Summer 2014/Fuller Online
ML584
Downes
ML584: CROSS-CULTURAL DYNAMICS OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP (4 Units: 120 hours). Donna R. Downes.
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.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will have (1) understood and articulated how complex global changes impact their own ministries and organizations; (2) recognized and analyzed how culture shapes interactions, structures, decision making and leadership processes within an organizational or church environment; (3) explored the spiritual and theological aspects of pursuing cultural diversity in church and mission leadership; and (4) 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.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online using a 10-week lesson program based on readings, lectures, discussions and online collaborative group case studies. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning. 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.
REQUIRED READING: Approximately 1300 pages from the following texts and online materials:
Bolman, Lee, and Terrence Deal. Reframing Organizations. 5th ed. Jossey-Bass, 2008. ISBN: 978-1118573334, Pub. Price $40.00 [250 pages assigned].
Elmer, Duane. Cross-cultural Conflict. InterVarsity Press, 1995. ISBN: 978-0830816576, Pub. Price $16.00 [182 pp.].
Hofstede, Geert. Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN: 978-0071664189, Pub. Price $29.95 [230 pages assigned].
Lingenfelter, Sherwood, and Marvin Mayers. Ministering Cross-Culturally. Baker, 2003. ISBN: 978-0801026478, Pub. Price $11.00 [128 pp.].
Lingenfelter, Sherwood G. Transforming Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission. Baker, 1998. ISBN: 978-0801021787, Pub. Price $20.00 [181 pp.].
Plueddemann, James. Leading Across Cultures. InterVarsity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0830825783, Pub. Price $15.00 [180 pages assigned].
Various online readings [150 pages] as assigned in the course shell.
PLUSCHOOSE ONE of the following books on multicultural churches for a required reading report:
DeYmaz, Mark and Harry Li. Leadinga Healthy, Multi-ethnic Church. Zondervan, 2013, ISBN: 978-0310515395 Pub. Price $16.00 [240 pp.].
Lewis, Jacqueline. The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leading Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations. Abingdon Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0687650699, Pub. Price $16.99 [154 pp.].
Ortiz, Manuel. One New People: Models for Developing a Multiethnic Church. InterVarsity Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0830818822, Pub. Price $16.00 [158 pp.].
Perkins, Spencer, and Chris Rice. More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel. InterVarsity Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0830822560, Pub. Price $16.00 [285 pp.].
Rah, Soong-Chan. The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. InterVarsity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0830833603, Pub. Price $12.00 [228 pp.].
Rodriguez, Daniel. A Future for the Latino Church: Models for Multilingual, Multigenerational, Hispanic Congregations. InterVarsity, 2011. ISBN: 978-0830839308, Pub. Price $20.00 [200 pp.].
Woo, Rodney M. The Color of a Church. B&H Publishing, 2009. ISBN: 978-0805448399, Pub. Price $22.00 [304 pp.].
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
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 Online Case studies: practical application of theory (25%).
One 500-600 word reading report on the student’s choice of a church-oriented book (5%).
FINAL Paper: Organizational or Church Diversity Assessment and Strategic Plan for Change: [10-15 pages] (35%).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.