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Rachel Welty
Dr. Pickens
Pre-Field Experience for Cross-Cultural Ministry
18 March 2016
Reaction to Cross-Cultural Servanthood
If someone were to have told me “servanthood is culturally defined,” I would never have
questioned it (Elmer 12). Yet after reading Duane Elmer’s Cross-Cultural Servanthood, I now
recognize my understanding of servanthood’s and its manifestations’ cultural-specificity was and
still is incomplete (cf. 33; 81-82; 83-88; 149). Desiring to serve God and His children through
long-term missionary service, I, like many missionaries, want to participate in the redemption
and restoration God is bringing, and then one day hear, “‘“Well done, good and faithful
servant”’” (New International Version, Matt. 25.21). Nonetheless, my well-meaning ambitions
are not enough (Elmer 19). Serving cross-culturally involves engaging with those we long to
reach in the way(s) they perceive as service, and most vital to serving cross-culturally is learning
from, with, and about those from one’s host culture (cf. 37).
Considering the three integral forms of learning Elmer delineates (93), each method is
unique in its definition and practice. The most impactful story Elmer narrates involves his wife
intentionally seeking to learn from her hosts, “learning from” being a form of learning which
allows us to confer honor upon our teachers (cf. 97-98): Visiting villages of Mozambique with
her team in order to improve child health, Elmer’s wife refrained from promptly correcting the
Shangaan grannies’ profound prenatal health misconception, thus demonstrating openness,
acceptance, and trust to the village women (110-114). To some health workers, her approach to
may have seemed inappropriate or even unethical, considering the threat their delayed

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rectification of the mothers’ innutritious practice posed to the children. However, because she
generally understood Mozambican culture, she was able to effectively serve by allowing the
Shangaan grannies to teach her and her fellow health workers how they advised pregnant
mothers and the beliefs behind their counsel (cf. 112-13).
Recognizing how “learning from” so powerfully affirms our teacher’s dignity and worth,
this is the kind of learning I want to engage in most. Despite the shortness of my placement, I
would love to identify at least one native woman from whom I can learn about Bolivian culture
and lifestyle from (cf. 100-01). This individual may be my host mother; however, I must be
open to letting anyone fulfill this role. My exclusion of any individual from this role would
dehumanize them, which would counter the unity God desires for His people (cf. 60). I cannot
predict who my teachers will be, but it is likely my teachers will be those I least expect; that is, if
I humble myself to learn from whoever is willing to teach me. Moreover, to learn from anyone
who desires to teach me is to serve those individuals.
Another form of learning which requires humility is “learning with.” Learning with
others is accomplished through interdependency, and it is the method by which we can best
emulate Christ’s “towel mission,” as Christ entered the world and developed mutual friendships
with those He came to serve and save (Elmer 103; 23 ff.; New International Version, Mk. 10.45;
Lk. 19.10). Coming from a Western context, I realize constantly endeavoring to learn will
become difficult, as at times I will fall back into my ethnocentrism, daring to think I have learned
all there is to learn about one subject or another (cf. Elmer 68). This reality can be seen in my
present thinking as I acknowledge I mainly expect to learn with my teammates – we all have
infinite learning to do in this foreign culture, along with children – children, too, still have much
to learn. I find it difficult to imagine myself learning with those who will be my elders in Bolivia

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who know much I do not know about Bolivia. Although this perception is rooted in the
importance I place on respecting those who are older and more experienced than I, I recognize
that by assuming my Bolivian peers and elders have nothing left to learn, I elevate them above
where I should, and deny their humanity if I presume we have no opportunities to learn together.
Like learning from natives, endeavoring to learn with them is an essential component of serving
them.
Finally, learning about the culture I am entering is vital to my ability to serve there.
Undeniably, it is imperative I learn as much as I can before I leave for Bolivia, including the
Spanish language, Bolivian history, culture, and customs; and sexuality and abuse as they exist
in Bolivia. Yet Elmer’s characterization of learning about others challenged my own
understanding of when learning is to take place, along with what topics are most important to
learn: Difficult to admit, I recognize that I sometimes assume I will learn a majority of those
things before I leave, and then have the opportunity to apply them while in Bolivia. However,
reading about “learning about” others, I have realized the learning I do at home is only the
beginning of all I will continue to learn in Bolivia, and even upon my return. Additionally, I
have come to understand the book knowledge I acquire here, although valuable, will not be the
most important things to implement when working with SIM. Instead, I must remember to focus
on building relationships with those I am with, both Bolivian natives and the missionaries I will
be working with (cf. 96-97). I simply cannot serve people without entering into relationship with
them.
Reviewing these three forms of learning, each obviously has its indispensible place in
serving cross-culturally. Illuminating this reality, Elmer shares, “Many missionaries may be …
well intentioned, dedicated, and wanting to serve, but also naïve and in some denial about what it

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means to serve in another culture” (16). Looking forward to missionary service, I must be
willing to learn from whoever is willing to teach me, learn with my juniors and elders alike, and
learn about the culture I am going to without placing what I have learned before building
relationships. Learning from, with, and about others are not simple tasks; however, desiring to
be an effective servant, I know that engaging in each of these methods of learning is essential to
serving effectively.

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Works Cited
Elmer, Duane. Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Print.
New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.