Tag Archives: cultural differences

Short-term missions, long-term relationships

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short-term-relationsAn e-mail comment reminded me of something that needs to be discussed as regards short-term missions: relationships. What happens to the contacts we make while on these trips?

First off, if your short-term mission trip doesn’t involve contact with people in the host culture, it’s really hard to consider it a mission trip. If such contact doesn’t come naturally, it needs to be planned for.

Secondly, we need to recognize cultural differences when it comes to friendships and relationships. Americans tend to be quick to make friends and often expect little of those relationships. In Argentina, for example, people were more particular about who they called friend; if someone was your friend, you would communicate with them regularly, visit them with possible, and treat them pretty much as a family member. Can you see how that would create conflict when an American would come for two weeks and make fifty “friends”?

When dealing with relationships in the church, this can be a critical issue. After many mission trips, the main church contact that some new Christians have is someone from another country. (NOTE: This is one of the BIG reasons why I do my best not to baptize when in another country; they need ties to the local church, not to me) If that contact is someone who doesn’t stay in touch with them, that doesn’t concern themselves with discipling the new Christian, the effect can be devastating.

There is an implied commitment when we go on a short-term trip. If we aren’t willing to invest in people long-term, we might do better to consider another form of ministry.

5 Reasons People Avoid Visiting A Bilingual Service

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Jason preachingYesterday I mentioned Jason Craddock’s sermon from this past Sunday, talking about the church being like a Cliff Huxtable sweater. In the sermon, he encouraged the members of the main assembly at UCC (University Church of Christ) to not sit and wait for the members of the bilingual group to come on Unity Sunday. He encouraged people to cross the hall and visit the bilingual service.

I went and gave Jason a hug for that one. It’s something I’ve repeated for at least five years now, with little success. I still have people tell me: “I would visit the bilingual service, but I’m not bilingual.” Explanations about how one only needs to know either one of the two languages used seem to fall on deaf ears. (Actually, you don’t even have to know one of the two; we had a Japanese visitor a few weeks ago who only spoke Japanese)

So why don’t people want to visit a bilingual assembly in their own congregation? I have some guesses:

  • Habit. People who have been attending one congregation for decades walk from their classroom to their usual seat without even thinking about it. If they didn’t, those who sit around them would be concerned.
  • Loyalty. Before we hired our current preacher, one elder was participating in the bilingual service almost weekly. When we made the hire, he felt the need to support the new preacher; he was afraid that people would infer something negative if he weren’t in the main auditorium.
    I think many people feel something of the same. I mentioned to one elder an idea about encouraging Bible classes to visit the bilingual service as a group; he said that he couldn’t feel good about encouraging that many people to miss the main assembly.
  • Familiarity. This goes with the previous two. In the main auditorium, people are hearing a preacher that they enjoy listening to. They are singing songs that they know. The Lord’s Supper and offering are done in a way that they are used to. Going to another assembly, even in their own congregation, means giving up those things.
  • Fear. There is a fear of having to interact with people that you can’t communicate with. I think that fear is overblown, as every one of our Hispanic members is making some effort to learn English and can carry on a cordial conversation. But that fear exists.
    There is also a fear of not knowing what’s going on; 95% of what we do is translated, yet that 5% can make people uncomfortable. It can be awkward to hear people speaking a language you don’t understand.
  • Cultural differences. One member, who visits the bilingual service fairly often, confessed that his wife goes even though she doesn’t like “all that hugging.” Latinos tend to be much more effusive with greetings than are many others in our culture. And that’s just one notable difference.

Those are some thoughts. It takes some effort to cross out of our comfort zones and reach out to people who aren’t like us. But, in the church at least, it’s definitely worth the effort.

Can you think of other barriers? More importantly, can you offer suggestions as to how we overcome those barriers?

Worship styles as cultural differences

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old churchI’m finally reading Paul Hiebert’s Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change. Hiebert was a pioneer in the field of missionary anthropology. I had looked at the book a few years ago when searching for a textbook for a sophomore level missions class. I saw that the book addressed the themes of the class, but that it was too advanced for sophomores.

Now I’m finally getting back to it. Being a student of culture and culture change, I’m finding the book fascinating. I’m reading the Kindle edition, which allows you to highlight passages. I told Carolina that the highlighted passages outweigh the non-highlighted passages!

I found one chart very interesting, a comparison of three church styles: high church, evangelical church, and charismatic church. Interesting to see them analyzed as different worldviews.

Services in a high church focus on mystery, awe, and holiness. They take place in cathedrals, using the following forms of expression: rituals, chants, liturgy, candles, procession and high order. People often kneel or prostrate themselves. The overwhelming focus is on God the Father.

Evangelical church services, according to Hiebert, focus on peace, order, and hope. They take place in churches, using preaching, hymns, testimonies, silence and meditation. People stand, sit and bow their heads. The focus is on Jesus.

Charismatic churches focus on ecstasy, power, and action. They take place in meeting halls, and have prophecy, choruses, dancing, clapping, and healing. People lift their hands and raise their faces. The focus is on the Spirit.

It seems to me (not Hiebert) that much of the “worship wars” have to do with people in one tradition wanting to incorporate elements from another tradition. It’s also about people judging their outlook to be correct and the others as “boring” or “entertainment-focused” or not “decent and in order.”

Any insights that you pick up from this?

photo from MorgueFile.com

One body, two languages

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bilingualIn a couple of weeks, I’ll be teaching two classes in the Spanish track at David Lipscomb University’s Summer Celebration. I decided to expand on some material that I presented at a church in El Paso, talking about the different contributions that Anglos and Latinos bring to the church. (Anglo is a misnomer, I know. But it’s the most commonly used term)

The title is a phrase that’s a favorite of mine: “One Body, Two Languages.” The topic is a bit awkward in many ways; done poorly, it can misuse stereotypes and border on racism. In some places, especially in places like Florida, Texas or California, the mixing of the two groups has occurred to an extent that such discussions seem out of date. But in many parts of the country, it’s still relevant to talk about these things.

In many of our churches, the Hispanic groups find themselves in a dependent position. They often lack the resources to “pay their way” at church. (At that El Paso church I mentioned, the preacher spoke to me about the costs of maintaining the Hispanic outreach at their congregation, the “economic drag” on the church) In many cases, the leadership of the church is almost exclusively Anglo, with few Hispanic elders and deacons. The Hispanics often meet in a room that is inferior to the main auditorium where the Anglos meet. I’m generalizing, but in many churches, this is the case.

That’s why I want to talk to the Hispanics about what they have to offer. In the second session, I want to talk about what the Anglo church has to offer, besides the things mentioned above. There can be times when Hispanic groups can feel superior to the Anglo part of the congregation. The Hispanic groups may be growing more. They may have more intimate fellowship or a more active group. In places where the Anglo church is aging, Hispanic groups may be younger.

There is a need for both groups to recognize what the other has to offer.

What sort of things come to your mind? What can you see that one cultural group has to offer the other? Or do you think this discussion is completely out of place?

photo from MorgueFile.com