1. Understanding culture & context

2. How Hard Can it Be?
“If you want to be a missionary to China, plan on wearing a ‘learner’s permit’ around your neck for the first ten years.”— Watchman Nee
“Pioneer church planting is at least as complex as brain surgery.”—Phil Elkins

3. What’s So Difficult about Understanding Culture?
Examples: The Christmas Pageant and the Bible Translation
Reasons for Difficulty
The complex matrix of life and values
The linguistic difficulties
The limitations of our own experience

4. What is culture?
“The integrated system of learned patterns of behavior, ideas, and products characteristic of a society.” Paul Hiebert

5. Breaking Down the Definition
An integrated system of
1. Learned patterns of behavior
2. Ideas
3. Products

6. 1.Learned patterns of behavior
Customs (e.g., greetings)
Cultural universals
Even rejection of society and culture is normatively patterned (e.g., dress, suicide)

7. Beliefs, which organize the concepts into frameworks
2. Ideas
Shared Concepts
Beliefs, which organize the concepts into frameworks
Values, by which goals are set
As transition happens, “cultural lag” can take place

8. Behavior, ideas, and products link to form culture traits.
Thought and behavior lead to the production of materials
Tools and implements can indicate beliefs and values
Behavior, ideas, and products link to form culture traits.

9. Levels of Culture
Artifacts
Values
Assumptions

10. Cultural configurations (linkage of traits)
4. Integrated System
Cultural configurations (linkage of traits)
e.g., American sitting and sleeping habits
Cultural integration (linkage of configurations)

11. 5. Characteristic of a society
People live together in societal groupings
KEY DISTINCTION:
“Culture is the creation of a group of people, and society is the group of people itself.”

12. Contextualization
Contextualization asks, “How do you transfer what God has said through ‘holy men of old’ who lived in an ancient cultural context, into the language of people who live in a very different one, through the medium of translators who live in yet another context– today’s space age?”
Defining Biblical and Theological Contextualization:
“Meaningful and appropriate cross-cultural transmission of biblical truth which is faithful to its original intent and sensitive to culture.” David Sills

13. Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Model
ORIENTATION
BELIEFS AND BEHAVIORS
Human Nature
Basically Evil
Mixture of Good and Evil
Basically Good
Relationship to Nature
Subject to Nature
Harmony with Nature
Mastery over Nature
Time
Past Oriented
Present Oriented
Future Oriented
Activity
Being (stress on who you are)
Growing (stress on self development
Doing (stress on action)
Social Relationships
Authoritarian
Group Oriented
Individualistic

14. Contextualization and decontextualization
Theology done from within a system
Clothing the Gospel in culturally relevant garments.
Decontextualization
Losing the excess baggage so that the Gospel is clearly seen.

15. What difference does this make?
If you are invited to dinner in Jordan at 7 pm, what time should you arrive?
Arrival
Jordanian View
American View
At 7:00
Servants
Everyone
At 7:10
Servants late
Slight apology
At 7:30
On time or early
Rude
At 8:00
On time
Very insulting
At 8:15
Late
Unforgiveable

16. What difference does this make?
If you are talking with a Peruvian man about Christ, how close is too close?
Proximity Zone
Latin American
North American
Social Zone
Within 5 feet
Within 12 feet
Personal Zone
Within 1 foot
Within 4 feet
Intimate Zone
Within .5 foot

17. What difference does this make?
Understanding helps you to avoid the two key cross-cultural difficulties:
Ethnocentrism
Culture shock

18. Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism – is the practice of judging the values, languages, standards, characteristics, etc. of another culture against one’s home culture.
The other culture is usually seen as inferior.
Missionaries should recognize their own ethnocentric tendencies.
The ugly American is alive and well!

19. CULTURE SHOCK It is inevitable.
Occurs when two or more cultures collide.
Hot climate cultures vs. Cold climate cultures.
Learned worldview cues no longer function
Multilevel, multifaceted, & goes both ways.
Many have tried to define but it’s primarily an emotional reaction to a shaken world.

20. Hot and cold climate cultures (lanier)
SOUTHERN US
ASIA
AFRICA
S. AMERICA
MEDITERRANEAN
MIDDLE EAST (W/EXCEPTION OF ISRAEL)
NORTHERN US
CANADA
N. EUROPE
S. AFRICA*
NEW ZEALAND*
AUSTRALIA
ARGENTINA

21. Hot and cold climate cultures (lanier)
RELATIONSHIP
TASK
INDIRECT
DIRECT
GROUP
INDIVIDUAL
EVENT
TIME

22. Culture Shock Stages Culture Surprise (Tourist/Honeymoon) Sights
Sounds
Smells
Money
Customs
Lasts from a few weeks to a few months
How long you will be there
Why you are there

23. Culture Shock Stages Rejection Stage
Islands of the home culture
“Us” and “We” vs. “Them” and “They.”
Caricature and ridicule of nationals
Lasts from a few months to a couple of years. It depends on:
How quickly you bond with the culture, learn the language, and remember why you are there.

24. Culture Shock Stages Recovery Cultural assimilation (going native)
Sounds great but not healthy
Cultural acceptance and adaptation
Bonding with the culture, humor, friends
It may not be wrong, just different.
Culture tension/stress
Always on a slow burn.
Nationals are never accepted as equals

25. Culture Shock Reverse culture shock when you return home. Areas:
Prices, options, waste, wealth.
Priorities and preferences.
Phrases, clothing styles, dangers, etc.
Forewarned is forearmed!

26. How might we Live on mission?

27. Disciples: Loyal Subjects with a Mission Pulse
WORD
DEFEND
DECLARE
CUL
TURE K I
NGDOM
DISPLAY
DISCLOSE
INCARNATION
(Adapted from Bill Clem, Disciple: Getting Your Identity from Jesus, 174)