{"id":41557,"date":"2025-04-09T16:32:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41557"},"modified":"2025-04-09T16:32:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:32:52","slug":"called-into-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/called-into-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"Called into Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

I walked into the doctor\u2019s office. A crowd of people was swarming the reception desk. I tried to stand in line, but people kept crowding around me. I tried to keep my place in line, but it was hard. In situations like this, when I am frustrated by the apparent chaos and disorder surrounding me, I remind myself, \u201cChaos breeds chaos.\u201d \u00a0This motto has taught me to maintain a tidy living space, to pause before entering a crisis, and to help prevent a reactive response in swarms of people. As someone working cross-culturally, I often navigate between what feels secure and familiar, and what feels disorienting and unfamiliar. Jordan Peterson explores this dynamic as the tension between order and chaos. Duane Elmer offers a practical model for how Christians can serve faithfully in the midst of it. For this blog, I will look at some of Peterson\u2019s thoughts on how a \u201chero\u201d balances chaos and order. Then, I will present Elmer\u2019s suggestions on Christians leading cross-culturally.<\/p>\n

In Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, <\/em>Jordan Peterson addresses how chaos and order are a part of the human experience in searching for purpose in life. Order is what we already know. Chaos is the unknown aspects that threaten the order in our lives. According to Peterson, life is a constant interplay between chaos and order.[1]<\/a> He describes the journey of a hero\u2014one who leaves the known order of his life, enters the unknown chaos, learns through that transition, and returns with a new sense of meaning and order. In chapter 5, he highlights how the hero becomes the bridge between these two realms.[2]<\/a> The hero is strong, capable, stands outside of the status quo, and chooses purpose and meaning over stability.[3]<\/a> The hero enters the chaos of the unknown with the desire to bring new order and understanding.[4]<\/a> Courage and perseverance are displayed as the hero mediates between chaos and order.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Living cross-culturally often feels like a hero\u2019s journey\u2014constantly encountering the unknown, learning through experience, and working hard to make sense of it all. However, for Christians, the ultimate hero is Jesus. Unlike mythical figures, He didn\u2019t seek glory or adventure. He humbled Himself. He left the perfect order of Heaven to enter the chaos of Earth, not just to survive it but to redeem it.<\/p>\n

Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV):<\/p>\n

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.<\/p>\n

How do we follow Christ\u2019s example of humility as we step between the chaos of unfamiliar cultures and the comfort of our own? Duane Elmer, in Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility<\/em>, offers a powerful framework for leading across cultures with grace. He writes that serving others means relating to them \u201cin such a way that their dignity as human beings is affirmed and they are more empowered to live God-glorifying lives.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Elmer identifies six elements for a cross-cultural servanthood model:<\/p>\n