Servant leadership is a concept that Christians are familiar with. Even though we have heard the concept, not all of us are able to fully execute it. When we add the concept of cross-cultural servanthood, it is even more complicated. In my opinion, our western culture feels superior to other cultures. The author of the book Cross-Cultural Servanthood, Duane Elmer, is a missionary and when in one of his mission trips, he received the following feedback, “Missionaries could more effectively minister the gospel of Christ if they did not think they were so superior to us” (Elmer, 2006, p. 15). On chapter 3, the author talks about the arrogance of humility. It was my favorite chapter. It takes self-awareness for one to be able to identify when one
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However, we do not do a great job on accepting people at their current stage, in other word we expect people to change prior to use accepting the. This is the total opposite of what Jesus did in the time he was here on earth. He would spend time with the people that were “rejects” of society; furthermore, the religious leaders reproached his actions. In my opinion, this is similar to when people needing of God visit a church and the members are staring at them and the visitor can feel the judgment coming from the congregation. In the same manner, if we are going to spread the love of God wherever we go, we must accept people for who they are and where they are. The fact that they are no believers does not make them any less than the believer that goes to church. Elmer even makes a point to share with the reader that one can learn from non-believers. I have experienced this in my current job, my boss is a non-believer, and he is so respectful and understanding. I have worked for faith-based organizations that talk down to their employees. In addition, my current boss is great at listening to people and making sure that the employees’ needs are meet in order for them to be successful at their job. This was an eye opening experience for me, that a non-believer can teach me about being kind to
However, we do not do a great job on accepting people at their current stage, in other word we expect people to change prior to use accepting the. This is the total opposite of what Jesus did in the time he was here on earth. He would spend time with the people that were “rejects” of society; furthermore, the religious leaders reproached his actions. In my opinion, this is similar to when people needing of God visit a church and the members are staring at them and the visitor can feel the judgment coming from the congregation. In the same manner, if we are going to spread the love of God wherever we go, we must accept people for who they are and where they are. The fact that they are no believers does not make them any less than the believer that goes to church. Elmer even makes a point to share with the reader that one can learn from non-believers. I have experienced this in my current job, my boss is a non-believer, and he is so respectful and understanding. I have worked for faith-based organizations that talk down to their employees. In addition, my current boss is great at listening to people and making sure that the employees’ needs are meet in order for them to be successful at their job. This was an eye opening experience for me, that a non-believer can teach me about being kind to