Browsing Tag

diversity

God Only Knows What Will Happen

There’s a point in Junkyard Wisdom when I describe three steps for being successful:

Start by making friends with people different than yourself.
Then keep doing that your whole life.
God only knows what will happen.

Seems silly, doesn’t it? No strategic plan? No analysis of the big challenges we face? No StrengthsFinder test or Myers Briggs exam? How could this possibly be a plan for being successful? How could this possibly change the world?

But it is. It’s part of what God designed. It’s the Church.

We are called to love each other. When Jesus was asked who our …

Book Reviews,

Driven by Difference, by David Livermore

Years ago I was given a little book by David Livermore about the importance of cultural understanding in short term missions. Since then I’ve read pretty much everything David has written, and his most recent book Driven by Difference: How Great Companies Fuel Innovation Through Diversity is my new favorite.

What I like about this book is the emphasize on “how” instead of the “why.” I’ve read all the books and articles about why diversity is important. I’ve watched the TED talks and sat in seminars about cultural awareness. I’ve taken the CQ and IDI and all the other tests …

Belize, Emerging Ministries, PathLight, The SOLD Project,

Biblical CQ

As far back as Sunday School I’ve been taught to consider the cultural context of a Bible story. It wasn’t explained that way to me, of course, but cultural understanding was critical for understanding the sometimes bizarre stories of Scripture. In college my religious studies courses emphasized this over and over.

Here’s an example of how important it is. Our church just started a series on Ruth. In the first sermon, the pastor had to spend half his time explaining the cultural context for the book. He couldn’t get past even one verse without having to paint the cultural backdrop!…