Cross-Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting In Around the World

by Duane Elmer

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2009

Overview

With the new realities of global interconnectedness comes a greater awareness of cultural diversity from place to place. Besides differences in food and fashion, we face significant contrasts of cultural orientation and patterns of thinking. As we travel across cultures, what should we expect? How do we deal with culture shock? And can we truly connect with those we meet?

Experienced cross-cultural specialist Duane Elmer provides a compass for navigating through different cultures. He shows us how to avoid pitfalls and cultural faux pas, as well as how to make the most of opportunities to build cross-cultural relationships. Filled with real-life illustrations and practical exercises, this guide offers the tools needed to reduce apprehension, communicate effectively, and establish genuine trust and acceptance.

Above all, Elmer demonstrates how we can avoid being cultural imperialists and instead become authentic ambassadors for Christ. Whether you are embarking on a short-term mission trip or traveling for business or pleasure, this book is both an ideal preparation and a handy companion for your journey.

Key Features

• Focuses on providing resources and tools to make a successful transition into another culture
• Provides Discussions Questions at the end of each chapter to encourage reflection and conversation
• Used at home and abroad by business people, short-term mission workers, missionaries, relief and development workers, bivocational people and educators

Contents

Section 1: Getting a Perspective

• Monkeys, Mission and Us
• Your Part of God's Story
• Right, Wrong and Different

Section 2: Dealing with the New and Different

• Culture is Everywhere, and It Sneaks Up on You
• Culture Shocks
• Identifying Expectations
• Square Heads and Round Heads
• Cultural Adjustment Map

Section 3: Attitudes and Skills for Cultural Adjustment

• Openness: How to Be Approachable
• Acceptance: How to Be Positive
• Trust: How to Build Strong Relationships
• Skills for Cross-Cultural Effectiveness

Section 4: Cultural Differences That Confuse

• Time and Event
• Task and Relationship
• Individualism and Collectivism
• Categorical and Holistic Thinking
• Logic: Straight or Curved
• Achieved Status and Ascribed Status
• Guilt and Shame
• Worship Expression: From Low to High

Section 5: Returning Home

• 21: Re-Entry: You Are Never the Same

Top Highlights

“The purpose of this book is to help you become aware of the realities in making a cultural transition—in business, in short- or long- term missions, as a bivocational person or in whatever capacity you may find yourself. Awareness of the issues you will face gives you an advantage because it causes you to have more realistic expectations, which diminish the jarring effects of a new environment and give you the presence of mind to employ coping skills that will move you forward in cultural understanding and adjustment, and in strong relationships among the people of the other culture.” (Page 9)

“Acceptance is the ability to communicate value, regard, worth and respect to others. It is the ability to make people feel significant, honored and esteemed. Though acceptance appears to be a passive concept like tolerance—meaning to indulge the person, put up with or endure the person—acceptance is not passive, but proactive. It means to intentionally extend regard, honor and esteem to others.” (Page 94)

“Because entering another culture is about encountering differences, every day, all day. How you handle them determines your level of comfort, ability to function, level of satisfaction and degree to which God can use you.” (Page 29)

“When we tell someone in the West about our faith in Christ, we assume the value of individualism is operating—we believe this person can make an independent decision apart from consulting family. However, when sharing Christ among Asian people, I was constantly told that they could not make a decision to follow Christ without asking a parent, uncle, aunt or all three. These people ranged anywhere from eighteen to thirty years in age! I thought it was an excuse not to make a decision. But in collectivistic cultures, people do not make major decisions without talking it over with the proper authority figures in their extended family.” (Page 138)

Praise for Cross-Cultural Connections

It's a delight to learn how concerned for the right things we can be and yet still be so far from the mark, which is often the case. It will soon be, I am sure, an adopted, fresh standard of measure for new-candidate missions training, evangelism and even new-marriage counseling. All by their nature involve understanding our too-narrowed selves in crosscultural settings, which this book (get a good highlighter pen) clearly provides. . . . Elmer has successfully placed before us a 'working book' that, while wonderfully written and easily read, also begs you to underline scores of 'make-sense' insights and then tab the page so you can find them again.

--M. L. Hillard, former vice president of people development, ServiceMaster

We live in a world of rapidly increasing cross-cultural connections, which raises the great dangers of misunderstandings, alienations and conflicts. Much has been written theoretically on how to make them constructive. Drawing on his wide personal experience and teaching intercultural communications to those ministering around the world, Elmer helps us to see that crosscultural relationships take place in the realities of everyday life, and shows us concrete ways to build relationships of understanding and trust across the cultural gulfs we encounter in global ministries. . . . Effective cross-cultural ministries begin with interpersonal relationships that bridge the cultural gulfs that separate people.

--Paul G. Hiebert, professor of mission and anthropology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Starting with the story of a monkey 'rescuing' a fish from 'drowning,' Elmer shows the rest of us primates how to jump into the chilly waters of another culture and learn to swim with the fish. As one who has seen him do this effectively with business personnel, I am delighted that his insights are now available to far more who are making the plunge--especially those doing so for Christ's sake.

--J. Dudley Woodberry, professor of Islamic studies and dean emeritus, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Cross-Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting In Around the World
• Author: Duane Elmer
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2009
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Christianity and culture; Intercultural communication › Religious aspects--Christianity; Missions › Theory
• ISBNs: 9780830874828, 9788993525168, 0830874828, 8993525161
• Resource ID: LLS:9780830874828
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:47:45Z

About Duane Elmer

Duane H. Elmer (Ph.D., Michigan State U.) is director of the Ph.D. program in educational studies and is the G. W. Aldeen Chair of International Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. In addition to traveling and teaching in over 75 countries, he has provided cross-cultural training to Fortune 500 companies, relief and development agencies, mission organizations, churches and educational institutions. He has also conducted peace and reconciliation efforts in several countries. Recently, he led faculty development workshops at over 25 European and Middle Eastern schools on the theme of Teaching for Transformation. He has taught at Durban Bible College (Durban, South Africa), Michigan State University and Wheaton College and Graduate School. His articles have been published in journals such as Moody Monthly, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Christian Education Journal, Discernment, and Christianity Today. His books include An Analysis of Hebrews: A Programmed Instruction, Building Relationships, With an Eye on the Future: Church and Development in the Twenty-First Century, Cross-Cultural Conflict and Cross-Cultural Connections.

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Duane H. Elmer

(Ph.D., Michigan State U.) is director of the Ph.D. program in educational studies and is the G. W. Aldeen Chair of International Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. In addition to traveling and teaching in over 75 countries, he has provided cross-cultural training to Fortune 500 companies, relief and development agencies, mission organizations, churches and educational institutions. He has also conducted peace and reconciliation efforts in several countries. Recently, he led faculty development workshops at over 25 European and Middle Eastern schools on the theme of

Teaching for Transformation

. He has taught at Durban Bible College (Durban, South Africa), Michigan State University and Wheaton College and Graduate School. His articles have been published in journals such as

Moody Monthly, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Christian Education Journal, Discernment

, and

Christianity Today.

His books include

An Analysis of Hebrews: A Programmed Instruction, Building Relationships, With an Eye on the Future: Church and Development in the Twenty-First Century, Cross-Cultural Conflict

and

Cross-Cultural Connections.

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