A Reflection On The American Culture

I chose to evaluate my home church's missions program for this paper. A big part of this decision was curiosity; I had never in my five years at my home church heard anything of a well-formed missions program, and upon receiving this assignment became very intrigued. I interviewed a good friend of mine, who is also an elder at Kentwood Christian Church, by the name of Mike Boumis.

The “Letter from the Birmingham jail” was a great letter. Written by a very eloquent man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the letter was very persuasive and I believe it must be hard to disagree with him after he made so many valid points. That is precisely what will be discussed.

Last Sunday at church Father Ron said something that hit home for me. He said that a mission begins with an invitation. I grew up in a rural area in the highlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Life was not easy and I always made a point of maximizing the opportunities I got. I grew up knowing that I wanted to be in a profession that really helped people improve their wellbeing. When I got the opportunity to go to university I choose to do Biomedical Science because I was very good at science and I thought that being a scientist was my calling. However, becoming an adult and having varying experiences like volunteering in a children’s home, working in the field doing research, working in a laboratory and currently working as a nurse aide has taught me

1. How can an understanding of the complexities of culture help us make sense of the day-to-day world which we live? Give an example from your life to illustrate your answer.

It is important to have a good understanding of culture; it helps the church to make right leadership decisions as it ministers across cultural boundaries. It is also a blessing to do the work of the Lord. You have to be well equipped to face the different spirits that you will have to encounter. Cultural understanding is vital for ministry effectiveness and for emotional health of cross-cultural workers. Missioners will most effectively fulfill their call if they become ardent students of culture (Gailey, Culbertson p

I. Leadership context A. Leadership context and background I have spent most of my career working for The Walt Disney Company, specifically in the online segment known as Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI). At DCPI, my most recent role was on the consolidations finance team supporting the Vice President. Our team managed the global consolidations of the financial details for the entire segment. The Vice President was responsible for our small team of five, but also led other strategic initiatives within the organization, such as volunteer events or mentoring workshops. On a personal level, I admire him greatly and have modeled my management style after the attributes he has demonstrated.

Contemporary American culture is defined as common themes of political attitudes, religious beliefs and news events that lead trends during the present time. Today, we see contemporary American culture portrayed in many more ways than that. We see it through art, music, and literature. In literature, for example, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula Le Guin, contemporary American culture is portrayed throughout. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas represents contemporary American culture by portraying the exploitation of others, the symbolism of Americas political systems and oppression of the lower classes, and the lacking of moral responsibility.

Effectiveness in missions is not simply a matter of having a better technique—nor is it solely dependent on us having a smart, integrated strategy, even though that is essential. The ultimate and critical ingredient is our relationship with the Lord and our willingness to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). Jesus also said, “If you love Me, keep My commands” (John 14:15). The question is where to start and how to get into that space where we can be most effective at discipling. We propose that many of us as individuals and also as a church need to go right back and start at bedrock. The Bible has some very graphic imagery for building our lives on a poor foundation. Older readers may recall singing a chorus about building a house on the sand and inviting ruin when the rain came down and the floods came up. The house built on the rock survived. Simple stuff, but full of truth. It comes from Matthew 7:24.

By attending the missionary trip to South Africa, I have touched the lives of many just as they have for me in their own ways. However, they may not even realize that they have changed my life for the better. Some touches are like a ripple in the water; blending and mixing to create a beautiful harmony. Others are like a splash. They transform people's lives with grace, mercy, and forgiveness; they bring people closer. When one thinks of a mission trip, what is the general assumed illustration? A group of Christians reconstructing non-believers into religious disciples? Churches being built so that worshippers have someplace to go to interact with Christ? For me, a mission trip can be that or something small, like we seemed to do while recently visiting Southern Africa.

Over the years, I have had the great pleasure of taking part in several things that have turned out to be incredible learning experiences. One of the things that I have begun to do in recent years is going on a mission trip with the youth group at my church every year. Starting in the summer of 2013, we have taken about a week out of our summer each year to assist in the clean-up of natural disasters for less fortunate families. Surprisingly, these unpleasant, hot, humid, and smelly days have been some of the most memorable experiences that I have ever taken part in and have taught me an important social lesson. I learned, and relearn every summer, the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate than myself in any way that I am able to.

Just like my classmates I agree with Pastor Rick Warren, the writer of The Purpose Driven Church who says, “I believe that you measure the health or strength of a church by its sending capacity rather that it seating capacity. Churches are in the sending business. “ It is my belief that the church is seen in two different ways: the invisible and visible. The invisible church is comprised only of those who are born again. The visible church is comprised of everyone who attend church services, who claim to be Christians. According Piper, Let the Nations be Glad! “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man (p.

During the course of the last three years, I have went on various mission trips. Most recently I went to Florida my church and I spent a four week giving back to small part in Panama City one day we gave out water and small snacks to anyone that needed another we picked up trash on the beach first we split up into groups then went our separate ways. finally when all the hard work was over our group celebrated having a clean environment the rest of the week went by so fast I didn’t realize how much time passed.When your meeting so many people and doing so much fun and heartwarming things, time  doesn’t register. I felt we really made a difference to that community

Of course, culture has a huge role in how we are brought up. This falls into the nature vs nurture idea that we discussed in previous weeks. I'm completely aware that this is something that has developed in our culture and others similar to it. Although, we can still see some division within our own country. Say you go to the southern United States, the people there aren't going to take as kindly to a woman doing, say a construction job, or any other job that is primary done by men, but if you go to say New York or California there may still be some division, but I don't feel it would be as harsh. The same goes for the entire gay marriage movement, I'd imagine the southern states wouldn't take as kindly to it as they would in some of the more

The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The

Ms. Gladson’s future classroom will incorporate a healthy mix of fun and organization. While thinking over the seven procedures I would like to implement in my classroom, it was important that I recognized the organized environment of the classroom, but also allowed for positive interaction among the students. From entering the room to leaving at the end of the day, there are important steps that even seventh graders need to remember in their classroom. I will allow one week of training; in which they will learn the procedures but receive a grace period if not completed correctly. Then, at the start of week two, I will expect them to complete it on their own. Each procedure teaches an set of expectation that I hope to see from each student.