Source: Culture Bound
Culture Learning: The Art of Understanding What No One Can Teach You, by Mark Hedinger. Culture Bound, 2021. 168 pages.
Cultures are hard to pin down and always changing; no one can teach you all you need to know or tell you specifically how you should live and work in an unfamiliar culture. But you can learn how to learn, and that will take you further than any expert. At the core is developing active learning skills and attitudes like being intentional, paying attention, asking good questions, taking notes, and withholding judgement. The author provides examples and builds his case on a number of helpful models and metaphors.
This book is directed toward people, and cross-cultural workers in particular, who are living and working within the context of another culture (or who soon will be). It could also be helpful for those whose ministry is geared toward welcoming migrants. Note that the book has a strong Christian perspective. It uses scripture and focuses on ministry applications.
Since such things seem better caught than taught, reading a book is less helpful than going through a training course, but the book is based on tried-and-true training methods and will whet your appetite for more.
You can get it on Amazon for US$15.99 or $9.99 for the Kindle edition. Learn more or find other resources on the Culture Bound website. Mark Hedinger is the president of this ministry based in Portland, Oregon.
Have you experienced the challenges of culture stress and acquisition for yourself? Here are a few recent articles you may appreciate:
- Read What to Expect When You’re Ex-pat-ing, by Janel Breitenstein (Go.Serve.Love.) This one has a lot of links to other sources.
- Get a pithy summary of What I Would Tell My Younger Me Starting Out in Cross-cultural Ministry from Sue Eenigenburg (Screams in the Desert). What would you put on a list for the younger you?
- Check out a short article on Abandoning Outcomes (from Bill Gaultiere of Soul Shepherding for Missio Nexus). Inspired by the late, great Dallas Willard.