Ministering Cross-Culturally | Book Review

Reviewed by Thomas Scarborough

Perhaps this book would more accurately have been titled: “Relating Cross-Culturally”. Beyond its emphasis on “the servant attitude of Jesus”, it would seem to contain little about ministry per se. Having said this, the book paints a humorous and humble picture of a sometimes inept cultural anthropologist (Sherwood Lingenfelter) seeking to come to terms with some awkward cross-cultural situations. The experiences are well written, and their meaning is well explained. I shall focus here on three core statements of Lingenfelter’s — with regard to his “subject”, his “central thesis”, and his “purpose”.

THE SUBJECT OF THE BOOK

Statement 1: “The subject of this book is the tension and conflict that missionaries, pastors, and laypersons experience when they attempt to work with people who come from different cultural and social backgrounds”.

In keeping with the stated purpose of the book, it seeks to “reduce or even resolve tensions in interpersonal relations” which might arise in cross-cultural situations. The purpose of this is to “make [others] our family and friends”, and to “point them to freedom in Christ” — that is, to introduce them to “liberation from the cultural systems of righteousness”. As will be seen from the quote, the focus is on “cultural and social backgrounds”, rather than spiritual orientation or moral struggles. In this regard, the question arises as to whether there might be deeper sources of “tension and conflict” than those which are “cultural and social”. By and large, the book does not enter into the spiritual and moral challenges that a missionary or minister might encounter, nor does it give one much sense that cultural and social differences might be anything more than cultural and social. There is the sobering example of a man who likely died through the negligence of islanders who responded half an hour too late to an emergency call. Here Lingenfelter gives little or no indication that this might have involved anything more than a misreading of “culture”, or a “particular orientation” on their part. It is further not easy to discern whether Lingenfelter would offer any consistent approach towards “different” behaviours and beliefs — besides being culturally appropriate in one’s assessments, and Christ-centred in one’s demeanour.

THE CENTRAL THESIS

Statement 2: “A central thesis of this book is that the Bible speaks to all people and all cultures and that Jesus Christ is the only faithful example of divine love in interpersonal relationships and communication”.

I puzzled a good while over this “central thesis”, and the puzzle lies in the word “and”. Does this mean that there are two theses, or does the second part of the thesis reflect on the first? The overall impression of the book is that this is one thesis. That is, the Bible speaks by showing us the faithful example of Jesus Christ. Thus the Bible, through Jesus Christ, “provides principles on which we can build more effective relationships and ministry”. Does Lingenfelter intend anything more profound than for one to live by “example” and “principles”? There is little to indicate that he does. The book is about “values and orientations”, “value biases”, “values and lifestyle patterns”, and “values, priorities and standards”. This is classic Lingenfelter: “The particular focus of this book is on priorities or values people use.” There is little indication that the Bible might provide more than a source of values, or offer more than aids to “adapt and change” — for instance, a Christ who may be worshiped, or an encounter with the Holy. We are simply “following the example of Christ”. Having said this, Lingenfelter draws out some interesting observations about the personal priorities of Jesus Christ. He was “event-oriented in His personal life and ministry”, not time-orientated; He was “concrete and holistic” in His use of analogy, issues, and object lessons in His teaching; He “often demonstrated a non-crisis orientation”; He “furnishes powerful evidence of the importance of persons” rather than tasks; and He rejects a focus both on “status [and]

achievement”.

THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Statement 3: “The purpose of this book is to examine experiences in interpersonal relations, using a conceptual model that will provide an understanding of our underlying priorities or values and those of the people with whom we interact”.

Lingenfelter draws on “the model of basic values” developed by Marvin K. Mayers to analyse personal priorities. It is chiefly for this reason that he names Mayers as co-author of the book. Mayers’ model is “a significant tool for understanding others in their own community”. “Our way of life is often equated with godliness”, and this may unnecessarily create “conflict [and] confrontation”. The model in question “contains twelve key elements”. These are “presented in the form of six pairs”. When these pairs are graphed, they highlight existing tensions. As an example, some cultures may be “time-oriented”, while others may be “event-oriented”. “Americans and Germans […] have a very short time-fuse”, while for Micronesians, “a half hour [is] not important”. By using a questionnaire provided, one may easily identify one’s own orientation, as well as potential points of tension. Lingenfelter further shows how people may be task or person orientated, dichotomistic or holisic in their thinking, status or achievement focused, crisis or non-crisis directed, willing or unwilling to reveal vulnerability — and he illustrates these pairs in a sympathetic and lively way. I found the model to be revealing. Having said this, I felt that the book failed to touch on what could be other important pairs — e.g. private vs. public life, or issues of communication, such as immediacy vs. deferral, or frankness vs. reticence. As an example, some cultures would understand frank communication to be discourteous, while others may think much the same of reticence.

SYNTHESIS

The book held a personal interest for me, in that I myself have both lived and ministered cross-culturally in Micronesia — the region from which most of the book’s illustrations are drawn. For those who, as Lingenfelter suggests, might tend to equate their ways “with godliness”, this book might represent a useful corrective. Apart from this, it would seem that the book would be best suited to minorities (e.g. a missionary family) within a larger culture. By way of contrast, many Churches seek to reconcile large groups of different cultural and social orientations. In this case, “accommodation” might be the word rather than Lingenfelter’s “adaptation”.

CITATION OF REFERENCE

Lingenfelter, Sherwood G. & Mayers, Marvin G. Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships (Second Edition). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2003.