  All of us grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, ready to write down these words of wisdom.  This was his ‘secret’: “Every day, when you get up, go into the bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror and say: “Thank you God that I am your beloved child.  Help me to learn one more French word today.””  That was it. That was all he said.  To say that most of us in the class were disappointed would be an understatement.  However, he touched on one of the fundamental elements of the cross cultural journey.  It’s more about humility than performance.  It’s more about a growing dependency than about independence.

You cross the cultural bridge.  You lay anchors to keep you from sliding back onto the bridge.  And you recognize that each day of this journey will take you deeper into humility and dependency; something that goes against our nature and that we often resist.

All of us know that humility is not part of an online module in which can participate. However, we can certainly strive to put ourselves in contexts where God’s Spirit can continue His refining work, leading us to depend more and more on Him.  Some suggested ‘contexts’:

  • Learn a new word, a new expression today. Grab hold today of the right way to say something you’ve struggled to say correctly for a while.
  • Say ‘thanks for your help’ when someone corrects another one of your grammar mistakes.
  • Ask a neighbor to explain the meaning of a recent cultural event or particular cultural value.
  • Read up on a local historical landmark and go visit it.
  • Ask for help in doing a project at your apartment.
  • Consistently describe yourself as a ‘lifelong’ learner

Filed under: Crossing cultures, Humility | Tagged: | 7 Comments »

What is going to keep you there?

Posted on December 4, 2015 by wtdavid

Once the cultural bridge has been crossed, we might think that the ‘journey’ is over.  However, it has only just started.  Not only do we need ways to ensure a safe and sure passage across the cultural bridge, but we need to discover anchoring points that will keep us on moving forward in ongoing cross cultural learning and living.

It is somewhat like mountain climbers who use screws to secure an anchor for all the climbers in the group to move upward on the rock.  Crossing the cultural bridge calls us to be ‘equipped’ to look for such anchors.Carabiner

What are those anchors?  Several come quickly to mind, but there are certainly others: identity, community and laughter.

Identity.  A firm grasp of our identity and value in Christ is the first anchor we need to secure into the ‘rock’ as we move forward.  It is easier to say this than it is to actually live it out.  When you find yourself in another culture, you want to feel part of that culture. You make an effort to learn the language and the customs.  However, that ‘petit accent’ (that slight accent) always seems to give away the fact that you are not from there.  And when someone says again: ‘Oh, you must not be from here,’ you can easily feel devalued.  Speaking the Gospel to ourselves reminds us that we are not defined by what others think of us, nor by our ‘slight accent’, nor by our work.

Community.  God created us to be in community.  Our communities are a tangible reflection of the community that exists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  As one moves through the cross cultural world, all kinds of emotions can rise to the surface of one’s heart.  An arena where honest sharing, mutual support and accountability can occur is vital.  That forum is the place where we can remind one another of the Gospel; where we can speak the Gospel to another.  That community is the place where our ‘strength’ is restored, where our idols are challenged, and where we are sent back out into life and ministry with a greater hold on Him.

Laughter.  This anchor doesn’t seem to fit often with the others.  However, it is just as vital.  The capacity to laugh at oneself in a cross cultural context is a gauge, in one sense, of how well are lives are founded upon Christ.  If we are unable to laugh at ourselves when we confuse again the ‘ou’ sound with the ‘u’ sound, for example, after years of living in a culture, then our value may be based more on my desire for language fluency, or on what others think of me, or on a desire to avoid the shame of just not measuring up.

None of these anchors are ‘for sale’ anywhere, but you will ‘find’ them in authentic relationship with fellow believers (both expat and national).

Filed under: Community, Crossing cultures, Gospel, Grace | 6 Comments »

The cultural bridge

Posted on December 3, 2015 by wtdavid

A friend of ours was over for dinner the other night.  During the meal, he turned to us and said, “It’s really hard to always feel like a foreigner in this country.”  Yes, his home country is far away from here. However, he has lived in Europe now for over ten years.  Yet he still does not feel ‘at home’ here.

He has not yet crossed the cultural bridge.cultural bridge

‘Crossing the cultural bridge’ means that we adopt as our own the culture in which we find ourselves; drawing on all that is good in that new culture, building on all that is good from our home culture.  It is not an easy journey across that bridge and it doesn’t happen overnight.  We benefit from people encouraging us who have already made the ‘crossing’.  We profit from the insight and wisdom of cultural guides from that new culture.

It’s like the proverbial wooden swinging bridge across a ravine.  Your first thought is to back away from the bridge and start thinking of all the reasons why it is not worth crossing the bridge. Then a friend comes along and encourages you onto the bridge.  Things go fine until the bridge starts swaying, and your immediate reaction is to backtrack to the start.  However, the encouraging words and patience of your friend draw you across the bridge.  After what seems like an eternity you find yourself on the other side, sighing a great sigh of relief.

We have that same feeling of relief when we ‘cross the cultural bridge’. However, at times we may find ourselves backpedaling, backtracking to the bridge.  We can find ourselves being pulled back across the bridge, questioning the adopted culture in which we now live.

When you hear yourself regularly criticizing the culture where you now live, you may be backtracking onto the cultural bridge.

When you notice that all of your close friends are people from your home passport country, you may be backtracking onto the cultural bridge.

When you find yourself stumbling for words in a conversation with your neighbor because you haven’t given much time recently to the language, you may be backtracking onto the cultural bridge.

When you hear yourself often saying: “Well, in our culture, that would never happen because …”, you may be backtracking onto the cultural bridge.

A friend helped you get across the bridge. A friend and cultural guide can keep you from backtracking to the bridge, and can help you keep moving forward on the cross cultural path.

 

Filed under: Crossing cultures, Friendship | 6 Comments »

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