DESCRIPTION:

Today's Christian leaders are increasingly called upon to understand and to negotiate with sensitivity the complexities of ministering in a diverse global context and within multicultural teams and organizations. Whether we are leaders in multiethnic congregations, mission organizations, NGOs, or on college campuses, our ability to successfully navigate cross-cultural partnerships in ministry has become an essential part of the job description for the well-prepared leader. This course will offer (1) a deeper understanding of how our cultural frameworks impact organizational dynamics, leadership development, decision making, and conflict management; (2) an opportunity to diagnose and explore possibilities for improving the "climate" for cultural diversity in our own organizational or church contexts; and (3) practical suggestions about how Christian leaders might learn to leverage diversity to achieve positive change within their ministry contexts so that the Gospel of the Kingdom can spread more effectively from all peoples to all peoples.

• understood and articulated how complex global changes impact their own ministries and organizations;

• recognized and analyzed how culture shapes interactions, structures, decision making, and leadership processes within an organizational or church environment;

• explored the spiritual and theological aspects of pursuing cultural diversity in church and mission leadership;

• applied various models to diagnose an organizational or church culture and produced a strategic plan to achieve greater effectiveness in encouraging, managing, and leveraging cultural diversity.

This course will be conducted online using a 10-week lesson program based on readings, lectures, discussions, and online collaborative group case studies. All assignments are related to developing cross-cultural understanding for more effective global leadership--especially in the context of Christian organizations, NGOs, and multicultural churches.

Bolman, Lee, and Terrence Deal. Reframing Organizations. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008. ISBN: 978-0787987992. List price: $40 (250 pages assigned).

Elmer, Duane. Cross-cultural Conflict. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995. ISBN: 978-0830816576. List price: $16.

Hofstede, Geert. Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN: 978-0071664189. List price: $19 (250 pages assigned).

Lingenfelter, Sherwood G. Transforming Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998. ISBN: 978-0801021787. List Price: $20.

Lingenfelter, Sherwood, and Marvin Mayers. Ministering Cross-Culturally. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003. ISBN: 978-0801026478. List Price: $11.

Plueddemann, James. Leading Across Cultures. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0830825783. List Price $20.

Various online readings as assigned in the course shell.

Plus choose one of the following books about multicultural churches & ministries
FOR A REQUIRED READING REPORT:

McIntosh, Gary, and Alan McMahon. Being the Church in a Multi-Ethnic Community. Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing, 2012. ISBN: 978-0898274905. List Price: $17.

DeYmaz, Mark. Building a Healthy, Multi-ethnic Church. San Francisco: John Wiley, 2007. ISBN: 978-0787995515. List price: $25.

Marti, Gerardo. A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church. Indiana University Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-0253203434. List price: $23.

Ortiz, Manuel. One New People: Models for Developing a Multiethnic Church. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0830818822. List Price: $16.

Perkins, Spencer, and Chris Rice. More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0830822560. List price: $16.

Rah, Soong-Chan. The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0830833603. List price: $15.

Sorrentino, Paul. A Transforming Vision: Multiethnic Fellowship in College and in the Church. S. Hadley, MA: Doorlight Publications, 2011. ISBN: 978-0977837274. List price: $13.

Woo, Rodney M. The Color of a Church. Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2009. ISBN: 978-0805448399. List price: $20.

• Personal Culture Study: 5- to 6-page paper using the Lingenfelter and Mayers (2003) cultural-assessment framework provided in class (15%)

• Weekly postings and interactions on readings and lectures (20%)

• Collaborative Case study work: practical application of theory (20%)

• Two reading reports: (1) on Bolman & Deal, and (2) on the student's choice of a church-oriented book (10%)

• Final Paper: Organizational or Church Diversity Assessment and Strategic Plan for Change: 10-15 pages (35%)