LEADING

Cross-Culturally

Covenant Relationships for Effective Christian Leadership

Sherwood G.

LINGENFELTER

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 2008 by Sherwood G. Lingenfelter

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lingenfelter, Sherwood G.

Leading cross-culturally: covenant relationships for effective Christian leadership / Sherwood G. Lingenfelter.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 978-0-8010-3605-7 (pbk.)

1. Christian leadership. 2. Intercultural communication—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.

BV652.1.L57 2008

253—dc22

2008018660

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Dedicated to my father

Galen M. Lingenfelter

who loved God and God’s people,

who modeled and mentored the Christ-centered

disciplines of obedience, weakness, and forgiveness,

and who empowered me to exercise my gifts of study,

teaching, and preaching when I was sixteen.

Contents

Preface

1 What Is Leading Cross-Culturally?

Part 1 Inspiring People

2 Kingdom Vision and Work

3 Kingdom Values and Rewards

Part 2 Building Trust

4 The Necessity of Learning

5 Covenant Community, the Highest Priority

6 Creating Covenant Community

7 Trustworthy Leadership

Part 3 Pathways to Empower

8 Power-Giving Leadership

9 Empowering and Mentoring

10 Responsible-To Leadership

11 Exercising Power, Asking for Correction

Part 4 Leading Cross-Culturally

12 The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Leadership

13 The Hope of Cross-Cultural Leadership

References

Index

Preface

This book is the third in a series that addresses the issues of culture and the practice of cross-cultural ministry. The first book, Ministering Cross-Culturally, was written for people called to serve and witness for Jesus Christ in any culture other than their own. Developing a framework of contrasting values, the book guides the reader to begin by understanding one’s values as a culture-bearing person, then to understand the contrasting values of others, and ultimately to learn how to add to one’s cultural repertoire to be effective in cross-cultural ministry. Looking to the incarnation of Jesus into our human world as a metaphor for our ministries, ...

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About Leading Cross-Culturally: Covenant Relationships for Effective Christian Leadership

As the US becomes more diverse, 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.

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