Third Culture Citizens: A New Worldview

I grew up in Hong Kong in the sixties and early seventies. It was a very different place then, full of refugees from China. When I came back to the United States at fifteen I realized that I didn't really fit. My worldview and experiences were light years different than my new high school classmates on the east side of St. Paul. I was in my country but I felt like a stranger. I feel most at home when in Asia but I have no home there. I still live between two worlds: my Asian home where my formative years were lived and my home in the United States which is in some ways my adopted home.

Many who have lived overseas or who have immigrated understand the phenomenon. There is actually a name for us: Third culture kids. When my wife read a book on the subject she said, "OK, now I understand why you think like you think and and do what you do." Third culture people often look at their own culture from the outside: after all, it was not their home culture. It is all about our world view and what shaped it.

Christ followers, are also third culture people. Our passports identify us as citizens of a particular country. But in coming to Jesus, we have become citizens of His Kingdom and the values, priorities and indeed, entire worldview of His Kingdom is light years from those of the world we were born into. We were born into one culture, have been adopted into God's family and culture but our Kingdom passport has not yet been stamped for entry so we live between two worlds. Third culture citizens.

This is why Peter's letter (1 Peter) is addressed to "God's elect, strangers in the world."  And again, "aliens and strangers in the world (1 Peter 2:11). He is clearly saying that we are now outsiders in our own world looking in from a very different perspective: His perspective. Our world view has changed. 

One of the great challenges for us is to learn to look at life, relationships, priorities, world events, justice, indeed the issues of life from His point of view because we are no longer citizens of the world but citizens of the Kingdom. Romans 12:2 nails this concept: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

The key to living out God's good, pleasing and perfect will is allowing Him to transform our minds so that we no longer conform to the pattern of this world. Our citizenship has changed and therefore our perspective and worldview must change and when that happens, our lives start to conform to Kingdom culture rather than the patterns of this world. 

We are third culture citizens. As we think like third culture people, we will live in the tension between two worlds: the one we were born into and the one we are destined for. Our citizenship has changed. The question we must constantly ask ourselves is "How should I view this person, this issue or this situation from a Kingdom perspective, and then to conform to that perspective rather than to the perspective of the world.

Organizational and Influence Leaders

Leadership wiring is always unique which is why we can learn from the leadership of others but we can never become them. There are two categories of leaders, however, that are helpful to articulate. Many leaders fall into one of these two categories and some leaders negotiate both depending on the circumstances.

The first is organizational leaders. These are leaders who are wired to lead others through organizational structures and team.  In my primary leadership role as the senior leader of ReachGlobal I serve as an organizational leader. In that role my responsibility is to build a senior team, define organizational clarity, empower other leaders and ensure that the structures of the organization serve our staff and mission. 

There is another group of leaders that I would classify as influence leaders. They are often not wired for organizational leadership but they have enormous influence and use that influence to impact the direction of the organization in healthy ways. This is a powerful leadership role because it is not based on organizational position but on the ability to influence others in healthy directions. These leaders are not dependent on position but on their ability to help others move in a certain direction through relationship and influence.

Never underestimate the power of influence leadership. Anyone at any level of an organization can directly impact their team, circle of colleagues and even the entire organization if they lead from healthy influence. Within ReachGlobal we have a number of leaders who have enormous influence throughout the organization but who are not in an organizational leadership role. They are often relatively quiet servant leaders who through their service to others and clarity of thinking end up shaping the thinking of the organization as a whole. If you are a church leader you have these influence leaders in your congregation and you know the power they have to influence either for good or for ill.

In choosing people for leadership roles, one of the questions we need to ask is whether they are wired for organizational leadership or influence leadership. Influence leaders are especially powerful where one needs to influence the entire organization, across departmental lines through relationship rather than through line authority. The very fact that they do not have line authority is often an advantage because in leading from influence rather than authority, people do not feel they must respond but are influenced to respond.

Obviously, the best organizational leaders lead more from influence than from position. But don't underestimate the power of influence leadership which does not depend on position but on a desire to influence others and the organization through intentional, healthy servant leadership.

Syncretism and false altars

Missionaries fight it all the time. As the gospel comes to a new group, and some start accepting it, they often times keep some of the old practices and add in the new. This is called syncretism and an unhealthy practice as it embraces the new but wants to hang on the the pagan practices of the past at the same time. Missionaries, of course, would like to see all of the practices of past religion abandoned for Christianity but it often takes time for that to happen. Syncretism is really bowing to two altars and trying to have it both ways.


It struck me recently that the American evangelical church suffers from the same problem of syncretism in that our religious practices often reflect more of the society in which we live than the Gospel of the New Testament. When our definition of success is numbers rather than spiritual transformation and fruit, we are seeking to have it both ways, bowing to two altars. When our lives are driven more by the religion of America - materialism and pleasure rather than a followership that says I take up my cross daily to follow Him, we are bowing to two altars: one secular and one sacred.

In our personal lives, to the extent that we hang on to the values and practices of our world (those that we are told to "put off" in the New Testament) we live with syncretism.  In fact, the Christian life is process of sanctification and sanctification is all about putting off that which is displeasing to God and putting on that which is pleasing to Him and consistent with our followership of Him. It is the process of eliminating all alters at which we worship for the one true alter of Jesus Christ.


This is a life long process driven by the Holy Spirit who is our divine counselor and one who is always seeking to eliminate false altars from our lives so that our worship and followership is pure and true.


It is easy to see syncretistic practices among people outside our own culture. It is much harder to see its subtle presence in our own culture but for each of us eliminating false altars is an ongoing opportunity to follow Jesus more closely. Any false altars reflect syncretistic practices of our own.

Reconciling Irreconcilable Differences

One of the realities of life is that there are times when it is impossible to reconcile differences. It may be because two parties start with deeply different philosophical positions that are simple incompatible. It may be that EQ issues with one of the parties is such that it is not possible to rationally dialogue and resolve differences. Sometimes, no matter how much time has been spent in dialogue and conversation, even with a third party present, no progress is made toward real resolution. Many of us have experienced such a situation.

There are some who would take the Rodney King position: "Can't we just all get along?" It is a wonderful but naive thought! Sometimes people cannot just get along in in a manner that is productive. At least if they must be working together. There are situations where even believers are better off going their separate ways but in peace. The word peace is the operative word. 


I once told a staff member who had violated me and leadership principles in our organization that we could resolve our issues two different ways. One was to go through the hard work of working through contentious issues. The other was to acknowledge that we were unlikely to agree but to choose to bless one another.

I love reconciliation - it is at the heart of what God came to do between us and God and between one another. It is always the goal. But what does one do when there cannot be agreement on something deeply important or resolution on a matter that has become conflictual? After all, reconciliation takes two parties and the ability to agree to a resolution.

One possibility is to continue the conflict - but that is not pleasing to God or productive to the kingdom.

The other alternative is to simply acknowledge that we will not resolve our differences but that we can bless one another and choose to live with those differences, not harm the other but rather bless the other. Not all differences are resolvable but we make choices as to our attitudes about people and whether we will live at peace with them, bless them and wish the best for them. That does not mean that we need to pretend we agree and it does not necessarily mean that we have to work together. 


This route is often the most difficult because in the absence of agreement, and being able to negotiate through issues that are close to our heart, we have to give up our need to be right and simply choose to live at peace with one another, to be proactive in our blessing of one another and let time sort out the rest - whether it does or does not. That takes humility because rather than being proven right we simply chose to put the issue aside for the greater cause of Christ and to uphold the reputation of Christ: "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." The unity of God's people is more important than our need to resolve all issues or agree on all issues. In the end it is not about upholding our reputation but His! 

Are both these options true reconciliation? The first is reconciliation through working through the differences. The second is reconciliation through working through attitudes in spite of not being able to resolve the differences. The second is harder and takes greater humility. Both honor God and uphold the reputation of Christ. Both take a desire on both parties to move forward.

Plan, Do, Check, Adjust

Both the ministry and non ministry world are great at planning but less so at doing. The reason is simple: Planning is easier than doing! And, given our aversion to "failing" that more planning we do the less likely it is that what we do will fail.

This ignores the fact that unless we actually do something, nothing of significance gets done. Planning is simply the antecedent to action and if we spend more time on planning than we do in actual execution (many do) we don't achieve our potential. I could spend all kinds of time planning this blog but until I put it on paper the ideas have absolutely no relevance to others.

There is a rhythm of work that is pretty standard in good companies that would help ministries execute with greater success. It is very simple: Plan, Do, Check, Adjust. 

The plan takes into account the opportunity, resources, and strategy to move a certain initiative forward. It also thinks through the potential unintended consequences, stakeholders, communication and process of rolling it out. It is the due diligence that helps us avoid dumb tax and give us the best chance of success.

Doing, is simply the hard work of working the plan. At some point, more planning will not help, you must start doing. It is harder to find people who execute well than it is to find those who love to plan. Doing is at the heart of good work and successful ministries. 

That doing, however, is subject to regular checking to ensure that what we want to accomplish is actually getting accomplished. It is one thing to plan a small group strategy, for instance, and then start working a plan but it is another to discover that one is not getting the participation that one hoped for. Checking is evaluation of how well the plan is working. It requires a culture where accountability for results actually matters - something often lacking in ministry cultures.

Having checked and evaluated, one adjusts the plan in order to take into account what one learned in the check phase and then one goes back to doing and the cycle repeats itself. 

It is a simple paradigm but one that keeps ministry on track by planning, doing, checking, and adjusting.

On not playing the role of the Holy Spirit

We give far too little credit to the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others and often try to play that role ourselves. Not very successfully I might add!

The Holy Spirit is called the Counselor by Jesus. That is an interesting title when you think of the role of a counselor, helping people clarify issues, resolve issues, move from dishealth in some area of life to health.


Here is what Jesus says the Holy Spirit will do. "he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment...He will guide you into all truth...He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you" (John 16:7-15).

These are powerful statements about a member of the Trinity who resides in our lives and is fully capable of speaking to His children about areas of their lives that need attention.  We often underestimate the power of the HS to bring needed change in the lives of others and overestimate our ability to do that.


What do we do when we see something in a fellow brother or sister in Christ that we think needs attention? Often our first thought is that we need to solve it which is really saying, that we feel we need to help the Holy Spirit do His job. It does not work to be the conscience of others. Not only does it not work but we may not even understand the issues. Conscience is my sensitivity to the HS, not someone else playing that role for me. 

Perhaps we ought to spend more time praying for others than trying to define what they should be doing. It is the Holy Spirit that takes from what is Christ's and makes it known to us. I may be able to convince, manipulate and force someone to deal with an issue but only the HS can bring needed change (and He knows what the needed change is far better than we) from the inside and in a way that transforms.

Jesus spoke to this in Matthew 7:1ff. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" 

My concern for my fellow believer is demonstrated more by my willingness to pray for them than it is for me to play the role of the HS in their life. Yes there are times when we gently point out areas of fault or sin but we must never play the role of the Holy Spirit. He is the ultimate counselor.
 

The currency of trust

Trusting relationships and maintaining that trust is the currency necessary for ministry influence, healthy teams, and partnerships with others. Lack of trust kills all three. Like currency, trust can be deposited or withdrawn and maintaining a healthy trust account is always a priority of a healthy leader.


Trust is deposited when people can count on us to keep our word on promises made. A bank account of promises kept will take one a long way even when for some reason we let others down. A pattern of not keeping our word, however will deplete that account.


Trust is deposited when we can be counted on to be consistent in our directional leadership. People need the security of knowing where we are going and how we are going to get there. Flavor of the month leadership or a history of directional surprises will lower the account. 


Trust is also deposited when people can count on us to be fair, consistent and predictable. Unpredictability depletes trust because it causes anxiety over which "me" they are going to encounter in any given situation. 


It is also deposited when we are candid, honest, and open rather than hiding our "cards" or leaving people wondering what we are really thinking. Of course, leaders don't always reveal everything but unless they can be counted on to be transparent about what the team needs to know, trust is withdrawn.


When staff know that our highest priority is to serve them, help them succeed and develop them into all they can be, trust is accumulated. When staff see that their leader is more concerned about their reputation, getting the credit or their own stuff, it is withdrawn.


While healthy people grant trust unless and until there is a reason not to, healthy leaders by their character and behavior are always building a bank account that works in their favor when tough decisions must be made that require staff to trust them. They will if there is trust in the account and a history of trustworthy character and behavior. When staff lose significant trust and the bank account is depleted, it is no longer possible to lead from strength.


Healthy leaders are always conscious of their "trust account."

Three things every senior leadership team must have

Leadership teams are only successful when they focus constantly on three non-negotiables.  If you guard these components zealously you have significant opportunity for success. If you lack any of the three you will pay a price.

The first is unity. Leadership teams that are on the same page and committed to working together rather than separately, that guard one another’s back and are always willing to take the hill together are strong teams and send a strong message to the rest of the organization. Unity at the top means unity among those they lead. Silos or lack of unity on the top team invariably trickles down to the rest of the staff. If the organization is going to move in the same direction, those in leadership must do the same.

The second component is resolve. The world is full of nice ideas, grand plans and great dreams. What it often lacks is the discipline of intentional execution where dreams are translated into plans and plans are translated into action on a regular basis. Leaders who lack the discipline or resolve to accomplish what the organization has committed to accomplishing send a message that we are not really serious about our mission. Leadership teams that have and exhibit strong resolve send a powerful message that we are serious about where we are going, are not going to deviate and we are intent on getting there.

The third component is dependence on the Holy Spirit. Most organizations will not rise above the spiritual dependence of their leaders because leaders establish the culture. Leaders who are intent on dependence on God and hearing what God has to say to them in terms of their direction and strategy not only are stronger because of it but model for the rest of the organization that dependence is not an option but a necessity.

How is the leadership team in your organization doing in these three critical areas?

Love wins only when truth wins first

The current controversy over Rob Bells new book Love Wins: A Book about Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, while unorthodox in its content and conclusions does have an upside. It is focusing attention on a subject that is politically incorrect in our day: That there is an eternal destiny for each of us, that heaven and hell are real and the latter involves eternal punishment and separation from God. And, that there is only one route to a relationship with God and that is through Jesus Christ. Without Christ, people face eternal separation from Him.

My intent here is not to critique Bell’s exegesis or conclusions. Others have already done that for us (just Google Love Wins for many responses). In addition, a simple reading of the Scriptures is enough to conclude that Bell’s circumlocutions around the clear statements of Jesus on the subject don’t stand up to a logical reading of the text to say nothing of orthodox understanding on this subject for two thousand years. Bell is simply restating liberal theology that has been around for a long time.

However, the truth is that many evangelicals are essentially agnostics on the subject of hell because it is politically incorrect, and we cannot imagine that God would actually punish those who chose to reject Him. If we really believed that our friends, family, coworkers and neighbors face eternal punishment without Christ, would we not be far more motivated to share the Good News? To say nothing of living this life without Jesus. Our lack of evangelism concern (in the United States it takes 168 people one year to lead one person to Christ) either indicates we really don’t believe in the reality of hell, that we are uncaring or so distracted by our own comfort and lives that we don't have time to focus on those who don't know Christ. There are exceptions to this, many who I know, but in general, our evangelism efforts and commitment do not match a biblical understanding of what is truly at stake. Nor do the outreach efforts of congregations that are often so focused inside that they have little impact outside their walls.

Incidentally, just about 300 years ago the entire population of our world was only 600 million, twice the current population of the United States today. Our world has swelled to 6.5 billion since 1700 and it is estimated that half the people who have ever lived in human history are walking our planet today. That means that half the potential population of heaven and hell are alive today. What we do about that has eternal consequences.

Working in many parts of the majority world, I see men and women who are absolutely focused on sharing the Good News because they believe the truth of heaven and hell, of a transformed relationship with Jesus or lostness. Many of these have given up income, comfort, and even their lives out of conviction that people need a savior in this life and the next.

Bell says love wins. Certainly that is true for all who turn to a savior in Jesus Christ. What Bell does not want to acknowledge is that truth wins as well. Scripture does not lack clarity on this subject. As Mark Driscoll tweeted today: “Any preacher who does not tell his people the whole truth may be loved by them but does not love them.” Bell has it backwards. Love wins only when truth wins first.

The question for each of us is whether we take seriously the reality of two eternal destinies and whether we will join Jesus in sharing the Good News with the same concern for people that He had. He commissioned us in John 17:18, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world,” speaking of us!

Love only wins when we believe the truth of the gospel and it is that truth that motivates us to boldly share the Good News and when people respond - that is when love wins.

The Luke 14 Mandate

What would happen if the church took Luke 14:13 literally? But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Jesus is talking about intentionally seeking out the marginalized, the poor, those with disabilities, and those who have nothing to offer us - from the world's point of view (of course they do have something to offer us and it is often profound). If we take Christ at his word, individuals and churches who intentionally seek out the marginalized and minister to them will be blessed by the Father. The reason is obvious: God blesses those who have a heart like Him. This is what He did, how He ministered, who He went out of His way to minister to.

Interestingly, congregations that reach out to families who have members with disabilities find that whole families show up because they want and desire the help and need the support of other families who have the same challenges. And frankly, because so few congregations make this an emphasis, those who invite and welcome the otherwise marginalized and forgotten will see a significant response.

One congregation I know puts on an annual dress up event for young men and women with intellectual disabilities. It is a joyous event as the guys are dressed up in suits and ties and the gals in prom dresses along with their families. A small thing? No, it is a huge event for these families who are being loved on by a congregation.

All too often we associate with and minister to those who are like us or have something to give in return. The Luke 14:13 mandate is that we also intentionally associate with and minister to those who cannot give us anything in return. In this case there is no selfish motive and God's heart shines through in powerful ways. 

For practical tips on ministering to those with disabilities, contact Joni and Friends and ask for their publication "Through the Roof: Assisting churches in developing an effective disability ministry and outreach." It is practical, easy to read and has been used by many congregations. 

God blesses those who take the Luke 14 mandate seriously. It changes our hearts as well.

The Five Why Questions

A simple technique for getting to the bottom of problems is to ask the question "why?" – five times, to drill down to the heart of the matter. I learned this from Toyota motors and their problem solving strategy.

Here is an example. I am meeting with a church board of about fifteen hundred whose board meets twice a month from about seven to midnight – terribly long and inefficient meetings. I ask “why do you do this? I can’t imagine those meetings being very productive.” “Well we have a lot of stuff that we need to do” is the answer.

“Why do you as a board need to do all that stuff?” I ask.  “Are there not staff or volunteers who can do much of it?” “Well, I guess we’re not that good at delegating and think we need to be on top of everything in the church” they answer.

“Why do you need to be on top of everything? Don’t you just need to be on top of the most important things” I ask? “Good question, they answer. We just assumed that we needed to know everything. As I think about it that is kind of impossible in a church our size is it not? I don’t think we do a very good job of differentiating between the small stuff and the big stuff.”

“Why is that?” I ask. “Hmmm,” one of them says. “We don’t really plan our meetings very well. We just have this list of stuff that we need to decide and then the meetings go on and on and on. Our agenda is sort of like a shopping list of stuff we talk about.”

“Why don’t you plan your meetings so that you cover the big rocks first and let the smaller rocks fall to someone else?” I ask. “We never really thought of that,” they answer.  “But we like it.”

By drilling down with five “why?” questions we got to the heart of the issue. This board did not differentiate between key issues they needed to deal with and mundane issues that did not need their attention. And they made faulty assumptions about needing to know everything that went on in the church. Modifying this assumption and paying attention only to the big rocks along with a disciplined meeting structure could reduce their twice monthly meetings from five hours to two. So simple, but they had never taken the time to ask why they did what they did how they did it – in spite of the pain.

The next time you have a problem you would like to solve, try asking the question “Why?” five times, drilling down to the heart of the matter. You may be surprised at what you find.

Want to drill down further? Check out this link.

The Heart of the Matter

Scripture is replete with references to our hearts – the source of our thinking, actions, priorities, motivations and attitudes. Everything important about us comes back to our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 puts this in perspective when it says, “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.”

We know that God cares about the content and condition of our hearts. The question that we need to constantly ask ourselves is whether our hearts reflect His heart. A helpful exercise is to read Scripture with the constant question in the back of our minds, what does this text say about the heart of God – and therefore our hearts.

Ultimately, spiritual transformation is about my heart becoming more like His heart and the greatest gift we will receive when we see Him face to face is that our hearts indeed will reflect His heart. To the extent that we bring our hearts into alignment with His heart we will become the people He wants us to be and have the impact that He wants us to have.

This goes beyond good theology, biblical knowledge or legalistic obedience. It is about alignment at our very core. When God talks about caring about the orphan and the widow in the Old Testament – what does this say about His heart for those who are without an advocate? When He instructs the Israelites to treat the alien among them well, what does that say about His heart? When He is gracious to the nation of Israel in spite of their wayward heart, what does that say about His heart?

The Gospels are central to a quest for a heart like His because in Christ we see God as one of us living out the perfection of God’s heart in real life ways. Every passage of the Gospels reveals something significant about the heart of God – and in ways we can relate to. Paying attention to Christ’s heart toward His father, toward the hurting and the guilty, toward the poor and the downtrodden, toward the seeker and the religious hypocrite all tell us something about what our hearts should look like. Bring our hearts into alignment with Him and our thinking, priorities and relationships will follow. The very act of incarnation, God becoming man so that man can be reconciled to God tells us something about the amazing, loving, compassionate, forgiving, humble, missional heart of God.

Because the heart is the wellspring of life – out of which all of life flows, the key to becoming what God wants me to become is not trying harder but allowing Him to transform my heart so that it is always becoming more like His heart. A transformed heart brings transformed thinking, attitudes, priorities, actions and relationships. The heart is the heart of the matter. I want my heart to reflect His heart. The rest follows from that.

Pray for Japan

Japan is one of the hardest nation to reach in terms of the gospel. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, however, there will be many opportunities for God's people from Japan and elsewhere to share the good news. We should be praying that hurting people would be open to the truth as they experience the love that His people will shower on them.

Pray also for believers who were impacted by this tragedy along with the church in Japan that will be responding in practical ways.

Here are some pictures of the devastation.

Champions and systems

A wise person has observed that “nothing starts without a champion and nothing lasts without a system.”

That truth explains the reason that many organizations (including churches) that start well do not continue on that trajectory and eventually plateau out. And why other organizations and churches are able to transition into long term effectiveness.

Champions are those individuals who have the vision, drive and fortitude to start something new and fresh. Ministry founders are such champions. Church planters are such champions. Missionaries who forge new ground are such champions. Every successful ministry had a champion whose vision and tenacity along with God’s blessing are why they are there.

While starting takes a champion, actually lasting takes something very different: systems that allow the ministry to stabilize, grow and flourish for the long term. As long as the ministry is dependent on its founder for its glue one either has a personality driven ministry or one where everything comes back to the champion. The personality gives the organization excitement and drive but long term that champion or personality will not be present so the transition from founder driven to leader and system driven is a crucial issue.

On a large scale, this was played out with Prison Fellowship with the ministry moving beyond the wonderful leadership of Chuck Colson or Focus on the Family as it moved on beyond James Dobson. On a smaller scale it is played out in numerous ministries where there is a transition from founder to systems.

Founders and champions can make this transition but it is a hard one. Founders are visionaries who were champions for a ministry that had to run by the seat of its pants to get started, was messy in the process and were highly flexible because the founder was the voice and the decision maker. That works for a while. But eventually for the ministry to get to the next level, the founder must either become a leader and build systems or the chaos and messiness of champions takes a toll on focus and effectiveness of the ministry.

Champions are always necessary to get a ministry up and running. They must then transition to leaders with a developed leadership team and systems if they are going to be around for the long run and meet their full potential.