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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780802450487 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Moody Publishers |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2010 |
| Edition description: | New Edition |
| Pages: | 208 |
| Sales rank: | 949,142 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
MANY COLORS
Cultural Intelligence for a Changing ChurchBy Soong-Chan Rah
Moody Publishers
Copyright © 2010 Soong-Chan RahAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8024-5048-7
Chapter One
What Is Culture?
In the waning months of 2009, I became aware of a curriculum-book, DVD, and leader's guide-titled Deadly Viper Character Assassins: A Kung Fu Guide for Life and Leadership. The material was attempting to employ a Kung Fu martial arts theme in order to communicate concepts of leadership integrity. As I found out more about the curriculum, I discovered that its authors had been using caricatures of Asian culture, specifically images of ninjas and Kung Fu warriors, in a way that would offend many in the Asian-American community (both Christian and non-Christian).
There were numerous examples of the material playing into Asian stereotypes, including the conflation of different Asian cultures, the misuse of Chinese characters, the portrayal of Asians as sinister villains, the portrayal of Asian women as geishas, and even a video clip with Caucasians speaking in a faux Chinese accent. The positive intention of the authors was to present leadership and integrity in a fun manner, particularly to men. What the material ended up doing, however, was creating a deep and very real offense toward the Asian-American community.
Through cyberspace and the blogosphere, more and more people heard about the offensive curriculum and a significant outcry of opposition and protest was raised. While not limited to the Asian-American community, it was understandably Asian-American voices who raised the loudest opposition. Over the course of two weeks, much online conversation and dialogue occurred that became quite heated at times. To the credit of the authors and the publishers, the publishing company chose to withdraw the materials (both the book version and the online content). The authors and the publishers recognized that intentionally or not, they had committed a significant offense against the Asian-American community.
What struck me was how well-meaning individuals could create a product that generated a serious affront toward the Asian-American-or, in fact, any-community. A noticeable gap in the level of cultural sensitivity between those in majority culture and ethnic minorities was evident. Those who are a part of the majority culture have the luxury of ignoring the culture of others, since the dominant culture is the majority culture. On the other hand, ethnic minorities are keenly aware of their minority stares and are alert to potential cultural insensitivities.
One of the major issues that arose during the heated dialogue around the Deadly Viper material was the confusion about the role and importance of culture. Some who wanted to continue to make the material available despite its offensive nature believed that the culture of a people was irrelevant and therefore subject to use by any people, whether they were a part of that culture or not.
In response to the announcement that the material was being pulled, one blog respondent stated: "It is sad to see that people in the Christian community place higher emphasis on their culture than on the work God is doing." The implication of this statement is that culture is not God's doing hut rather a human product that stands beneath the work of God. The use of culture as a tool, therefore, supersedes its being honored and respected as part of God's sovereign work.
Is culture merely a human creation or is it ordained by God? If culture is merely a human construct, it is disposable and can he tossed aside. Human cultures will not stand or he upheld in the greater work of God's church. If, however, culture is ordained by God, then the pursuit of understanding culture and an increased sensitivity to cultural differences is worthwhile. H. Richard Niebuhr's juxtaposition of Christ AGAINST Culture with Christ OF Culture (with all the mediating positions in between) reveals the conflict experienced by many in the church. Some may see culture as a strictly human (maybe even a demonic) construct that the church needs to stand AGAINST. Or some may see culture as a pure, divine construct that the church unequivocally needs to be a part OF.
Our understanding and preconceived notions about culture can determine how the church ultimately relates to the culture in which it finds itself. The first step toward cultural intelligence and competency for the church is an examination of what preconceived ideas we may harbor, and then developing a biblical-theological understanding of culture.
Grading Culture
In our everyday conversation, it is easy tot words to he used carelessly until they lose their real meaning. Our speech can quickly become trite and filled with meaningless jargon and clichés. The word "culture" has fallen victim to this fate. If we were to poll a group of pastors or lay leaders for a definition of culture, we would field a wide range of answers. One use of the word "culture" is as an adjective, as in, that person is very "cultured," implying that there is a hierarchy at work. There are those who max see one culture as having a higher standing over and above another. To be "cultured," therefore, means the acquisition of one particular culture leading to a person becoming "cultured."
When gradations are placed on culture, we begin to put value judgments on which one is superior to another. For example, in All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes, Kenneth Myers asserts that there are three types of culture: high culture, folk culture, and low culture.
Myers categorizes "high" culture as culture arising from a European heritage. "High" culture is Bach, Rembrandt, classical music, European art, and the theater (ballet and opera, not Broadway musicals). "Low" culture is Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Andy Warhol's soup cans, television that is not Masterpiece Theater, and other expressions of pop culture. The "high" culture of Europe stood far above "low" popular culture.
Myers created a third category that he labeled as "folk" culture. "Folk" was a step above "low" but a step below "high" culture. "Folk" culture was African drumming, Korean fan dancing, or Native American jewelry. In this schema, culture that was of European origin was "high" (implied better) and closer to God, while folk culture (usually the culture of non-Western society) was a grade below European culture. The implication of these categories is that some cultures are superior to others. An additional implication in this gradation is the closeness of one culture over another to God's will and plan tot creation.
The belief in a hierarchy of culture usually results in a bias toward Western and European culture, understood as being higher and better than non-Western expressions. A "cultured" person, therefore, is someone who is well-versed in Western or European expressions of culture. This bias means that Western culture often has the authority to define and shape other cultural expressions, since it is superior to other cultures. Gradation of culture, therefore, can lead to a disrespecting of certain cultures and ultimately an expression of cultural incompetency.
Can we approach culture from a perspective that honors human effort to construct culture as well as God's presence and work within the culture? Our definition of culture, therefore, must reflect existing anthropological and sociological definitions that do not reflect social and political biases, at the same time deriving an understanding of culture from a biblical framework.
Defining Culture
A healthy approach to culture has a biblical and theological foundation. It is important, however, that we also have a broader definition of culture that not only reflects sound theology but also draws on an existing common understanding in our society about culture. For the purposes of this book, we will begin our inquiry into the definition of "culture" by considering the manner in which anthropologists use the word. For example, one definition is a "shared (collective within society) socially learned knowledge, and patterns of behavior." Culture is "acquired knowledge, lived experience, that helps you navigate the society you live in and provides guidelines for your interaction with others." Culture, therefore, operates on both the individual level as well as the societal level. One may acquire culture individually, hut apply culture socially.
The etymology of the word also informs our understanding and use of the word. "The word 'culture' comes from the Latin colere, meaning to cultivate. It indicates mankind's environment as shaped and patterned by the whole of human activity. Culture is the core and driving force of civilization both ancient and modern." Anthropologist Clifford Geertz notes that our knowledge of culture grows in spurts. "Culture is not inherited like a genetic code. Instead, culture becomes layers and layers added by our society and our surrounding environment." These definitions of culture recognize that though culture is shaped by humans, it also shapes and forms individuals.
Culture is foundational in social life. It "denotes a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life."
Culture may operate on three levels: (1) behaviors that are learned, (2) ideas that reinforce beliefs and values, and (3) products that reinforce beliefs. The three key concepts reveal that culture can be seen as a product (such as food, music, and art), but that those products reinforce a cultural belief system and arise out of and reflect a set of underlying ideas and values. In addition, behaviors are at work that shape value systems as well as what is produced by the culture. In each of these anthropological definitions, we see the important impact of culture on the individual but also its place in shaping social systems and contexts.
Another definition that I personally find to be helpful explains culture through the lens of technology: "the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others." To put it simply: culture is the software of the mind. "Culture as mental software corresponds to a much broader use of the word than is common among sociologists and, especially, anthropologists."
Let's explore the technology example a bit further. Computer hardware is your physical desktop or laptop computer. On a basic level, all computers operate the same way-whether a Mac, Dell, Asus, or any other computer brand. Often, what distinguishes one computer from another is the software, more than the hardware.
When you first purchased your laptop computer, you received hardware-the processor, hard drive, screen, and a whole bunch of other technology that we may not understand. Hardware, however, does not necessarily determine the computer's programming, and by itself is insufficient to run the machine. You need software, which is installed onto the hardware, in order to operate the computer.
Software is the set of programs that gives a specific function and a specific type of production tot the computer. The software that gets installed onto the hardware will determine how it functions. Culture as software means that "'patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting mental programs, or ... software of the mind ... indicate what reactions are likely and understandable."
As software helps your hardware to run, we acquire the software of culture. Through our cultural context and our social experiences, the software of culture is downloaded. "The source of one's mental programs lies within the social environments in which one grew up and collected one's life experiences." Hardware may have severe limitations on how it may be used, while software-like cultural software-has a degree of flexibility and adaptability.
Can software be rewritten? To take the computer illustration to the next step means to understand the individual application of software. Though a robust understanding of culture is essential, we must also recognize that individuals are both shaped by culture and defined by personality. So while culture offers the software that runs the hardware, different individuals may apply that software in different ways.
One time I was taking holes on my laptop during a church board meeting and needed to access my spreadsheet software to crunch some numbers. While I'm familiar enough with spreadsheets, the extent of my expertise goes about as far as keeping track of basic baseball statistics. Two people reacted in distinctly different ways to my fumbling with the spreadsheet. One person looked away, explaining that he made it a practice to not see how others used a spreadsheet since that might negatively influence how he worked in MS Excel. In other words, my inefficiency with the spreadsheet could potentially damage his efficient method of working with the program. The second reaction came from another board member, who observed my several minutes of inept fumbling, sighed, and said, "You're killing me here." She proceeded to take the laptop and manipulate the spreadsheet and derive the answer in a matter of seconds.
The program that was being used was the same for all three of us and was affected by my ineptitude. The software that had been installed was the same program on each of our computers. However, different individuals were using the software to differing impact and efficiency. In the same way that culture may be described as software, there must also be the consideration that software may have different expressions and applications per individual user.
Our definition of culture, therefore, must take into account the social level as well as the individual level. Cultural intelligence deals with an understanding of culture that has multiple layers. Even as we begin to apply these definitions of culture to the local church setting, our anthropological definition and technological illustration calls tot a stretching of our simplistic assumptions about the topic. Culture is more complex than simply a set of traditions or knowledge that we add on to other types of knowledge. Cultural intelligence takes on another level of complexity when we consider the biblical-theological aspects of culture.
God's Image and God's Culture
To explore and understand the role of culture from a biblical framework, we must go all the way back to the creation story in Genesis. The idea that humanity has been given a responsibility and duty from the Creator to go forth and create culture originates from the theological understanding that humanity was made in the image of God. This concept is known as the cultural mandate, which calls for believers to engage rather than categorically reject the surrounding culture, and arises out of the doctrine of the image of God.
The doctrine of the image of God reveals that we bear a likeness to God in our spiritual capacity. Humanity "bears and reflects the divine likeness among the inhabitants of the earth, because he is a spirit, an intelligent, voluntary agent." Because God is a spiritual being, our likeness to God would be reflected in our spiritually. We have a spiritual rather than a physical likeness to God. Regardless of our racial, ethnic, national, or cultural identity, we are each a spiritual image-bearer of God. "We could search the world over, but we could not find a man so low, so degraded, or so tar below the social, economic and moral norms ... that he had not been created in the image of God." This spiritual likeness, therefore, would be found in all humanity, regardless of race and ethnicity. Being made in the image of God is a gilt endowed upon all humanity.
"God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground'" (Genesis 1:26). Because we are made in the image of God, we hold a unique position in creation order. The passage connects the unmatched quality of being made in the image of God with the responsibility of dominion over creation. God's sovereign authority over creation is mirrored in a small way by the stewardship of creation by humanity. "Because man is created in God's image, he is king over nature. He rules the world on God's behalf." Dominion over creation comes with an obligation rather than a carte blanche authority. "Mankind is here commissioned to rule nature as a benevolent king, acting as God's representative over them and therefore treating them in the same way as God who created them." The image of God leads to the spiritual capacity of humanity to hold an affirming and positive position in creation order. That position results in a responsibility to further the creative work of God.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from MANY COLORS by Soong-Chan Rah Copyright © 2010 by Soong-Chan Rah. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction 9
Part I Understanding Culture
Chapter 1 What Is Culture? 19
Chapter 2 Understanding Our History 41
Chapter 3 Church and Culture 61
Part II A Constructive Cultural Paradigm
Chapter 4 A Multicultural Worldview 83
Chapter 5 Enhanced Connections 101
Chapter 6 Power Dynamics 113
Part III Cultural Intelligence in Action
Chapter 7 Tell Me a Story 129
Chapter 8 Journeying Together: You've Got to Be There 147
Chapter 9 Embracing the Other: Facets of True Hospitality 165
Chapter 10 The Challenge of Systems Thinking and Organizational Change 183
A Final Word of Encouragement 195
Notes 199
Acknowledgments 205
What People are Saying About This
INSIDE PAGESIn the past decade something new and important has emerged: Readers are now able to wade through a huge pool of books on multiethnicity/multiculturalism and the church. If you have been waiting for the handbook needed to navigate these new waters, this is it! Soong-Chan Rah's Many Colors will become the standard for Christians who want to understand and practice cross-cultural intelligence. The church desperately needed a book reflecting the depth and breadth of this defining work. Soong-Chan has delivered!Randy Woodley,distinguished associate professor of faith and culture, George Fox University, and author of Living in Color: Embracing God's Passion for Ethnic DiversityMany Colors is a must-read for those who are serious about being the church in practice and not just theory. Dr. Rah skillfully integrates theological, psychological, sociological, and practical information concerning cultural understanding needed for a church that is increasingly becoming multiethnic and multicultural. Finally, a book on cultural understanding for the church that is not sociology sprinkled with some Scriptures, but is solidly built first on the foundation of Scripture which reveals God's priorities for our relationships.
Rodney Cooper, professor of discipleship and leadership development, Gordon-Conwell Theological SeminaryThis is a must-read for anyone in cross-cultural ministry, as well as all who wish to engage the new multiethnic America. Rah challenges us to pursue culturally intelligent leadership, while providing a convincing biblical-theological framework and practical suggestions to help us move forward in this most important journey.Tom Lin, vice president of missions, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and director of the Urbana student missions conferenceBACK COVER"From experiential knowledge and with anthropological precision, Soong-Chan Rah has provided a thorough explanation of cross-cultural competence, one of the core commitments required for effective multi-ethnic ministry. Many Colors will accelerate the coming integration of the local church and is therefore a much-welcomed, greatly needed resource for those of us pursuing the dream."
Dr. Mark DeYmaz, Founding pastor of Mosaic Church (AR) and author of Ethnic Blends: Mixing Diversity into Your Local Church
"Many Colors is a desperately needed resource for those of us who love Christ and are engaged as agents of change and justice in our society, where a new mestizo reality is becoming the norm and not an exception."
Noel CastellanosCEO, Christian Community Development Association"In recent years, many leaders have been inspired with a vision for multiethnic ministry. But while their spirits may be willing, their flesh is often weak. Many simply lack the knowledge and 'cultural intelligence' to cultivate multiethnic Christian communities, and the results are churches with a veneer of diversity without any real change. This is why Dr. Rah's book is so vital. He offers a framework for understanding culture that is rooted in Scripture, history, and the practical realities of pastoral ministry. Many Colors is a must-read for anyone sensing a call into multiethnic ministry."
Skye Jethani, author of The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer ChristianityEXTRAS"Dr. Rah has the ability to stretch your faith while stretching your mind. Gratefully, this book offers no simplistic answers but in being honest about the challenges also gives us honest hope. Society questions whether real unity is possible. In Christ, the Church can show that it is; this book helps point the way with insight, dimensionality, and challenge."
Gary Walter, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church"Using the incredible power of story, Dr. Soong-Chan Rah weaves together a tapestry that gives a clear picture of what “cultural intelligence” requires. This book takes you on a reconciliation journey that will move you from simplistic formulas to substantive solutions that produce lasting systemic and social change."
Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, President, Salter McNeil & Associates, LLC