Church PLANT Manual

Session 2: Launch and Assemble • 45

Seminar 5 Navigating Culture and Context 1 Pastor Lorenzo Elizondo

We live in a diverse and ever-changing world. The human landscape of our global cities has dramatically changed in recent years. The majority of the world’s population has chosen to live in large global cities, creating a more urbanized world. This shift and growth in population has not only produced a vast diversity of people, ethnicities, and backgrounds but also a vast diversity of culture as well. While “diversity” has become a buzzword in our modern times, and while most people believe that understanding the diversity of people and cultures is important, few can define culture or explain what it is. In order for the church to effectively demonstrate and declare the gospel to the people(s) and place(s) God has called them to reach, we must become skilled navigators of culture. I. What Is Culture? A. Dr. Davis defines culture: “Culture is that integrated, well-established, and communally defined patterns of behavior and worldview which influences the cognitive, affective, and evaluative dimensions of its expression.” Simply stated, culture is the learned patterns and behaviors that shape our values and worldview, which form the way of life for a society. B. Where do these learned patterns and behaviors come from, and how are they developed? Dr. Davis explains that there are three dimensions of culture.

1 This seminar is rooted in the concepts of the seminar “The Difference That Difference Makes” in Ripe for Harvest , pp. 139-153.