Mission And The Cultural Other

Mission and the Cultural Other is a decolonial critique of a too often failed missionary enterprise. Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, a former missionary and missiologist, writes both as an insider and an outsider. As an Indigenous person, a missionary among Native Americans, and a decolonial theologian with over thirty years of experience in various missionary movements, he has seen the best and worst that American mission has to offer. Before change can be made in a guarded system such as Christian mission, the critique must be pervasive and cut to the core of the problem. To truly understand the weakness of modern mission, we need to hear from those who have been its casualties.

Mission and the Cultural Other is a decolonial critique of a too often failed missionary enterprise. Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, a former missionary and missiologist, writes both as an insider and an outsider. As an Indigenous person, a missionary among Native Americans, and a decolonial theologian with over thirty years of experience in various missionary movements, he has seen the best and worst that American mission has to offer. Before change can be made in a guarded system such as Christian mission, the critique must be pervasive and cut to the core of the problem. To truly understand the weakness of modern mission, we need to hear from those who have been its casualties.

Short-term mission trips are great ways to impact the kingdom. Yet they can lack effectiveness because of mistakes or naiveté on the part of participants. In this insightful and timely book, David A. Livermore calls us to serve with our eyes open to global and cultural realities so we can become more effective cross-cultural ministers. Serving with Eyes Wide Open is a must-have book for anyone doing a short-term mission or service project, whether domestic or overseas. Foreword by Paul Borthwick.

Cross-cultural specialist Mary Lederleitner brings missiological and financial expertise to explain how global mission efforts can be funded with integrity, mutuality and transparency. Bringing together social science research, biblical principles and on-the-ground examples, she presents best practices for handling funding and finance.

With careful biblical exposition and keen cross-cultural awareness, Duane Elmer offers principles and guidance for avoiding misunderstandings and building relationships in ways that honor people in other cultures.

What happens when a nineteen-year-old boy leaves home and heads into the jungles to evangelize a murderous tribe of South American Indians? For Bruce Olson, it meant capture, disease, terror, loneliness, and torture. But what he discovered by trial and error has revolutionized then world of missions. Bruchko, which has sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide, has been called “more fantastic and harrowing than anything Hollywood could concoct.” Living with the Motilone Indians since 1961, Olson has won the friendship of four presidents of Colombia and has made appearances before the United Nations because of his efforts. Bruchko includes the story of his 1988 kidnapping by communist guerrillas and the nine months of captivity that followed. This revised version of Olson’s story will amaze you and remind you that simple faith in Christ can make anything possible. “[Bruchko is] an all-time missionary classic. Bruce Olson is a modern missionary hero who has modeled for us in our time the reaching of the unreached tribes.” --Loren Cunningham Co-founder, Youth With A Mission

Read the Cultural Other contains studies on non-Western discourse. It has two principal aims. Firstly, it argues that the study of non-Western, non-White, and Third-World discourses should become a legitimate, necessary, and routine part of international discourse scholarship. Hitherto, non-Western, non-White, and Third-Word discourses have been relegated and marginalized to a 'local', 'particular', or 'other' place in (or, one might argue, outside) the mainstream. To reclaim their place, the book deconstructs the rhetoric of universalism and the continued preoccupation with Western discourse in the profession, and stresses the cultural nature of discourse, both ordinary and disciplinary, as it outlines a culturally pluralist vision. Secondly, in order to take the multicultural view seriously, it explores the complexity, diversity, and forms of otherness of non-Western discourse by examining the case of China and Hong Kong's discourses of the decolonization of the latter. Far too often, non-Western discourse has been stereotyped as externally discrete, internally homogeneous, and formally containable within a 'universal', 'general', or 'integrated' model. The present work focuses on China and Hong Kong's discourses, which have been marginalized by their Western counterparts. Through culturally eclectic linguistic analysis and local cultural analysis, it identifies and highlights the specific ways of speaking of China and Hong Kong - their concepts, concerns, aspirations, resistance, verbal strategies, etc. - with respect to similar or different issues. The culturally pluralist view and analytical practice proffered here call for a radical cultural change in international scholarship on language, communication, and discourse.

This seminal work of Christian missions explores the complex and often fraught relationship between missionaries and the cultures they seek to serve. The book argues that effective Christian missions must be grounded in a deep understanding of local cultures, customs, and traditions, and must be carried out with sensitivity, humility, and respect. The book draws on examples from missionary work around the world and provides practical insights for modern-day missionaries and cross-cultural workers. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

What is the role of culture in human experience? This concise yet solid introduction to cultural anthropology helps readers explore and understand this crucial issue from a Christian perspective. Now revised and updated throughout, this new edition of a successful textbook covers standard cultural anthropology topics with special attention given to cultural relativism, evolution, and missions. It also includes a new chapter on medical anthropology. Plentiful figures, photos, and sidebars are sprinkled throughout the text, and updated ancillary support materials and teaching aids are available through Baker Academic's Textbook eSources.

Old Wing Mission is a historical treasure of rare documents giving the account of Reverend George N. and Arvilla Smith in their work and social interactions with Native Americans at a Christian mission colony. / "On the American frontier natives and newcomers met in many places, but nowhere was the encounter more profound than at the Christian mission. Here missionaries sought not only to save Indian souls but to Americanize them. . . . As told through a remarkable set of original sources, the story of the Old Wing Mission reveals all the tensions and complexities when one culture seeks to change another. Old Wing Mission offers readers an opportunity to hear voices on both sides of the cultural divide. . . . Deserves a wide and appreciative audience." James P. Ronda, University of Tulsa / "Meticulous. . . . The Smith diaries recount the trials of frontier missionaries. . . . Academicians, Christian scholars, and readers who love history will all benefit from this high-quality work." James M. McClurken, Michigan State University