As always, if you would like to reach out to the show with feedback or ideas, or to find encouragement, connect with our host Joe Epley at joseph.g.epley@gmail.com

You can connect more with Sam as a pastor, author, and speaker, as well as see his full catalog of books at samrainer.com

The post Revitalization: Do’s, Don’ts, and Practical Tips with Sam Rainer appeared first on Rural Advancement.

As always, if you would like to reach out to the show for encouragement, or with feedback and ideas, contact our host Joe Epley at joseph.g.epley@gmail.com

The post Leadership Development, Boundaries, and Best Buy with Tony Vietti appeared first on Rural Advancement.

As always, if you would like to reach out to the show with ideas or feedback, or for encouragement, please contact our host Joe Epley at joseph.g.epley@gmail.com

The post Walmart, Team Ministry, and Grandma’s House with Andrew Jergenson appeared first on Rural Advancement.

David A. Livermore wrote Cultural Intelligence: Improving your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World with the intent to change the way cultures engage with one another.  He organized the book by four different factors, knowledge CQ, interpretive CQ, perseverance CQ, and behavioral CQ.  Each of these quotients represents a quadrant that “measures the ability to effectively reach across the chasm of cultural difference in ways that are loving and respectful.”[1]  Evaluation empowers individuals as they interact within different cultures and especially for the Christian.

The first part of the book discussed, in its three chapters, how the reader can more effectively express love towards individuals of different cultures, which Livermore refers to the individuals as “Other.”  The second section of the book includes five chapters discussing the knowledge or understanding ability of the learner to define their own culture in light of Others culture.  The third section contains four chapters dealing with the interpretive quotient. Described as, “the degree to which we’re mindful and aware when we interact cross-culturally.”[2]  The final sections three chapters navigate the reader by using the first three quotients to behave in a culturally sensitive fashion through service and relationships.

Each section of the book identifies, defines, and describes ways the reader can become more culturally intelligent through a fundamental change, not just an outer change.  Livermore stated, “The primary distinction of this book is that it uses an approach to cross-cultural interaction that stems from inward transformation rather than from information or, worse yet, from artificial political correctness.”[3]  The author desired the material to cause the reader to think about the importance of contextualization in each culture.  Livermore wrote, “Throughout this journey toward more effectively expressing love to the Other, we’ll explore the significance of seeing both ourselves and the Other as expressions of who God is.”[4]  Livermore desired the reader to become aware and actively increase their cultural sensitivity, with God’s help and a different approach to cultural intelligence.

Encouraging statements like, “Adopting a state of mindfulness in the midst of cross-cultural interaction allows us to step back and observe the automatic behaviors of ourselves and others.  Shutting down our semiautomatic impulses, choosing liminality for a period of time, and remaining mindful throughout cross-cultural experiences are all part of what it means to become more aware.”[5]  Through different cultural experiences, being mindful and aware of those around and the innate response that results from that individual’s culture can make the journey less intimidating.

Predominately white ministries can provide an opportunity for the development of cultural intelligence through education and creating events, that include different cultures experiencing conversations and connections.  The current political and social culture illustrates the need for cultural intelligence and sensitivity.  As believers, Christ mandated to love one another.  To show love in a Christlike fashion typifies how he loved.

Learning to live and love in other contexts and cultures confirms what Mark stated, “The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater.”[6]  Livermore wrote,

The flattened world is bringing us more and more encounters with people who aren’t like us.  We cannot hope to become experts in every cultural context in which we find ourselves.  But through cultural intelligence, we can enhance our ability to interact with one another in ways that are respectful, loving, and dignifying.  Herein lies the essence of the gospel.[7]

An essential step for the church of believers to exemplify the love of Christ comes through loving people without judgment or criticisms within their cultural norms.  This statement has an impact because it states that cultural intelligence allows for better connections, deeper connections that confirm respectfully and honoring of different peoples and their cultures.  Often presumptions come without consideration for other cultural differences.  God created different people, cultures, and languages but loved all the same.  Enhancing the acceptance and understanding of others encapsulates what Christ did while on the earth and thus requires believers of today to do the same.

The author presents the four quotients in detail using examples, Scripture, and everyday language, thus creating an understandable discussion.  He poses questions that challenge the reader to dig deeper and internalize the reading.  He does not spend the entire time theorizing the ideas but provides praxis for the material.  He stated, “Praxis is a valuable skill for everyone.  It allows for a holistic approach to education that empowers people to perceive critically ways they exist in their worlds.”[8]  The practice of the theory allows for change to happen.  The author did an excellent job of using ministry examples; he desired pastors and missionaries, leading in cross-cultural situations to find success through cultural intelligence. “With the growing opportunities for multicultural interactions at home and abroad, the question of how ministry leaders and their organizations can effectively minister in culturally diverse situations is a critical and challenging problem.”[9]  Livermore provides ample opportunities for growth throughout his writing.  He wrote this book with ministers in mind.

Limited research of the ministry environment impacted the material.  Livermore stated, “More needs to be understood about how to enhance the cultural intelligence of a ministry team as a whole.”[10]  Churches should typify the best practices when it comes to cultural sensitivity and intelligence.  The book also misses the rural context due to the emphasis on multicultural environments, not generally the demographics of rural areas.  Livermore wrote the book for all ministry leaders working in “rural, urban, and suburban contexts at home.”[11]  Based on my reading of the material rural illustrations, context, and examples lacked.

The author did an excellent job defining and distinguishing theory from practice and provide resources to start the conversation and evaluation for each ministry leader.  His promotion of inward change versus outward adherence augmented his argument through illustrations, examples, Scripture, and life experience.  The writing achieved practical, understandable, and applicable material for ministry leaders, hence fulfilling the goal of the book.

This book promotes cultural intelligence in a modern, Biblical, and understandable way. The book provides relevant examples to challenge the reader’s thoughts on potential issues within their perspectives.  The author asks thoughtful questions and poses scenarios that most people have experienced at one time or another.  The underlying theme of the book emphasizes loving like Christ.  That maintains what Christ told the church to do before He left this earth.  Love all.  This book validates the church’s need for cultural sensitivity and comes with high recommendations and will benefit those in ministry positions around the world or in the United States.  Others that may benefit from the book include believers seeking to share the hope of Jesus.  Sensitivity and understanding go a long way in sharing the gospel.

[1] David A. Livermore, Cultural Intelligence: Improving your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 13.

[2] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 14.

[3] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 12.

[4] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 15.

[5] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 150.

[6] Mark 12:31, New Living Translation

[7] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 31.

[8] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 193.

[9] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 12.

[10] Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 271.

[11]Livermore, Cultural Intelligence, 12.

Bibliography

Livermore David A. Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.

The post Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World Book Review appeared first on Rural Advancement.

It is impossible to read scripture without seeing how often God seems to enjoy using young people from obscure places to accomplish his will in the world. In the center of major biblical narratives, we see the likes of Joseph, David, Jeremiah, Daniel, Mary, and Timothy, and the incredible ways in which God used them. A shared trait among these Biblical heroes is their humble origins, with all of them heralding from lonely fields, nomadic tents, and far corners of countries that served as footnotes in greater empires.

I am convinced that God still uses young people from obscure places. As rural youth pastors and volunteers, we are tasked with discipling these potential world changers. My hope in writing this series is to contribute a perspective, one that has for the majority of my ministry been molded by the lessons learned from rural youth ministry.

I currently live in Southeastern Montana, in a rural community of 1,700 people situated on the edge of the state map. Prior to this, I spent the majority of my life growing up and ministering in the biggest city our state has to offer. Following the call of God, I was led to take a job in Baker, Montana. After zooming in on Google Maps to enlarge this new-to-me speck of a populated area and saying a quick prayer, I embarked on a journey into rural ministry that was truly eye-opening.

The goal of this introduction is not to set me up in an idealized narrative in which I instantly adapt to rural life, overcome challenges, and find successful ministry to teens. That wouldn’t be accurate. When reflecting on my adjustment to rural ministry, I tend to identify with the man blind from birth found in John 9. His story reveals that he has never had sight, and until God miraculously opens his eyes, he has absolutely no awareness of the world outside of his senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Once Jesus gives this man sight, he becomes an evangelist for the cause, even challenging the Sanhedrin to follow Jesus in discipleship.

My own story does not have that quick of a turnaround. The journey from being ignorant of the treasure that is rural youth ministry, to taking on the role of evangelist and advocate for rural communities took longer than one chapter. It is my intention in this series to offer nuts-and-bolts suggestions and principles that have helped me develop a sense of what it means to minister to rural youth. However, before we explore these principles, we must first see differently.

I remember a book I read during my undergraduate studies that seemed straightforward in its subject. It was basically an introduction to missions. The book had the intent of informing the uninformed of what principles guided missionaries as they followed God’s call. I read this book with a dedicated, but distanced understanding. In my mind, this material applied to missionaries, but not me.

Of course, we are all called to evangelize where we are, but in my naïveté, I vastly underestimated how these lessons could shape me. To put it broadly, the work set forth ideas that many missionaries and theologians refer to as indigenous principles. These principles explain why learning language, customs, existing religious beliefs, and cultural values are important for any missionary seeking to engage a foreign culture. After reading this, I can still remember the moment the lightbulb came on: I am not a youth pastor, I am a cross-cultural missionary.

Cross-cultural missionary. That phrase played over and over in my head, and in that moment my philosophy shifted dramatically. I realized that the youth of any generation exist as their own culture. They have a language all their own, developed through slang and social media, and cemented through pop culture. Youth have their own customs, deciding how and when to socialize, and what is proper to do and not do in every new social setting that arrives with rapidly changing technology. Their beliefs have been diversified through the availability of and exposure to new ideas in a technologically connected world. Finally, they have values that are uniquely expressed and driven by powerful forces of a global internet culture.

In this moment, I recognized with sudden appreciation the length to which missionaries go as they become students of the culture they hope to reach. Their dedication challenged me to grow as well. While I was sitting there reading, feeling unfit for the task and daunted by the work ahead, I was challenged by a question from the Holy Spirit: Isn’t it worth it? The answer seems clear. It is worth it. Worth, however, does not guarantee ease.

We are trying to understand a unique culture both in terms of it being rural and youth-oriented. If you’ve read this far, you, too, know it’s worth it. And you likely recognize the difficulty of the task. In my own experience, I’ve found that behind the veil of complex ministry philosophies, we often find simple principles. Here are a few of them that rang true for me.

• Learn the language. The double-edged sword of the internet has created a culture that is at one extreme rapidly changing. This can make it hard to engage with youth where they are at or get in their world. The positive side is that the internet exists as a giant billboard granting insight into what students value, discuss, listen to, and find entertaining. Find out where your students are spending time online and engage with whatever social media platform they are engaging with. It may feel overwhelming, but it is an invaluable window into their lives.
• Let the natives lead the way. Youth value the ability to give input. Although adults are still considered “experts” in their respective fields, when it comes to technology, youth culture, current problems and issues facing their generation, be willing to consider that these teens may know more than us. Yes, there is still a need for oversight, but there is also a very real need for their input. Give students voice in how your ministry operates, how you communicate, what activities you schedule, and what topics you engage with in the pulpit and small groups.
• Read a book. Or a blog. Or a social media post. Or a Facebook group. Or a dozen books. Or an academic study. Listen to a podcast. Or a teenager who is a personal friend. The point is simple, the task is too important not to be equipped. The list of resources is too large to put into the space of this blog, but leverage your network of people to find out what subjects need exploring and what’s being written on the subject. I personally know a pastor who started a youth group and discovered five students struggling with gender identity and sexuality. His first step was to read books on the subject, and I consider his ideas and methods of discipling those students to be far above those who have many more years of experience, but have not been active in learning new things.

Once we can see clearly the task ahead of us, and the value of that task, the nuts and bolts of youth ministry can be explored, which we will do in parts two and three of this blog.

The post Principles for Rural Youth Ministry Part 1: Making Blind Eyes See appeared first on Rural Advancement.