Leading Cross-Culturally By Sherwood G Lingenfelter

For my Final  Book review paper in Cultural Anthropology, I chose to read this book because I love the way the author explains topics. “This book is of value to every Christian… and should be required reading for those involved in cross-cultural ministry… Lingenfelter brings many examples and applications from his missionary experience that make the narrative vivid, insightful, and practical. This book is one of the best I’ve read on mission leadership. It provides a structure that captures the best of leadership theory when you read this book: a set of great case studies to help leaders deal with the realities of global leadership today. About the Author: Sherwood G. Lingenfelter (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh) is provost emeritus and senior professor of anthropology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author of Transforming Culture, Agents of Transformation, Leading Cross-Culturally, and Teaching Cross-Culturally (with Judith E. Lingenfelter) as well as several volumes on anthropology. Introduction: The book is sectioned into four parts: 1. Issues of cultural diversity. Colleagues from some cultures may be less likely to let their voices be heard. Integration across multicultural teams can be difficult in the face of prejudice or negative cultural stereotypes. Professional communication can be misinterpreted or difficult to understand across languages and cultures. All Leaders need to understand their own cultural leadership beliefs and values and how they develop their thinking .2. Cross-cultural ministry partnerships. Leaders need to be learners of culture to build trust communities in different teams and cultures that structure and organize a community of relationships.3. Cultural biases create barriers. when people of culture make assumptions about conventions, including conventions of language, notation, proof, and evidence. They are then accused of mistaking these assumptions for laws of logic or nature. There is a human temptation to seek power and control, which undercuts ministry success worldwide, thus causing ineffective leadership and partnership. 4. Biblically examined leadership. The gospel of Christ is transcultural and Jesus’ example gives leaders principles to resolve ministry conflicts and misunderstandings. Conclusion: As the US becomes more diverse, the cross-cultural ministry is increasingly important for nearly all pastors and church leaders. Of particular concern is the issue of leadership–a difficult task made even more challenging in multicultural settings. Sherwood Lingenfelter helps the reader understand his or her own leadership culture (and its blind spots), examine it critically in light of Scripture, and become an effective learner of other cultural perspectives on leadership. He also confronts the issues of power inherent in any leadership situation. Lingenfelter carefully defines cross-cultural leadership and unpacks that definition throughout the book, with an emphasis on building communities of vision, trust, and empowerment through leadership based on biblical principles. In the end, he argues that leaders must inhabit the gospel story to be effective cross-culturally.