Ch 7: Tell Me a Story
*Importance of shared story. Problem today is that people are not connecting back to God's redemptive story.
Jesus was the master story creator.
Layers of conversation: (1) Presentation of facts and information (2) Expression of feelings and emotions (3) Communication of identity (132-136)
Storytelling is an art. When people connect to a story (book or movie), they can begin to explain their own faith journey in story.
A Good Story has four key elements:
(1) Setting
(2) Character
(3) Conflict
(4) Resolution
* Leader may use this format to encourage others to plot biblical and secular stories and also to write their own faith stories.
Practical ways to develop storytelling: tell the truth, reveal yourself (not just facts and figures), share pain honestly, share your identity
"Story has the capacity to transcend cultural limitations" (145)
Ch. 8 Journeying Together: You've Got to Be There
Group learning is important
Opening Up - Rah shares his story of feeling invisible because of the racism he received as an Asian American. When he shared his story, pain, and identity with the group, they grew closer now having a shared experience, vocabulary, and emotions.
Learn the history of your community. Ex: Japanese Internment survivors
Take Risks - story of undocumented immigrant woman. Tells the human side of a politically charged/controversial issue (156)
Create safe space - level the playing field. Disarm power dynamics.
Challenge to those of us that are white - be in a posture of learning (158).
Rah's journeys remind me a lot of the mission and service trips that I have taken with the church that tend to break down our racial/ethnic stereotypes and learn from others in a new learning environment.
McKee proposes four levels at work during the journey: (1) theology (2) pursue history (3) cultural competency (4) spiritual formation (162).
Ch. 9 Embracing the Other: Facets of True Hospitality
Power of the table - communing together. Food is a great way to communicate across cultures!
*Never turn down food :) More often than not, it is offensive to the culture. Eating (and accepting seconds) is a way of accepting and appreciating culture (Korean and Haitian experiences shared in this section). Central to understanding of communion.
Learn Language - Just a few simple phrases go a long way. As I interned at Conyers Presbyterian Church this last year, I observed the unintentional lack of hospitality due to language barriers. Conyers Pres has hosted a Hispanic immigrant ministry (Iglesia Horeb) now for 10 years. Still, in the parking lot, members of each church will walk quickly into the church building without even a word, smile, or wave to acknowledge each others' presence. After inquiring from some of the members I know, I have learned that it is out of embarrassment that they turn away from one another. They need the basic knowledge of how to say hello or to know that certain gestures are appropriate greetings. I informed them that smiling is always a good place to start - it is a simple way to share Christ's love and hospitality with one another.
Welcome all to worship - key test of hospitality. This has been the LAST thing to occur at churches I've seen trying to be multiethnic/multicultural.
"It is imperative...that different cultural expressions manifest themselves in the setting of the public worship life of the church" (171).
Leadership must present diversity.
"Don't fake it." If a group is not present in your church or if you do not know the culture well, do not perform a superficial representation just for the sake of diversity
"For most of the history of the church... [hospitality] meant response to the physical needs of strangers for food, shelter, and protection, but also a a recognition of their worth and common humanity"(174).
Hospitality is not an option, it is part of who we are - being the household of God.
In Household of God, we cease to use "other" language.
"One of the most significant ways to increase your cultural intelligence, therefore, is to be mentored by individuals who come from different cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds" (177).
Gain cultural intelligence through reading books by minority authors (especially look for Christian ones), books, music, dance, etc.
Ch. 10: The Challenge of Systems Thinking and Organizational Change
The newbie pastor failed to recognize the complex stories tied to the piano.
"Systems thinking requires understanding the entirety of a complex system. Understanding interrelationships and how a system works are just as important as actually solving a problem" (184).
Simplistic linear thinking is not enough -
"A more comprehensive, holistic, systems thinking approach is necessary to develop a cultural intelligence for the local church" (189).
Cat and Toaster - different systems cannot be fixed the same way.
Clarification on "cultural intelligence" -
"Intelligence implies knowledge. Cultural intelligence implies the acquisition of a skill set that will make us more efficient in our dealing with other cutlures" (182)...."Cultural intelligence is actually cultural intuition"
I'm not sure that I have any more to say. You have captured both the essence and the importance of what Rah is saying here. And your personal illustrations provide a good window into the applicability of this material.
ReplyDeleteI think that reading this book alongside "Outcasts United" (by Warren St. John, see http://outcastsunited.com/) would be an interesting class in itself.