Home / Creative Essay / Cultural Sensitivity Outline for Church, Creative Essay Example

Cultural Sensitivity Outline for Church, Creative Essay Example

Pages: 7

Words: 1965

Introduction

In the very development of a cultural sensitivity outline for church, a sensitive awareness is demonstrated in regards to the different cultural backgrounds that constitute the church itself. Such an awareness is crucial, insofar as the Christian church by its very definition is open, namely, it is without division or discrimination based on cultural, racial, ethical, or social paradigms. As Colossians 3:11 states, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumsed, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” Scripture itself thus stresses the notion of a unity in Christ, and part of the realization of this unity is to understand that Christanity provides a common foundation to all. At the same time, the universality of Christianity does not imply that cultural differences themselves do not exist. Rather in the very act of remaining attentive and sensitive to these differences, a common ground within the church community can be inevitably attained. Yet cultural difference does not entail the task of inhabiting the cultural perspective of another, and thus rejecting one’s own cultural background, a feat that is impossible. The key to inter-cultural sensitivity training is that one must be conscious of the very cultural differences that make up our world. As David W. Augsberger suggests, such cultural awareness means that the individual is able “to disconnect identity from cultural externals and to live on the boundary, crossing over and coming back with increasing freedom.” (14) The universalism of the Church is the understanding that communities are made up of different members. Thus, the key for cultural sensitivity is to understand this perspective and remain sensitive to it, which enables the realization of an authentic communicative relationship not based on an antagonism between perspectives, but rather one that is grounded in both the compassion and understanding for the Other and an attempt to be sensitive to their unique historical, ethnic and cultural heritages. The openness of the Christian Church, as demonstrated in scripture, makes this understanding imperative. Accordingly, as Christians such a common understanding is ultimately based on the shared participation of the community, irrespective of cultural difference, in the Christian faith and the universal message of Christ.

Outline for Basic Training Course on Cultural Sensitivity and the Church

With these preliminary remarks in mind, an outline for a prospective training course on cultural sensitivity can be advanced. The outline will be based on two basic tenets of cultural sensitivity training that would be introduced at the outset of the course so as to make its goals clears for the participants:

The unity of the Christian faith, which stresses the belongingness to the message of Christ irrespective of cultural background
The unique cultural differences of those who participate in the life of the Church.

While these points may at first seem paradoxical, this occludes the point that people from all different cultural backgrounds may participate in the evangelical good news. At the same time, cultural backgrounds indicate all the different histories and manners in which individuals have come to the Christian message. Understanding the balance between these two aspects is crucial for cultural sensitivity. Merely rejecting cultural difference in favour of the unity of the Christian message would occlude the fact that we all come to the gospel from different backgrounds and perspectives: insofar as the Church is a community, this difference must be respected to foster authentic communication. However, in the end what brings together all these different cultural perspectives is the universality of the Christian message, to the extent that this message itself entails a “unity in difference.” In line with these ideas, the basic objectives of the course are therefore as follows:

Primary Objective:

Communicating this idea of unity in difference provides the foundation for cultural sensitivity training and thus the prospective course would concentrate on both aspects of this duality equally, using scripture and relevant literature, to develop the universality of Christ’s message and the diverse ways in which individuals come to this message.

Secondary Objectives:

Introduce how Scripture treats these themes, so as to approach the issue from an authentic Christian perspective.
Opening dialogue within the class with the intent of discussing issues about cultural difference and the universal message of the Church, encouraging participants to share their voice.

Course Outline

Session 1: Introducing Unity and Difference, a summary of the importance of the aforementioned two main points of the universality of the Church and the cultural diversity of those who participate in the life of the Church.

Recommended reading: Passages from Scripture that stress these motifs. For example,

Colossians 3:11
Ephesians 4:3-6
John 13:34
Session 2: Our cultural diversity. Identify the diverse backgrounds of participants. Show that diversity exists everywhere, asking participants to discuss their own personal background and relate it to diversity as it is portrayed in scripture.

Recommended Reading:

Revelation 15:2-4,
Mark Deymaz “The Example of Christ”, In: Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic

Church, Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation.

Course Summary

Cultural-sensitivity training in the Christian context is approached as the simultaneous respect for cultural difference and the universality of Christ’s message. The latter stresses that we are all open to receiving this message, the former entails that diversity is what makes us human: we may all arrive at Christ in different ways, but the love of Christ itself is universal and without exception. Understanding this is the foundation for the course’s approach to cultural sensitivity.

The historical cultural diversity of the Church is arguably one of its greatest strengths, attesting to the universality of its message, as all may identify with the gospel. Those participating in the course can present their own cultural backgrounds as an exercise into revealing the diversity of the Church community. Many times cultural difference is only registered on the surface level, i.e., in terms of skin color, ethnicity, race, etc. By discussing participants’ own unique cultural heritage, one can understand that each individual is him or herself constituted by different backgrounds. In this regard, an activity such as presenting a genealogy or family tree would be a valuable tool in showing the diversity of the course participants and of our own Christian heritage. The results of the genealogical exploration could be presented to other course members in an open setting, so that participants will become familiar with the diverse backgrounds of their classmates. This presentation of diversity de-mystifies cultural difference, revealing it to be an integral part of all our backgrounds.

The exercise can be supplemented by literature which points out the diversity of the historical Church membership. A recommended reading list for the course in this section could include the first chapter of Michael V. Angrosino’s Talking about Cultural Diverstiy in Your Church: Gifts and Challenges, in which the author notes that “it is neither feasible nor desirable (nor truly Christian) to bulldoze away those cultural differences in order to make way for the faith, for people stripped of their distinctive cultural heritage are no longer fully human.” (1) Discussing the importance of such diversity as it is discussed in a contemporary context helps orient the participants to the every-day importance of intercultural sensitivity training, especially within an ever-globalized world. Furthermore, in the very diversity of the Church lies both its humaneness and its strength. Scripture, of course, provides the foundation for this celebration of diversity.

The discussions of various passages of scripture and how course members interpret their remarks on diversity are ways of illustrating the multi-cultural history of the Christian Church. For example, Revelation 7:9 states “A great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” Scripture passages such as this clearly show the diversity that constitutes the Chrisitan message and its fundamental openness. Cultural difference is in the last instance a unity before the throne and in front of the lamb. Cultural differences are our personal stories of how we receive the message of Christ.

The discussion of such diversity naturally dovetails into the notion of the universality of the Church. The Christian message is not withheld from anyone, and is radically open. Hence, a discussion of particular parts of scripture in the course would help demonstrate that Christ’s mission was universal in its very essence. “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16) The Christian message would not be universal if it was with exception. No one is excluded from this message. Cultural sensitivity in this regard is part in parcel with the universality of Christianity. Discussing how Christianity through the Gospels strives for such universality provides a model with which course members can think about the universality of the message and hence the fallacy of cultural discrimination. As Christians, it is imperative to consider the bedrock of a love without limit that is essential to Christ’s teachings. The fundamental message of this part of the course can be summarized as follows: All cultural distinctiveness has to be looked at first through the universality of the message, thus providing a common ground for inter-cultural dialogue.

A summary of the unity in difference of the Church’s history concludes the course with a synopsis of the main themes that were treated. Once again, references to scripture provide the foundation for the recapitulation of the simultaneous universality and cultural specificity of Christ’s mission. A section from Mark Deymaz’s book, Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church, Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation. entitled the “Example of Christ” provides an excellent summary of the importance of inter-cultural sensitivity to the very life of the Church and would thus be recommended reading. Building on scripture, Deymaz writes that “Jesus provides us with a perfect model of one who pursues cross-cultural competence with great success. As a Jew among men, we should also note that the absence of “ethnocentrism” in Jesus’ life and ministiry.” (99) Christ himself provides the ultimate example of cross-cultural awareness, sensitivity and the opposition to ethnocentrism. As Christians following Christ, cross-cultural understanding is an imperative of the faith and underscores its universality. The incarnation of Christ placed Him within a turbulent world constituted by a plethora of social classes, ethnic groups, religious denominations, political ideologies, and cultural traditions. Yet Christ’s message was open to this radical difference according to His universal Word. Participants in the course are thus to become aware of the cultural diversity that makes up their individual and personal roads to Christ, whereas their faith in Christ is that which makes them a part of a universal and eternal community.

Works Cited

Angrosino, Michael V. Talking about Cultural Diversity in Your Church: Gifts and Challenges. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001.

Augsberger, David W. Pastoral Counselling Across Cultures. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1986.

Deymaz, Mark. Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments, and Practices of a Diverse Congregation. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.