• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In

MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission Matters
          • Members Only Feed
          • Missions Podcast DirectoryNew
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
          • UkraineNew
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Bible Certificate
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • Missions DataNew
    • Publish
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Premier Events
          • Mission Leaders Conference
          • On Mission
        • Upcoming Events

          • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
            Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
          • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
            Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
          • Innovation Leaders Discussion
            Mon Aug 8 2022, 01:00pm EDT
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missions DataNew
          • Missiographics
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
    Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
    Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Innovation Leaders Discussion
    Mon Aug 8 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Peer 2 Peer for Communications and Marketing Staff: Communications and the Mission of God: Aligning organizational communications with God's purposes
    Thu Aug 18 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Women's Development Weeks
    Thu Sep 8 2022

View all events »

Topics

author interview CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Disciple Making Discipleship Focus Future Innovation Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Member Care Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 MLC2021 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Podcast Presenter Pursuing Partnerships Series Research Risk Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached Weekly Roundup Women Women in Leadership

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Leading across Cultures: Effective Ministry and Mission in the Global Church

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Ted EslerJuly 1, 2010

by James E. Plueddemann

James Plueddemann gives the Global Church a toolbox for crafting leadership for cross-cultural ministry.

P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515, 220 pages, 2009, $20.00.

—Reviewed by Marcus W. Dean, associate professor of intercultural studies at Houghton College, Houghton, New York; and former missionary in Latin America for fifteen years with the Wesleyan Church.

In Leading across Cultures, James Plueddemann gives the Global Church a toolbox for crafting leadership for cross-cultural ministry. He writes from personal experience, important cultural research, and missiological and biblical insights. The result is a guide for mission practitioners and a textbook for contextualizing leadership.  

Each section of Leading across Cultures adds a significant component to the toolbox.  Part One explores the need for leadership to be contextualized; Plueddemann writes, “If the worldwide Body of Christ is to work together in harmony, a cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of leadership differences is essential” (p. 17). On the micro level an individual is to function as a leader in a way that coincides with the host culture. On the macro level the mission endeavor is to use biblical principles to guide the development of culturally relevant leaders. Finally, each culturally distinct part of the body needs to learn how to interact within the leadership perspective of the other. Thus, all are learning and adjusting to each other.

Recognizing the need for contextualized leadership is not enough. In Part Two, Plueddemann argues for balancing biblical principles with cultural theory to understand how to craft culturally relevant leadership. He appropriately points out that the issues faced in cross-cultural leadership are not simply based upon the differences in how we lead, but in the core values each culture holds as to what leadership should be like. Plueddemann explores these core values and practices using a variety of cultural factors from leading cross-cultural research. The challenge is twofold: first, to recognize when these leadership values and practices are in line with the Bible and when they need to be corrected; and second, to discover how each culture contributes to the development of cross-cultural leadership.

Leading across Cultures avoids the cultural relevancy trap by developing, in Part Three, a solid theological perspective of leadership. Its premise is that while the Bible does not “prescribe leadership style…the Bible is our final authority” (p. 149). In this section, Plueddemann weaves sound leadership theory with biblical absolutes into a practical model that can facilitate culturally relevant and biblically true leadership practice—the purpose of which is to “glorify God by facilitating the development of people” (p. 172). Finally, in Part Four, he calls for the development of church leaders based upon the cultural context and styles, given that they are recognized as having God-given leadership gifts. The outcome will be leaders who are not focused on themselves and their cultural styles, but on being global leaders with God’s perspective of a Global Church.

This guide offers the reader a biblical basis for leadership, supported with valid cultural and leadership theory. Leaders are directed into practical application that will enable the Global Church to work together with fewer cultural misunderstandings as we seek to glorify God.

….

EMQ, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 377-378. Copyright  © 2010 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS).  All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

 

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 46 - Issue 3

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Home
  • Directories
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Join

  • Join
  • Benefits
  • Learn
  • Meet
  • Engage

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

About Us

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources
Missio Nexus Logo

© Missio Nexus. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate Missio Nexus earns from qualifying purchases.


PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

Annual Sponsors

ECFA Logo Brotherhood Mutual Logo

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks