American Association of Christian Counselors World Congress
November 6 - 8, 1997 Dallas Texas
Stressed
from Core to Cosmos:
Issues
and Needs Arising from Cross-Cultural Ministry
Lois A. Dodds, Ph.D.
Lawrence E. Dodds, M.D., MPH.
Introduction
Ministry
is a hazardous occupation! It exposes
one to the deepest needs of humanity, many of which seemingly can never be
met. Along with sharing in many life
joys, a person in ministry also gains the dubious privilege of dealing with
all the “uglies” of human nature, the muck of erring
and sinning disciples, the heartbreaking consequences and crises of God's
law broken. The values inherent in
ministry are for self-giving, sacrifice, working for change in the self, others,
and the social context. In a sense,
these are dangerous values, “setting up” the opportunities for failure and
burnout. One's work in ministry is never done; there
is no end to the possibilities to influence persons and the nature of life
in one's context. There is no handy
cut-off time to show when you have done enough.
It is often difficult, if not impossible, to measure one's success
in bringing about change.
To
be in ministry is a “high calling” and a grave responsibility--and therein
lie much of the stress and struggle which makes it so hazardous.
Anyone
who chooses a role in ministry across cultures compounds the hazards
almost geometrically. In addition to
the hazards of ministry itself, going cross-cultural means adding layer upon
layer of complexity. One steps out
of one's own context, exchanging it for a whole new set of struggles and challenges.
Change of culture brings with it changes of language, value systems,
climate, geography, social systems, role definitions and a host of other life
elements. Usually a life of ministry across cultures places
one in a position to experience perpetually high levels of stress, as almost
everything in one's self and one's life must adapt to new realities.
One
way to visualize the magnitude or scope of change required in moving into
cross-cultural ministry is to see the self as a central or core entity embedded
in the cosmos, or spiritual world. Everything
from the inside core of the self to the outermost edge of the circle is challenged
by the radical life change which cross-cultural work brings about.
Interplay between the self and the spiritual world is full of pressure,
requiring change in conceptualizing both.
Both one's identity and self-esteem and one's understanding of the
nature of God and the universe are affected.
Between these two lie all manner of external factors and influences
which also force change. There is, of course, constant interaction in
the three, with the spiritual being the underlying or over-arching world,
and thus the atmosphere through which all is experienced.
We
can categorize the predominant needs and issues arising from cross-cultural
work by relating them to these three areas, as rings of adaptation: 1) the
self, 2) the external stress factors lying between the self and the cosmos,
and 3) the spiritual world, including the nature of God and relationship to
Him. Because people usually enter ministry
for deeply spiritual reasons, and spirituality and the spiritual world represent
the largest context for our life and work, the spiritual world is the “real
world,” the very foundation of and the widest context of ministry. This is a biblical perspective. As Paul wrote of Christ: “for in Him we live and move and have our being”
(Acts
One's
self is challenged to change. One
must re-work identity. Because of this,
feelings about the self fluctuate. The external material world creates
pressing needs and issues involving: personal safety/security, severe losses,
the “ugliness factor,” financial strains, and the perpetually high levels
of stress. In the spiritual arena
three issues stand out: challenges to faith and trust (“Is God in charge?”),
superhuman expectations resulting from spiritual motivation and orientation
(“What is my role as God's person in the world?”), and issues of authority
and organizational structure (“Does this person represent the voice of God?”).
Challenges
to The Self
1. Identity issues: Inherent in going across cultures is the need
to adapt the self. Both deep and superficial
aspects of the self must change in order to become effective in the new context.
Changing most everything in one's life simultaneously demands an overwhelming
amount of adaptation, and adapting successfully means forging a new identity.
This process is an exhausting one, requiring enormous energy.
One's
whole life pattern needs re-working because of simultaneously changing multiple
life elements. Overnight the person
entering cross-cultural ministry changes his or her cultural context, the
actual job or role, the place/standing in society. He or she leaves behind all of family, friends,
acquaintances. These are profound losses.
Even the seemingly superficial things such as climate, clothing and
foods, are real and costly in terms of energy.
They too press the self to change.
A
central factor in the change in identity is the loss of one's reference group
or groups. Those familiar people who
provide both subtle and overt feedback about who we are and how we are perceived
suddenly disappear. The people who
become new sources of feedback, especially those not from our own culture
and language, may give us very different messages about the self. In the early stages of our adaptation, they
will likely let us know that we are inadequate in our new cultural setting,
our new role, etc. Our first day of
linguistic training, Dr. Cal Rensch of SIL told
us, “Starting today you will never really belong to the people you are going
to work with or belong fully to the people you are leaving.”
For
example, when we were in the process of becoming missionaries, people in our
home context idealized us; they saw us as models of commitment and inspiration.
They told us this in many ways, and even though we didn't take it much
to heart, it was a shock once we lost that affirmation and instead received
feedback from some Peruvians maligning us as “imperialists, paternalists,
full of self interest” and other derogatory terms.
No one thanked us for coming or thought it admirable that we had uprooted
our whole lives in order to help them change!
They perceived such a move as stupid, or at best suspicious.
We suffered some loss of self esteem with every loss of skill in language
and relating, with every misunderstanding about our motives and character.
Without
anyone around who actually knew us over time, or with whom we had a shared
history, we had to start fresh in being known to a degree that we could again
receive positive feedback about ourselves.
This took time. In the meantime,
we starved for the kind of affirmation which keeps one emotionally nurtured.
Over
time, if one is successfully adapting to the new, one achieves an altered
sense of self, a new identity, incorporating some of the old and some of new. This is not easy or quick, as it means letting
go of parts of the former self. This
is in fact a painful process as we seek to determine which aspects of the
self are negotiable and which aspects we cannot change if we are to keep our
sense of integrity. I had the goal
of becoming “really Peruvian” when we first went to
At
home in the
2. Self-esteem: Most all the changes resulting from cross-cultural
work, of context, of language and so on, are assaults to self-esteem in some
way, at least initially. The culture
cues about our adequacy (or likely inadequacy) will often be radically different,
perhaps even unrecognizable. It becomes hard to answer “How am I doing?”
Because the means of feedback, as well as the actual messages differ due to
the loss of familiar reference groups, it is difficult to measure our appropriateness
or progress in the new. Expectations
for us likely vary in significant ways, most often unknown to us.
We have to ferret out what is expected and what will gain approval.
An
extreme example of this loss of moorings is a single missionary who went to
Even
when one goes away to do the same job, such as pastoring or teaching, it is
not likely practiced in the same way, with the same values and attitudes,
the same resources. One may have to
let go of exercising important gifts or areas of training which contribute
to a sense of competency. Loss of resources
and compromise to our internal standards of practice can undermine self-esteem,
leading to doubt about our own integrity and adequacy. Our usual tools, standards and criteria for
performance may be absent. The new
peer group may conceptualize the profession or job in a radically different
way. The new culture may place our
profession or role in a different place in the social hierarchy. All these require adaptation and sorting out:
what is most essential, what can we give up or compromise, what must we cling
to in order to remain ourselves? It
becomes hard to see one's self as coping and adaptable given the multiplicity
and rapid rate of change.
One
area of special difficulty relates to language acquisition. As educated people prepared for ministry in
our own culture, we usually are articulate and skilled in communication. When the educated and articulate person enters
the new context, where even toddlers surpass him or her in speech for the
first couple of years, it is not only humbling but also destructive of self
esteem. Most professionals are reluctant
to make mistakes. Depending on temperament
this may be a severe problem in adjustment, since language acquisition consists
of multiple mistakes and constant correction. In our experience of 25 years in missions, the
most educated and articulate suffer the most loss of self through the process
of language development. Once gained,
of course, mastery can again enhance self esteem.
Another
critical area relating to self esteem is success. It is hard to see and measure achievements in
ministry where long-term and often intangible goals guide us. It is hard to maintain vision without visible
gains. Uncertain or imperceptible progress
creates self doubts. How do we measure
our effectiveness and whether our sacrifices are worth it? The perpetual unfinished
work can lead to lack of self-confidence and sense of achievement.
Most
missionaries do eventually reach a state of equilibrium, with enough sense
of success to keep them in ministry. However,
faced with the prospect of return to the homeland, the self is once again
assaulted. Long-term cross-cultural
workers may have lost their sense of ability to fit in or to cope when returning
to their homeland or “regular” life and work.
This can create a feeling of panic or despair. Having changed to fit the new, they no longer
see themselves as able to readjust to the old.
A
typical pattern in the fluctuations of self esteem seems to be a sharp decrease
in self esteem in the first years during the period of culture shock, a gain
or increase with adaptation to the new culture and field situation, and another
drop with the stress of furlough or re-entry.
Return to the field setting may bring another boost in self esteem
as one experiences success, or lead to chronic culture fatigue because adaptation
remains a constant struggle. There
seems to be a cyclical pattern provoked by the constant change which cross-cultural
ministry requires. Especially in the
early years of ministry there is seldom a phase long enough to reach equilibrium,
to relax and get back to normal.
Another
important factor relating to self esteem is that many Christians, especially
those from fundamentalist backgrounds, are predisposed to feelings of guilt,
shame, and worthlessness even before entering cross-cultural ministries. Some individuals may have temperamental, genetic,
or familial predisposition towards depression or self doubt. These create additional vulnerability, as all
the challenges to self compound through events in the new culture.
The
nature of ministry, especially cross-cultural, provides continual opportunity
for self doubt, as expectations for living “the examined life” and “making
the most of every opportunity” present continual choices. One young missionary put it this way, “Every
moment has to be given to a necessary responsibility — things which
do in fact have very real consequences if you do or do not do them.”
Counselor
strategy/offering: The counselor
to the cross-cultural worker can assist the person in significant ways. Toward the end of this paper we discuss some
over-all strategies and approaches which are helpful. At this point we want to suggest some specific
ways to address needs relating to identity and self esteem.
1. Affirm the uniqueness and inherent worth of
the person, especially from a Biblical perspective of our identity being in
Christ, being His workmanship, being His beloved children, being His chosen. Nurture the wounded person, because experiencing
God's love and acceptance through the counselor becomes a key source of energy
and motivation for regaining equilibrium.
2. Help the person identify key aspects of the
self, to sort out what is negotiable for change and what must remain relatively
stable in order to maintain integrity of the self. This involves traits, qualities, values, habits,
ways of relating.
3. Affirm the adaptive ability the person already
manifests, as evidenced by the levels of stress already endured and the amount
of change already achieved.
4. Educate regarding the energy demanded for adaptation
and affirm the reality and difficulty of maintaining a good sense of self
given all the layers of change required by cross-cultural ministry.
5. Normalize the stress experienced. Anyone
having to adapt to so much would experience a shaking of their foundations.
Helpful
Biblical perspective: Ephesians
1 and other passages which describe our place in God's family are valuable
resources for focusing on central and unchanging aspects of identity and re-experiencing
positive feelings towards the self, based on God's love for us. A helpful resource is How Do I Look From
Up There?, a Biblical study on self-esteem (Dodds, 1980).
Issues
and Needs Relating to External Demands for Change
The
second area or arena which demands adaptation, and thus creates needs and
issues in cross-cultural ministry is the external world between the self and
the cosmos. Each of these issues and
needs identified here (and many more) requires adaptation of the self and
a re-working of the spiritual, as they are experienced by the self and take
place within the context of the spiritual world.
We will discuss five issues, though many more could be considered.
1.
Personal safety/security: Especially when people minister in the inner
city or the third world, they live with constant threats to safety and well-being,
for themselves, their families, and their co-workers. Regular crime is usually more prevalent in such
a setting than in our home neighborhoods.
Additional threats of terrorism, gang warfare, war and other forms
of organized violence are factors of daily life for many missionaries. A third real threat to safety and security is
the presence of dishonest police and military forces. Civil authority “helpers” may in fact be more
dangerous than local criminals. The
killings of innocents by the police in
Safety
and security are further jeopardized by different values relating to the definition
and practice of honesty, blame and fault, and temptation. It can be jolting
to discover that you are accused of being attacked or robbed because you “put
temptation in their way” by not living more defensively or locking up everything.
This is akin to “blame the victim” attitudes in our own culture.
Our
daughter Kathryn experienced firsthand the devastation of violence. Because of her husband's role as the most visible
representative of the mission in a country filled with terrorism against foreigners,
she lived with the daily threat of kidnaping or
killing. Walking home with her two
year old she was robbed by a man wielding a gun. He claimed to be a terrorist, to have eight
people watching her. He instructed
her on what to give up, and on what he would do if she didn't cooperate. Fortunately her training for such a possible
event kicked in and she handled the encounter well, even though her primary
terror was the kidnaping of little Andrew. When he finally let her go she ran past friends
in the street and two homes of colleagues so that she would not inadvertently
lead the terrorists to identify them. It turned out that the robbery was most likely
“regular crime,” but the thief took advantage of the prevalence of terrorism
to enlarge his hold on Kathryn.
For
the Benson family, working in the highlands of
In
both
Perhaps
you can imagine the enormous threats experienced by cross-cultural workers
in
2. Severe losses, even catastrophes: Forces far beyond our control often threaten
and even sometimes destroy one's ministry, perhaps a whole lifetime of work.
Though we all face the threats of natural disasters, our first and
second world nations have enormous resources to assist in such devastating
events. In most mission settings the
social and governmental resources are totally inadequate to the enormity of
loss or catastrophe. Again using
Displacement
represents another threat of multiple severe losses. A couple we know were evacuated instantly, for
the second time, from their home and ministry in
Other,
seemingly lesser, losses can still have grave impact on ministry and faith.
Friends who labored for years to produce a translation of the New Testament
lost their treasured indigenous co-translator in a freak accident.
Another translator was killed, with a hatchet blow to the head, by
a translation helper — violence so senseless it can best be seen as the work
of our spiritual Enemy. Another missionary
in
3. “Ugliness factor”: Certain factors which accompany cross-cultural
ministry contribute to perpetual stress and take a huge toll, even though
they may not be obvious. We call these
the “ugliness factor.” They eat away
at well-being and diminish or cancel out one's sense of accomplishment.
They represent such enormous human need that all ministry efforts combined
may seem only a drop in a sea of dross. These
include such factors as the noise and crowding of city life.
In
Such
urban over-crowding will only increase in the next few decades. Atlantic Monthly (Feb. 94) powerfully
portrays the instability in
Urbanization
is a growing world trend, representing both a tragedy and an unprecedented
opportunity for missions. As we have
taught in many countries, we have heard over and over, “I remember...when
I came here five (or ten or twenty) years ago, this was all fields. Now, a half million (or more) people have made
this home.” One slum in
Another
terrible “ugly” in much of the world is the injustice and corruption in government
and the very agencies which ostensibly promote life. How do you handle it, as a missionary in
How
do you cope when your ministry is to the people who make their living in the
refuse of
4. Living on the edge financially: For many cross-cultural workers, another perpetual
stress in the external or material environment is the strain of inadequate
finances. Glaring discrepancies between
home and national culture — either up or down — create real stresses.
So, too, discrepancies between the income of workers in the same context
or agency, and the instability of national currencies which often inflate
by thousands of percent. Most life-style
issues relate to money. One has to
balance the need to identify with the target group without alienating one's
home groups, other Christian groups in the same context, or national Christians. Whether one chooses to scale down one's life
style and forego things we consider “normal” in the developed world, or whether
one must live in more upscale conditions to gain an audience with those more
well off, the decisions may be agonizing.
One has to find a balance between personal and family care and the
needs of others. Even a simple purchase
has many implications: Can one enjoy an ice cream cone with one's children
knowing it costs a day's wage for a national — or, perhaps in a different
context, costs an hour's U.S. wage donated to one's support by a poor widow? Every dollar spent represents crucial choices.
Can you not help a neighbor when an egg a day can mean the difference
between mental retardation and normal development for his children?
Making
decisions about long term needs such as college and retirement can be equally
disconcerting. Is it right to save
when surrounded by such overwhelming current needs?
Such issues are, of course, linked to challenges of faith and our concepts
of God. How is the life of faith to
be lived out? Do you buy groceries
on credit to feed the ten guests who come to you for Christian hospitality,
or do you send them away because at the moment you have no cash?
What is most honoring to God? To feed them and trust God to send money for
the bill? We chose this path when confronted
with that very dilemma. We could not
bring ourselves to not feed people in need, money or no money. Though our usual principle is to not borrow,
we saw our good credit as an asset in that circumstance.
Another
stressor in the “life of faith” is relating to one's constituency with pure
motives. Separating one's friendships
and church relationships from the aspect or prospect of financial support
is taxing. Asking friends or family
for support money can be very awkward. Finding
the balance between “trusting God” and action towards support raising is difficult.
5. Perpetual and unrelenting high levels of
stress: In some ways, this fifth factor includes all of the previous ones,
but we want to consider it separately to underscore its importance as an issue
and need in cross-cultural ministry. Our
informal research over 20 years on the levels of stress experienced by people
in cross-cultural work reveals some remarkable facts. First of all, the amazing fact is that most
missionaries DO adapt and work effectively in spite of killing levels of stress.
Other researchers have found this too (
In
addition to stressors we have mentioned, others contribute to the cumulative
load: poor health systems (water, sewage treatment, food supply, medical services)
contribute to frequent illness, putting strain on the physical self as well
as the emotional/social self. Getting
inadequate care for one's children or self may be a huge stressor.
Hassle factors of the daily things going wrong produce a string of
circumstances which demand adaptation. Getting
repairs done, finding resources, keeping schedules and other daily matters
can eat up huge amounts of time and energy. I
recall a young missionary relating how it took a whole day to find a stopper
for the kitchen sink — an errand he expected to do in 10 minutes on the way
to work. In sufficient quantity and
rate, such perpetual stress can result in culture shock or fatigue (Mueller,
1977).
We
have used a modified version of the Holmes-Rahe stress scale to illustrate
the amount of stress usually experienced in cross-cultural work. We have found that on the average, using this
scale which is not comprehensive, cross-cultural workers experience about
600 points of stress per year. The
level may peak as high as 1500 points in some circumstances, and drop to merely
“normal” for people who are in long-term, stable situations.
We
visited a refugee project in
Counselor
strategy/offering: In this arena
of external stress, the counselor can assist the cross-cultural worker who
is struggling by using a number of strategies, including affirmation and education.
1. Affirm the resiliency and coping capacity of
the client. The fact that the person
has already weathered so much change is laudable.
The fact that they may need some help in adapting further is honorable
and not a sign of weakness.
2. Allow the person to talk out experiences, especially
those that are traumatic or are troublesome to the client. Talking out relieves emotional distress as well
as bringing about insight. It can alleviate
or prevent PTSD.
3. Educate regarding the grief process in dealing
with losses.
4. Normalize stress responses and educate regarding
symptoms, responses, syndromes, etc. Most
people don't know what “normal” is, especially when removed from home culture
for long periods. Affirm that normal
reactions to stress, grief, loss, and threats to well-being are not weaknesses
or signals that the person is “going crazy.” It is not lack of “faith” or spiritual weakness
to be devastated, or frightened, or experience a loss of equilibrium.
Teach about coping strategies and help the client identify his or her
own responses and to formulate a plan for better coping.
5. Comfort, encourage, restore HOPE.
6. In relation to the stress of financial life,
affirm the difficulty of the path of faith chosen. Help the client identify genuine needs and develop
strategies to meet them. Show the client
how to enlist supports and resources available in the community (when home),
such as WIC, community programs, medical assistance and other programs.
7. In relation to the “ugliness factor” affirm
the reality of the toll of such conditions.
Help the client identify coping and balancing strategies. Affirm the genuine needs for time out, time
away, restoration such as beauty, music, and so on. These may seem like selfish luxuries to a person
surrounded by unrelenting human need. You
can give professional “permission” to engage in such renewing activities on
a regular basis.
8. Treat mal-adaptive behaviors as inappropriate
attempts to cope with overwhelming stress.
Often substance abuse, violence within the family, suicide, and other
maladaptive attempts to gain release from pressure or pain are rooted in early
life experience. The person in ministry
who is overwhelmed and unable to mobilize sufficient coping strategies or
resources may succumb to these as a “default” mechanism. Cracks in personality or key relationships become
chasms once the person surpasses the threshold for what is bearable.
The counselor can help the client identify the early forces and experience
which predispose him or her to the maladaptive cycle.
The counselor can help the person process those experiences and develop
a network of support to fortify him or her in learning new, more appropriate
responses to stress.
Helpful
Biblical perspective for handling losses, threats, dangers, and other
stresses: God promises to bring some
ultimate good out of all the loss and suffering, so our pain is not wasted
(Romans
Issues
and Needs Relating to The Cosmos
The
third area requiring adaptation when we enter cross-cultural ministry has
to do with God, and ourselves and the world in relation to God. Because the spiritual world is the “real” world
(II Cor.
1. Challenges to faith and trust: Who is God, really? Major challenges to faith and trust arise when
we engage in ministry, and especially in cross-cultural ministry. Scripture teaches that God is engaged in a cosmic
war with Satan, and that the earth is one realm in which that war is fought.
We are soldiers in the war, engaged in ministry in order to defeat
God's enemy, who seeks to devour and destroy (I Peter 5:8).
As soon as we go “front line” in battle, that is into active and full
time ministry, we become more visible targets for attacks of our enemy.
These attacks may come through circumstances, in which we battle evil
practices and conditions. They also
come within us, especially in the form of doubt about God's power in the world
and His intentions for us and others. The
central core of our spiritual self and motivation comes under attack and must
be re-worked because we face hard questions:
Why doesn't God act in X?
Does God care?
Where was God when X happened?
How can God let it happen?
If God called me here, why this?
Why doesn't God answer prayer even though I claim all His promises?
Where is God's power when I
need it?
We
have seen that U.S. Christians seem to not have a working theology of suffering.
If we are obedient, we will be “blessed” and won’t have to suffer.
If I suffer, I must have done something wrong, or am disobedient, so
I must try harder. One of the difficulties
is dealing with the question, “Why didn’t God prevent .....?”
Additional
spiritual stresses sometimes include being isolated from spiritual peers,
from a body of believers who share our perspectives and beliefs. One may be deprived of the nurture of the body
of Christ or Christian observances because of working in isolation or anti-Christian
cultures. One may lack accountability
and thus drift away from the anchors of faith, gradually slipping into habits
or practices counterproductive to ministry.
Another
significant stressor in the spiritual arena is finding differences in the
values, practices, and life styles of national Christian leaders. Being brothers in Christ, part of the same universal
body, lends to the expectation that we will be alike in working out Christian
values. But real and deep differences
compound the difficulties of working together in harmony across the cultural
barrier. Those in ministry may become
cynical, bitter, or judgmental: How
can local Christians be so dishonest, or immoral, or undisciplined?
Finding that other Christians do not measure up to our expectations
erodes respect and causes a loss of confidence.
We wonder why God allows such discrepancies.
A
child of missionaries who grew up in one Latin American country chose to remain
there as an adult in order be a positive influence on the political scene,
to hopefully facilitate change in society.
Imagine his disillusionment when the Christian party he helped to found,
which was running on the basis of making a “Christian difference,” chose to
lie to the government about the date of it’s origin as a party. In
In
South America a missionary laments the outcomes of a century of mission efforts
due to attitudes in those converted (low level of moral development, dependency,
lack of initiative), and the seeming inability of the gospel to overrule cultural
forces. He wonders if the whole mission
effort should be abandoned, with the hope that somehow the immature believers
might find a way to grow up on their own.
All
of these questions and issues center around the nature of God. They strike at the heart of who we perceive
Him to be. When He has all power, yet
does not evidence it in the world, even when we implore Him, what are we to
make of it? How can we reconcile what
we believe of God with the realities we face?
2. Superhuman expectations: In addition to the challenge of re-working one's
concept of God, faith and trust, a person in ministry may carry inordinately
high expectations for him or her self, for others, and for achievement possibilities.
This is even more true of the cross-cultural worker, who adds to the
usual expectations of ministry high hopes of becoming acculturated and effective
in a foreign setting. One young pastor
in rural, tribal
Besides
what may be superhuman expectations for cultural adaptation, the person may
expect for the self a level of maturity or even perfection which is not easily
achieved when living under high stress. He
or she may truly believe that “with God all things are possible” (Matt.
High
expectation for others, whom we may idealize because of their spiritual calling
and service, leads to disappointment, disillusionment. We may experience the failures of others as
devastating; such things aren't “supposed to happen.” An especially gifted young missionary in
Expectation
for achievement and success may also be superhuman. A couple we know was sent out, in their twenties,
“to evangelize
David
Martin Lloyd-Jones, in his book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure
points out the idealistic nature and high motivation of people in ministry
which set them up for depression. We
think that if we only work hard enough and manifest enough commitment, we
will get results. That is seldom reality,
however. Considering that it takes
a whole generation to convince people that microbes are real, and that therefore
it pays to wash one's hands and boil one's water, it should be no surprise
that bringing about deep-seated change in cultural beliefs, attitudes, and
practices is a slow process. Yet, we
persist in expecting visible change to happen quickly.
Perhaps we should teach more history in our cross-cultural training
programs, to illustrate that it took industrialization, two World Wars, and
mass media such as radio and television to set our own social changes in motion.
Of
course, spiritual growth IS possible. Conversion
of non-believers does take place.
3. Authority structures/relationships: Besides having to re-work the self and one's
concepts of God, the person in ministry has to also sort out lines of authority.
Who does, in fact, speak for God? Organizational
issues related to cross-cultural work may be complex.
Who is the authority? The sending
church, the mission headquarters, the field leader, the Word of God? What if these appear to conflict?
Attitudes
and values about leadership and authority are often heavily “spiritualized,”
involving issues of obedience, submission, “having a sweet spirit” (being
non-assertive, compliant). Those who
question may be perceived as unspiritual or uncooperative, thus cutting off
a normal flow of dialogue between leaders and followers. Such “spiritual” views of leadership also means
it is laden with expectations beyond the ordinary, as persons may expect shepherding,
pastoring, or spiritual guidance as well as managing. Because of attributed spiritual power or authority,
leaders may be perceived as unapproachable, not to be questioned.
To question authority would be perceived as challenging God!
Unfortunately, some leaders, as well as followers, perceive this to
be true!
Most
missions or cross-cultural agencies consist of “volunteers” — that is, motivated
and committed persons willing to work without a set salary. Leaders are seldom actually hired for competency
or job experience. They are usually promoted through the ranks and may lack
training and experience as managers and people nurturers, even though proficient
in other areas of work. Under such
limitations, both leader and those led may suffer. The leader may feel incompetent and unprepared,
or worse, fancy himself or herself as the new authority appointed by God.
Followers may not have their needs met.
At best people patiently endure, at worst, they may be victimized by
terrible mistakes. In one field situation, a new and inexperienced
leader was brought in. He attempted
to apply some principles he knew of, and set about “getting rid of the dead
wood,” as he perceived it, in the mission. Overnight he dismissed a couple with 40 years'
investment in the work, and sent them home with no appeal. Needless to say, they were plunged into despair,
multiple losses, and severe depression. In another case, a leader heard rumors of a
family having trouble with a teenage child, because the family had risked
asking for help. He decided to send
them home immediately, “for their own good” and in so doing precipitously
displaced a whole family and halted a ministry.
Fortunately most mission leaders do a respectable job and avoid such
flagrant errors.
Young
and idealistic workers may be particularly hurt by viewing authority as unapproachable,
as always knowing best. We met a young
couple just out of college who went to the field with a toddler and an infant
at breast. They were placed as dorm
parents for 23 children, first through twelfth grades. The wife was expected to manage six domestic
helpers as well as mother 25 children. In
her spare time she was to monitor the airplanes in flight in the interior.
The husband also served as the buyer for members in the interior.
After a number of months attempting to fulfill all these expectations,
they came to me in tears, wondering what was wrong with them for not being
able to do it all.
Organizational
and leadership issues are usually exacerbated by the lack of resources, both
people and money. Not knowing how to
set clear objectives and goals, or arrive at adequate job descriptions, may
also hinder effective leadership. Lack
of adequate communication and conflict resolution skills may be additional
setbacks. Because of the nature of
ministry, any failures or errors result in greater distress than in usual
settings. Once again, in authority-related
distress the cross-cultural worker must re-work his or her own attitudes and
understanding about the leader as representing the voice of God.
Counselor
strategy/offering: In the spiritual
arena too the counselor can assist the struggler in several ways:
1. Affirm the maddening nature of “crazy making”
realities, pointing out the nature of spiritual warfare and the casualties
it produces. Hebrews 11 is a sobering
reminder that not all the heroes of faith survived the earthly battles! Romans 8 tells us we can never be separated
from the love of God — but includes hell as one place we may experience it!
Truth does not always win and the righteous sometimes do lose out at
this stage of the war. Our challenge is to mourn our losses, and yet
somehow adopt God's eternal perspective as we fight on.
The
counselor can also teach about spiritual resources. For example we can claim this promise for our
growth: “God has given us everything
we need for life and godliness” (II
Peter 1:3). The counselor can help
the client to accept ambiguities; though we “ see through a glass darkly”
we will one day understand clearly. He
or she can remind the client that God can ultimately bring something good
out of tragedy and loss (Romans
2. Teach the difference between faith (a cognitive
matter) and trust (an affective matter). Faith or belief may be adequate due to sound
teaching and mental assent to truth, yet trust may be faulty. Trust is based in our early life experiences,
and may be underdeveloped due to faulty parenting. We may suffer lapses in trust, the emotional
feeling of God's care and presence, even though our minds believe. Our observation is that the two are often confused,
and we lack understanding about the origin and difficulty of trust.
Lapses in trust create guilt and doubt about what “kind of missionary”
one is. Fortunately, we can learn to
trust “Abba, Father” even if we experienced deprivation, neglect or abuse.
(See Romans 8:15, Gal. 4:6, Psalm 103:14.)
3. Affirm the rightness of ideals while educating
the client regarding the naturalness of human limits. Even Jesus was subject to hunger, weakness,
the need for sleep and solitude. You
can point out the ways that God ministered to Elijah after his triumphant
battle with Baal and the depression which exhaustion brought: a touch, water,
food, sleep, a gentle voice — the simplest human comforts.
4. Help a client discover and identify his or her
own unstated expectations for rewards. For
example, a physician recovering from burnout after prolonged service on the
field came to realize that he had always expected some “pay back” from the
practice of medicine — some elusive reward which never came. Thus he felt let down, disappointed, waiting
for what he never experienced.
5. Assist the client to identify his or her attitudes
and experience towards authority, leadership, following. He or she may discover that seeing authority
as unapproachable is rooted in a family pattern of abuse of authority, which
allowed no questioning. Teach appropriate
attitudes, and assertiveness skills if needed. Appropriate assertiveness helps the person express
desires, limits, wants and needs in a way that the authority has more information
upon which to make decisions.
6. Explore attitudes about self-efficacy, vulnerability,
fallibility, owning appropriate levels of responsibility, honesty.
These all interact in relating the self and the cosmos, of sorting
out who God is, what He expects of us, and the role of others in His direction
for us.
Helpful
Biblical perspectives: See
Ephesians 6; Colossians; I Cor. 15:53 & 54; I Tim. 6:16; Psalm 120; Psalm
121; Isaiah 63:9; II Tim. 1:10.
THESE
OVERLAY THE
The
needs and issues we have addressed overlay the normal issues and stages of
life. The counselor can assist the
person in sorting out what aspects of his or her distress are due to these
ordinary life stresses and which result from cross-cultural ministry. The normal growth challenges include:
1. life stage, developmental issues
2. “old business” of the family of origin
3. the effects of personal traumas, such as abuse,
old events, experiences, and environments (such as parental style)
4. communication and conflict styles
5. personality styles which influence resiliency,
coping styles, sources of stress.
All
of these “usual” or ordinary issues may be exacerbated by the stresses of
cross-cultural ministry, and vice versa. The
crack becomes a chasm under the weight of all the rest: in self, family life,
couples relationships, on-field relationships. For example, a mid-life person may suddenly
be forced to deal with childhood issues of incest, abuse, and so on. Events which have been “buried,” or “forgotten”
may suddenly re-appear due to intersection of a life stage and the high levels
of stress in ministry. (See the stages
of missionary career chart and stress chart appended.)
Stage
in
The
stage of cross-cultural ministry also influences the needs and issues examined.
(See graph and chart.) Certain critical intersections predispose the
person to problems by creating higher than usual vulnerability and by decreasing
resiliency. For a discussion of this, see Dodds, Dodds,
and Kuitems presentation to the Mental Health and Missions Conference (1993).
Suggestions
in Counseling
1. Listen
more than usual, to gain awareness and understanding of the person's radically
different experience.
2. Seek to
understand how the particular cultural context, stressors, and field experience
interact with the personality type and the past experience of the client. In the light of this help, the client gain insight
about the self and idiosyncratic responses to environment.
3. Be prepared
to act as an interface between the client and faith issues, as God's resource
(of love, acceptance, forgiveness, Biblical knowledge, wisdom), such as sorting
out the client's sense of responsibility and what is God's responsibility
in the world.
4. Help the
client sort out the self — how does she/he feel and perceive self now compared
to before cross-cultural ministry? Promote
re-building of sense of self as worthy, adequate, coping.
5. The approach
of solution-oriented therapy is useful for helping the client to identify,
create and practice strategies for change (in self, attitudes, behaviors;
not change in actual cross-cultural setting, which is generally unrealistic).
6. The cognitive
therapy approach is useful for helping the client examine assumptions, expectations,
“shoulds and oughts,” substituting new attitudes, and re-framing experience.
7. Therapeutic
exercises designed to re-play problematic experiences and relationships are
useful for gaining insight and emotional expression.
8. Keep in
mind that difficulties may be “spiritualized,” but often because that is the
only framework or vocabulary a client may have to describe problems, causes
and solutions.
SUMMARY
The
needs and issues arising from cross-cultural ministry are multiple and complex,
involving all aspects of life, work and world view. The scope of the changes demanded can be illustrated
by placing the self at the center of a sphere representing the cosmos as the
environment in which we live. In this
spiritual context or cosmos the person relates to God, to self, and to the
external world. The nature of cross-cultural
ministry demands change at all levels, stressing everything from the core
to the cosmos (perceptions of God). Ten
needs and issues arising from the cumulative and perpetual stresses of cross-cultural
ministry are discussed here. Suggestions
for counseling interventions include generally helpful approaches and specific
strategies for the issues and needs identified.
Stages
of Missionary Career
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Stages of mission career |