MOP February 2015

Facilitator: Darlene Jovellanos

• Description – The middle section of Roland Muller’s book, the Messenger, the Message and the Community is used as a resource for better understanding guilt-based, shame-based and fear-based cultures, and how evangelistic methods might differ, depending on which world view is being addressed.
• Objectives

1. Distinguish between the concepts of worldview and culture and explain the relationship between behaviors, values, beliefs, and worldview. Describe the biblical basis for worldview and how worldviews are shaped by the events in the Garden of Eden.
2. Identify the three common ancestral worldviews described by Muller and describe how these worldviews have influenced how people view life, the Bible, and God.
3. Identify ways in which these three ancestral worldviews are displayed in your home culture. Outline a few ideas of how this understanding of worldviews will impact your future ministry.
4. Outline a few ideas of how this understanding of worldviews will impact your future ministry.

• Description – What are our underlying values and priorities? What are the underlying values and priorities of the culture we are entering into as missionaries? Using the “Basic Values Inventory” from Ministering Cross-Culturally by Lingenfelter & Mayers, we will identify our tendencies on 6 pairs of contrasting traits. We will discuss the various values represented in these traits (e.g. time-oriented vs. event oriented, task oriented vs. people oriented) and the necessity of learning to work together with people who have different values.
• Objectives

1. Identify the personal values you use to order your life and relationships with others.
2. Compare and contrast your personal values with those of another culture.
3. Analyze where the points of conflict/tension might be for you as you enter your new culture.

• Description – Missionaries use their insight into world views and values to understand and effectively impact the people of another culture. But entering and living in another culture also has an impact on us emotionally and often physically. We will become familiar with the realities, symptoms, and cures for culture stress, and look at a couple of different models about how we go the process of cultural adaptation.
• Objectives

1. Describe symptoms and cures for culture stress
2. Identify some personal strategies for dealing with culture stress.
3. Compare and contrast two models for understanding cultural adjustment.

• Description - In this final week of our course, we will discuss Christ's incarnation as a model for cross-cultural ministry and the question of sacrifice in the life of a missionary. We will also discover methods, tools, and skills that can aid in cross-cultural adaptation.
• Objectives

1. Identify principles from Christ's incarnation that have implications for cross-cultural ministry.
2. Evaluate the issue of “rights” as a missionary and develop a list of sacrifices that might be made by present-day missionaries.
3. Describe how attitudes of openness, acceptance, and trust can help a missionary in the process of acculturation
4. Wrestle with the issue that we will never completely fit in our host culture, nor will we totally feel at home anymore in our home culture

Links:

• Grow2Serve website

• Check out the free online test at http://theculturetest.com/ to determine whether your host or home culture is guilt, shame or fear based
• Example of Gospel Presentation to Shame-Based Culture
• The Shame Tract > developed by Roland Muller to present the Gospel to Muslims
• Ideas for Bible Study in Shame, Fear & Guilt-based Cultures > An article by Gary Ridley intended to stimulate thinking as to how to incorporate these three worldviews in leading Bible Studies.