Conquer Your Cultural Stereotypes
Our culture determines what feels normal, right, and real to us, and what we take for granted. When asked why we sit on chairs instead of on the floor, we may smile at the inquirer’s “ignorance” and answer: “That’s the way we live here.” We assume that this is the way it ought to be!
Read MoreLearning Culture: 5 Implications for Missionaries
Most aspects of culture are learnt in early childhood before you know how to reason. You learn everyday things like how to greet; how to dress; what, when, and how to eat; when to go to bed; how to say “no” politely; and how to relate to strangers, friends, and people in authority. Your concepts
Read MoreGeography of Power
If you have ever visited an administrative official in another culture you know that this event can be a most memorable or a rather disappointing experience. Memorable, because you may discover that in some places leadership is accompanied with fascinating symbols of power, dignity and deference. Disappointing, because you find your high hopes dashed by
Read MoreApples of Gold in Baskets of Silver
The wise man, Solomon, knew the almost unbelievable power of words when he wrote so long ago: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver” (Prov. 25:11, R.V.) New words seem to be capturing the minds of men and women every day. Every new dictionary is bulging with words not
Read MoreRoom at the Inn
The steady rhythm of the windshield wipers was suddenly interrupted as l broke the silence. “Let’s stop by that Christmas tree lot on Hillsboro Avenue and pick out our tree on the way home.” “Great idea,” Jim chimed. “We’ll need to get some new twinkle lights this year, too, so maybe we have time to
Read MoreThe Word From the Streets
Many of you are living and working in cities. The rest of you really can’t escape the cities, even though you may live and work in more rural areas. Urbanization is the pervasive reality at the end of the 20th century. The music of the cities blares through the villages, urban TV programs beam out
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