Ldg in Dvrse & Glbl Context

1.1 Devotion. Cross-Cultural Leadership Lessons from Scripture

2 Getting Started

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4 In his 2016 book,  Crossing Cultures in Scripture, author Marvin Newell explores the Bible’s rich cross-cultural history and insights:

5 The Bible is a book rich in cultures. Think for a moment of some of the cultures that have expression in Scripture: Hebrew, Chaldean, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Hittite, Mesopotamian, Syrian, Assyrian, Philistine, Canaanite, Moabite, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman, to name most of them. Here’s the amazing part: God worked in and through his servants crossing through these cultures to bring his grand story of redemption to us. The Bible is full of cross-cultural encounters that have lessons for us today. An astounding number of biblical characters grew in their understanding of God, the world, and themselves through, as Nelson Jennings puts it, “getting lost” in the wilderness wanderings of cross-cultural experience. Notable persons such as Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Ruth, David, Daniel, Jonah, Nehemiah, Jesus, Philip, Peter, Barnabas, and Paul stand out as individuals who worked their way through cross-cultural contacts and experiences. Some, like Joseph, Daniel, and Paul, had prolonged experiences. Thus it’s evident that there is much to learn from the cultural encounters found throughout Scripture and portrayed in the lives God used to unfold his redemptive story. The many accounts of individuals who crossed cultures as part of his design for their lives convey cultural lessons for us today that help inform our cross-cultural encounters as well. The anecdotes and teachings throughout Scripture related to culture—from Genesis to Revelation, from Eden throughout eternity—should not be ignored. Indeed, they have an increasing value to us who live in an increasingly multicultural world and wish to study the art of crossing cultures as portrayed throughout Scripture. (p. 16)

Instructions

1. View the following video to hear author Marvin Newell explain why he chose to use Scripture to teach about culture:  Marvin J. Newell, Author of 'Crossing Cu

2. Read the short article  Does the Bible Say Anything About Multiculturalism? (new tab)

3. Write a half-page reflection paper (Word document) that shares what you discovered about what the Bible has to say about multiculturalism. Here are some thought starters: Did you find that your perspective on your identity or the identities of others changed with respect to the topic of culture as discussed in the article? Do you see yourself or others differently? If so, in what ways? Are there cultural practices that you observe in today’s society that run counter to what is taught in the Scriptures passages in the assigned reading? 

4. Reflection papers are to be written in accordance with APA Guidelines (7th ed.) including format guidelines. Papers must be logical, well organized, grammatically correct, and have correct spelling and sentence structure.  Write in complete paragraphs.