My first cultural experience was when I was five years old. My aunt was at a hospital in Tijuana and we went to visit her. What I remember from this trip was that my parents took a wrong turn, and we ended up driving through a bad part of town. This experience, coupled with racist parents, led me to have a negative view of Mexico and the Latino population in California growing up. I did not want to take Spanish in high school because I mimicked the thoughts of my parents, \u201cThis is America. Why should I learn Spanish? They need to speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I grew older, I began to realize that this view of the world is contrary to Scripture. One of my favorite analogies of the Body of Christ is that of a symphony. In the book, Learning to Know God<\/em>, Neva Coyle writes about this image, saying that the Body of Christ is a \u201cunity in diversity.\u201d[1]<\/a> No one wants to go see a symphony of a hundred musicians playing the same instrument and the same notes. It is the harmony and blend of the different instruments that creates something beautiful. This is what heaven will be like.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/sup><\/strong>After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.\u201d (Rev. 7:9)<\/p>\n Erin Meyer describes the impact of cultural differences in her book, The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business<\/em>. She describes an eight-scale model that represents areas of interest for leaders. These eight scales are: communicating, evaluating, persuading, leading, deciding, trusting, disagreeing, and scheduling. These scales show, \u201c\u201chow cultures vary along a spectrum from one extreme to its opposite.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n We live in an increasingly global society. To be an effective leader, we must learn not only how our own culture impacts our perceptions, but how other cultures impact their perceptions, or cultural relativity<\/em>. Meyer suggests, \u201cwhen examining how people from different cultures relate to one another, what matters is not the absolute position of either culture on the scale but rather the relative position of the two cultures.\u201d[3]<\/a> The leader who learns to harness this information will be able to navigate barriers to harmony more effectively.<\/p>\n Understanding the cultural map requires a willingness to learn. Dr. Karen Ann Tremper said in her presentation that we need to have a Growth Mindset.[4]<\/a> It took me a long time to recognize my own racism. Moving out of my parents\u2019 house in college was the start. I began to experience a world beyond white suburbia. I remember someone in college calling me out for using the term oriental<\/em> to refer to a person. I learned that oriental<\/em> refers to objects and it was a derogatory word to use for a person. In small ways at first, but with growing intention, I began to make choices to confront my racism and cultural bias.<\/p>\n A willingness to learn and grow enables us to gain understanding and to move toward harmony. Meyer states:<\/p>\n \u201cThe way we are conditioned to see the world in our own culture seems so completely obvious and commonplace that it is difficult to image that another culture might do things differently. It is only when you start to identify what is typical in your culture, but different from others, that you can begin to open a dialogue of sharing, learning, and ultimately understanding.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n To this, I would add that we need to not only see the differences but be willing to understand and acknowledge that different<\/em> is not bad.<\/em> We need to understand the concept of being a \u201cunity in diversity.\u201d I strive to embrace the different, to learn and grow by encountering new ways of viewing the world.<\/p>\n One way I have experienced growth is through language. I love languages and the nuances they represent. I love learning words in other languages that have no translation in English. You can learn so much about a culture from their language, from how they speak to one another, and from the words they use. One example is Japanese the word Wa<\/em>. A Japanese colleague of my husband explained it to me as the concept of harmony within the community. It made me think of Spok in Star Trek saying, \u201cThe needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n God has placed me in yet another situation where I must push against my own prejudice and bias. I now live in a place known for its LBGTQ community. A year ago, I volunteered at a community event. I went to a fundraiser at the local gay bar. I had not met the organizer prior to that night, and she told me she was unsure about me. She had looked at my Facebook page and knew I am a pastor. She expected me to come with condemnation and judgement. I told her I was there to love and serve my community. I remember thinking that this is exactly where Jesus would be.<\/p>\n The Church is far greater and more diverse than my white, suburbia upbringing. It is a beautiful, colorful melody of different people and different cultures. We are called to be salt and light to the world. We are called to make disciples of all nations. We cannot do that if we remain stagnant in a culturally bias perspective.<\/p>\n \n [1]<\/a> Neva Coyle, Learning to Know God<\/em>. (Bloomington, MN, Bethany House Publisher, 1993). Uncertain of the page number as this book is currently in a box in my garage.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Erin Meyer, The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business<\/em>. (New York, Public Affairs, 2014), pg. 15<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid. pg. 22<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7mZkK02xvL8<\/a><\/p>\n