All Nations Leadership "Bridging the gap for multiethnic, diverse church leadership" 4501 West 127th Street http://allnationsleadershipinstitute.org From the course, "Leading in a Diverse Church"

1. Culture
All Nations Leadership Institute
Leading in a Diverse Church, Fall 2011
Image from www.faithclipart.com

2. Here from all the nations, all tongues
and all peoples
Countless the crowd and majestic their
voices are one;
Vast is the sight and majestic their
singing‒
“God has the victor; He reigns from the
throne.”
(Idle, C., in Cultural change and your
church).

3. From http://123rf.com

4. CULTURE:
What is culture?

5. Culture reflects multiple
elements
Each influences and impacts the other.

6. Culture echoes complexity
Each element of culture works in tandem
with the other.
The result of the mixing of these
elements is a mosaic of different facets
that create a portrait of an individual.

7. Culture creates a mosaic
The result of the mixing of these
elements is a mosaic of different facets
that create a portrait of an individual.

8. Values/Beliefs
Arts
Elements
Food
of
Customs
Clothing
Culture
Family
Social/Political
(Law, E.,1993)

9. CULTURE:
What comprises culture?

10. There are two components
to culture ‒ external & internal.

11. Visualize an iceberg. The part
above water signifies external culture →
Below represents internal.

12. Elements of Culture
The elements of external culture are
those things you see, hear and touch, as
opposed to internal that are not.

13. Cultural Iceberg
By Culbertson, H. Southern Nazarene University, Adapted from Weaver, G (1998). "Understanding and coping with
cross-cultural adjustment stress." Simon & Schuster. retrieved September 26, 2011, from
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/iceberg.htm

14. Characteristics of Culture
EXTERNAL INTERNAL
Explicitly learned Implicitly learned
Connections Unconscious
Easily changed Difficult to change
Objective Subjective
knowledge knowledge
By Culbertson, H. Southern Nazarene University, Adapted from Weaver, G (1998). "Understanding and coping with
cross-cultural adjustment stress." Simon & Schuster. retrieved September 26, 2011, from
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/iceberg.htm

15. Elements of Culture
EXTERNAL INTERNAL
See Beliefs
Hear Values
Touch Thought patterns
Myths
By Culbertson, H. Southern Nazarene University, Adapted from Weaver, G (1998). "Understanding and coping with
cross-cultural adjustment stress." Simon & Schuster. retrieved September 26, 2011, from
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/iceberg.htm

16. CULTURE:
How does worldview relate
to culture?

17. Worldview definition:
“Culturally structured assumptions,
values and commitments/allegiances
underlying a people’s perception of
reality and their responses to those
perceptions” (Kraft, C, 1989, p. 20).

18. Worldview indicates
the deepest level of one’s
presuppositions that charts a person’s
life.

19. Worldview reflects
the internal component of culture, as
influenced by external culture.

20. Worldview charts
life course according to an individual’s
patterns that collectively form a map of
reality. Whole groups (society) chart a
map as well.

21. Worldview:
Worldview is one’s map of reality that
charts life.
(Kraft, 2001)

22. Worldview does not stand
alone from culture…
Worldview does not stand alone from
culture, but interacts with and
structures it.

23. Worldview organizes
other aspects of culture such as external
and internal factors.
It directly links to the internal
components of culture that make up the
reality map, which in turn, drives focus
and response.

24. Worldview:
Worldview also interacts with internal and
external personal cultures, directly linking to
internal culture.
Worldview
External
Culture
Internal
Culture
Worldview and
internal culture link to
each other

25. Worldview:
Together, worldview and internal culture
drive one’s focus and response to visible
external culture.
Worldview
External
Culture
Internal
Culture
Worldview and internal
culture drive focus and
response in external
culture

26. Worldview:
External culture, then, informs the below
areas.
Social
relationships Economics
Religion Material
(Kraft, C., 2001)

27. REVIEW:
Culture reflects multiple elements. Each
influences and impacts the other.
Culture
Internal Elements External
Worldview
Focus & Response

28. Culture reflects multiple
elements
1. Culture reflects multiple elements.
Each influences and impacts the
other.
1. Culture includes the elements of
“beliefs, arts, food, customs,
clothing, family and social
organizations and government in a
given period” (Law, E. p. 4. Wolf
Shall Dwell with the Lamb).

29. Culture reflects multiple
elements (Continued)
4. The elements can be separated into
internal and external cultures. The
internal are those things not visible to
the eye, while the external is what
you can see, hear or feel.
5. Worldview links to internal culture.
6. Worldview and internal culture drive
focus and response by informing
social relationships, religion,
economics and material.

30. When you understand
culture, it helps you realize
another’s perspective.

31. Think about it. Talk about it…
Without being able to see through the
eyes of another, you might function in an
ethnocentric state that limits the scope
of your reality map boundaries. In turn,
this hinders your ability to lead in a
multiethnic, diverse church.

32. Ethnocentrism
is “when a person brought up in one
culture, having never seen or
experienced a different culture, believes
that his or her culture’s way of doing
things is the right way” (Law, 1993, p.4).

33. “But talk does not mean
idle chatter.
It means meaningful, productive
dialogue to raise consciousness and lead
to effective action and social change”
(Tatum, B, 2006).

34. Think about it. Talk about it.
“This mystery is that the Gentiles are
fellow heirs, members of the same body,
and partakers of the promise in Christ
Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6
ESV).

35. All Nations Leadership Institute
“Bridging the Gap for Multiethnic, Diverse
Church leadership”
4501 West 127th Street
Alsip, IL 60803
http://allnationsleadershipinstitute.org

36. References
Kraft, C. (2001). Culture, communication and
Christianity. Pasadena, CA: William Carey
Library.
Law, E. (1993).The wolf shall dwell with the lamb.
St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press.
Pocock, M. & Henriques, J. (2002). Cultural
change and your church. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books.
Weaver, G (1998). "Understanding and coping
with cross-cultural adjustment stress." Simon
& Schuster. retrieved September 26, 2011,
from
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/iceberg.htm