Shaking hands instead of bowing, visiting instead of being on time, looking one in the eye instead of looking away, confronting rather than smoothing over the issue—how would anyone know which is the right way to approach any matter in a new, unfamiliar culture? Become acculturated. It is vital to communication across cultures, and it is a key part of effective ministry.
Acculturation is the process of learning culture from the “outside.” Once an “outsider” is acculturated, he or she can move in the newly learned culture comfortably, and others from that culture are comfortable with him or her as well. The most effective way to become acculturated is to approach the unfamiliar culture with an incarnational attitude—a learner’s attitude. When approaching a culture incarnationally, the learner comes with humility, dependence on God, openness, trust and acceptance. This is the best way to become comfortable and learn to move with ease in an unfamiliar culture; the best way to acculturate. (Swenson)
Acculturation is vital for communicating, since each person, no matter their culture, filters what is being communicated based on their own cultural grid. Our cultural grid is our own unique system of definitions, values, and rules that we are characterized by. (Swenson) Unless one is familiar and acculturated with the other’s cultural grid, he or she cannot effectively relay what he or she wants to communicate. For example, a newcomer may feel she is showing interest and attentiveness by looking the speaker in the eye and nodding and smiling, but instead she has just implied that she is mocking the speaker or showing disrespect. Without acculturation the message is garbled and at times even offensive.
Not only is acculturation important to effective ministry in order to relay an accurate message, it is also important for building trust and growing intentional, caring relationships with the people that are being ministered to. Culture is so deeply a part of people that if someone tries to minister to them without caring about their culture, the message can fall on deaf ears since the people will not see that they themselves are cared about. At the same time, without acculturating, those who attempt to minister will undoubtedly continue to make cultural blunders, embarrassing themselves and their hearers as well causing offense and building mistrust rather than trust.
Acculturation is becoming comfortable in an unfamiliar culture. This is done in order to accurately communicate and effectively minister. Because of acculturation the newcomer now knows to bow instead of shaking hands or to visit instead of worrying about being on time.
Swenson, Allen. Cross Cultural Communications Class. New Tribes Mission. Missionary Training Center Auditorium, Roach, MO. 5 Nov. 2007- 16 Nov. 2007.
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