Lesson 14: Crossing Cultures

Ministry leadership is often cross-cultural. People of different cultures come together because of the church’s task of evangelizing the world and because of the spiritual unity of the church.

A person who serves in another culture is often considered a leader because of his training and status in the sending organization. Therefore, a person in cross-cultural ministry should study leadership.

► If you know of a local church that is made up of more than one culture or a church that is ministering across cultures, tell about it.

Leading cross-culturally is inspiring people who come from two or more cultural traditions to participate with you in building a community of trust, and then to follow you and be empowered by you to achieve a compelling vision of faith.[1]

Building a Community of Trust

First, build a community that shares life together, and then find the vision of what that community can accomplish. In a church planting effort, the community may be a small team before there is an established congregation. As a congregation develops, it should have all the aspects of the life of a church.[2] For that to happen, the team will have to be intentional, especially if the team is mostly comprised of foreigners. The team must not have an “us versus them” perspective.

How is trust developed? You must be intentional about it. The process of building trust involves risk, inevitable mistakes, and enough love and honesty to make corrections and nurture relationship. Without sufficient love and honesty in a relationship, the relationship is shallow, and not much trust will be built.

► What would it mean to trust people like this?

What does it mean to inspire people? Inspiring others is more than creating positive feelings. It includes shaping attitudes and motivating actions. Inspiration affects what people believe. It also creates emotional connection between group members.

A Compelling Vision of Faith

For ministry leadership, the compelling vision will include the gospel, holy living, the church, and evangelism. Remember that in the new culture they will take forms that are not familiar to you.

The vision described here is compelling because it comes with a biblical mandate that calls for commitment. This vision should inspire the group’s members to deep commitment.

Leading the Way

The leader must model the life of ministry, first in cooperation with a few committed people, and later with others. He must help create a group that demonstrates what the vision looks like in real life.

Calling Others to Follow

He invites others to follow the vision. He does this in personal relationships, by mentoring individuals, by teaching, and by inviting people to take responsibility.

Empowering Those Who Follow

A true leader gives responsibilities to others. He accepts the risks, allows creativity, and creates opportunities for others in the group.

► What do you see about this approach to leadership? What are the strengths? What are the difficulties?

In some cultures, a person is promoted to a position of leadership only after many years of faithful participation. Leaders in one culture said they needed to observe potential leaders for 10 years. In these cultures, it is difficult for a newcomer to move into high positions. Missionaries sometimes get frustrated when they are trying to fill a position that requires a special ability, because the local leaders want to use someone who has proven himself and been faithful for a long time, instead of using a person who excels in the special ability.

Aaron had worked as a missionary for years in a culture where a translator was just a person who did a job. Aaron always tried to get the person who could do the best job, even if he had not known the person very long.

Now, Aaron was working in a culture where the position of translator was a high position in an organization. The leaders would only allow him to have a translator whom they knew was a faithful church member. Sometimes Aaron had to preach with a translator who could not do the job well, while a better translator was sitting in the congregation.

Some cultures respect age and experience much more than education and talent. Missionaries often train young people because they are ambitious, ready to change, and easier to train than older people. However, in most cultures, churches want young leaders to show respect for older leaders. Young leaders must be patient, helpful, and sensitive to the concerns of older leaders. Old leaders should try to release responsibility to the younger ones and allow the leadership team to expand.

► How could training be done in a way that respects age and experience?

How is a leader selected? How does a leader keep his position? There are two opposite cultural perspectives on the status of a leader.

In one view, the leader is given his position because of his abilities and character. He may be elected by the people he leads. He continues to serve as leader because he leads well. He does not have absolute authority but is accountable to some group or a supervisor. If he becomes unable to do the job because of poor health or other circumstances, he is expected to resign. If he does not lead well, he may be replaced by an election. If he commits an immoral or dishonest act, he is not considered qualified to continue as a leader, especially in a Christian organization.

In another kind of culture, the leader is given his position because he has been involved in the organization for a long time and is known to be loyal. He is appointed by a few who have authority. He eventually has almost total authority. He may listen to advice, but he is never overruled in his decisions. After he has been leader for many years, his continued position does not depend on how well he leads. He is beyond most accountability and does not expect to answer questions about his actions. Even immoral or dishonest actions may not cause his removal. Even in old age or bad health when he is unable to do the job, he may continue in the position even if he rarely fulfills any responsibilities. His followers will not remove him except in extreme cases when he is totally discredited.

In this culture, the transfer of power is not done peacefully except when the leader voluntarily passes the position to his chosen heir. If the group decides to remove the leader against his will, it may result in accusations, a refusal to cooperate, legal action, public conflicts, and the risk of dividing the organization. Sadly, ministry organizations have often followed the example of their culture and have badly damaged their Christian testimony.

Jacob pastored a church for many years. In his old age his health was bad. He moved to another city, and the church was served by three associate pastors. Jacob continued to hold the position of pastor, even though he rarely went to the church.

Annas was high priest in Jerusalem. After he resigned, Caiaphas, his son-in-law became the new high priest. Yet, Annas continued to be the highest authority, though he held no official position. When Jesus was arrested, the soldiers first took him to Annas, not Caiaphas (John 18:12-13, 24).

Missionaries from another culture sometimes struggle to understand the concept of authority in an organization. They don’t understand why a person remains in a position of authority when he cannot do the job. They don’t understand why boards and committees only follow the orders of the top leader.

A leader serving in another culture must take time to learn how decisions are made in that culture. It is never enough just to convince the majority to vote for something. Voting implies that every person’s opinion is of equal value, which nobody really believes. Certain people have great influence throughout the organization, and their concerns must be satisfied before an organization will make a decision.

In some cultures, leaders try to build relationships with people at all levels of their organization. A factory owner might walk through the factory talking to the workers and calling them by name. A leader might help unload a truck or clean a building.

In other cultures, the leader is considered distant from most of the people of the organization. They do not expect to talk to him directly. They would not think it appropriate for him to do any menial task. If he makes conversation with them, they might be pleased at the attention, or they might be uncomfortable.

Duane Elmer was serving as president of a Bible school in a foreign country. One Saturday afternoon, he noticed that the grass had not been cut, so he did it himself. He thought that his action would model humility and impress the observers with his willingness to work. However, when the students and staff found out, they were upset. They said his action made people think that the school’s authority structure was so weak that the president could not order anyone to cut the grass. It also implied that the organization was small and insignificant because the president had to do such a menial task. With this new understanding of cultural expectations, Elmer changed his behavior. Over the next few months, people observed him standing in an authoritative pose, watching as other people worked.[1]

Visiting American missionaries were eating at a house where two women had been hired to cook. The missionaries insisted that the cooks sit at the table and eat with them. They argued until the women finally sat at the table, but the women were uncomfortable. The cooks did not eat very much and left the table as soon as they could. The missionaries had intended to show their appreciation for the cooks, but the women were not comfortable with the honor.

Biblical Principles to Consider

Christian leaders working in another culture must carefully apply Christian principles in the culture. We know that worldly systems of status are not supposed to be followed in the church (Galatians 3:28). We are not to treat some people better than others because of their wealth or position (James 2:1-4). Jesus said that a leader should be willing to serve, even by doing the lowest task (John 13:14-17). Jesus often surprised people when he did not follow customs about status (John 4:9, Luke 18:15-16).

Missionaries should set an example of love and respect to all people and willingness to serve. However, they should sympathize with the legitimate concerns of people in a culture. They should show that they respect the established customs and will not cause disorder.

Moses had the opportunity to become ruler of the most powerful nation in the world at the time (Egypt). Instead, he chose to identify with a nation of slaves (Hebrews 11:25). At the time of his decision, he did not know that God would make him one of the greatest leaders of all time. Moses would lead those slaves to liberty, guide them through hostile territory for 40 years, give a system of laws that would influence all civilized nations afterward, and implement the form of worship that lasted for centuries and pointed ahead to Christ.

Moses’ first great decision was to identify with the people of God, rejecting the false religions and sinful pleasures of Egypt. If he had made the wrong decision, he would never have been significant in the plan of God.

Moses learned many lessons. He learned to listen to God before expecting people to listen to him. Though he was great, he was humble because of his dependence on God. His desire to know God (Exodus 33:18) qualified him to speak for God. He insisted that Israel could do nothing without the presence of God (Exodus 33:15). He knew that his leadership was not for the purpose of glorifying himself.

Moses loved the people he led. At one time, God threatened to destroy the people for their sin, offering to make Moses a great leader of other people. Moses said that he would rather be judged in Israel’s place than to be a great leader without them (Exodus 32:32). If a leader can easily leave his people for a position somewhere else, he does not have the heart of a leader like Moses.

Americans tend to assume that individual rewards and honors are the best incentives because a person can earn them with his own efforts. However, in many cultures people believe that the rewards of achievement belong to the group. They may resent and hinder a person who tries to achieve goals alone. They do not want individual achievement to be honored. In these cultures, it may be best to reward a group who can achieve goals as a team.

The Japanese have a saying: “The nail that sticks up will get pounded down.” Applied in this context, this saying would imply that a person should not try to get attention for himself, but should instead cooperate with the group.

A leader working in another culture needs to understand that culture’s view of goals and rewards.

Cultural conquest occurs when one people group imposes the values, language, ways, and traditions of their culture on another people group, replacing that people’s distinctive qualities. Cultural conquest can be the result of war, oppression, or the spread of a religion—situations in which foreigners gain authority, control, or influence over nationals. However, a foreign culture may also rise to dominance in a less forceful way, simply by doing business. In that situation, foreigners gain influence because they seem wealthy and ready to invest in the local economy and to pay good salaries. Locals are motivated by a desire to find favor with the foreigners.

In an environment where one culture is being taken over by another, former positions of power and influence are weakened. In such times, youth have an advantage because they learn new skills. Seeking status that was not accessible before, they may take a job (such as translation work) because they want to work with the foreign leaders. Because of the connections and positions of the young people, local respect for the elderly declines.

Many people begin to see the foreign culture as superior to their own and try to follow it. The younger generation rejects old customs. Because they have lost respect for their own culture, they have little interest in the history and cultural symbols of their people. They try to imitate the foreign culture in dress, speech, and values.

Unfortunately, many missionaries have participated in cultural conquest. When first introducing a people group to the gospel message, missionaries have often shown disrespect for the local culture, giving the impression that they were from a superior culture. When they shared the gospel, they included their own cultural expectations, instead of just teaching God’s Word. For many evangelized people, responding obediently to the gospel meant that they also surrendered to a foreign culture.

Avoiding Cultural Conquest

Missionaries do not have the option of preventing cultural conquest unless they are the first foreigners to impact the culture. In most places, foreign commercial interests have already begun cultural conquest. However, missionaries should not contribute to cultural conquest.

Those who minister cross-culturally must remember that the task of missions is to plant indigenous (native, local) expressions of the biblical church. An indigenous church is self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating.

Indigenous development is hindered by:

• Policies made by leaders at a distance
• Emphasis on foreign traditions
• Foreign leadership
• Foreign decision-making processes
• Manipulative use of money[1]

Foreign missionaries often come with resources and equipment that the national leaders do not have. This is a hindrance because it creates expectations of how work should be done and of how it will be supported.

A missionary involved in church planting should not be the pastor of any new church. If a missionary is the first pastor, his spending and giving create a role that a national pastor will not be able to fill.

The missionary should always be seen as a foreigner who is filling a unique, temporary role. He should give extra training to local people who show spiritual growth and commitment, and one of them should pastor the new church.

A local pastor should be financially supported by the local people, and by his own work if necessary. If he is supported by foreigners, the local congregation will never see its financial responsibility or accountability. They will think the church belongs to the foreign organization and not to them.

► How do you expect to change your goals or actions because of this lesson?

1. Write a paragraph summarizing a life-changing concept from this lesson. Explain why it is important. What good can it do? What harm could result from not knowing it?

2. Explain how you will apply the principles of this lesson to your own life. How does this lesson change your goals? How do you plan to change your actions?

3. Memorize the definition of cross-cultural leadership from the beginning of this lesson. Be prepared to write it from memory and explain it at the beginning of the next class session.