MD539: Building Multicultural Teams and Partnerships (4 units)

Lianne Roembke, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Leadership
Dr. Lianne Roembke is an instructor in intercultural studies and an educational and missionary care consultant. A graduate of Washington (D.C.) Bible College, Wheaton Graduate School and the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit (Leuven, Belgium), she has served with Campus Crusade for Christ since 1970, on U.S. campuses, as (Western) European Director of Training for 10 years before working in the then-closed countries of Eastern Europe. She has lived in (East) Germany since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Her doctoral dissertation (Building Credible Multicultural Teams) has been widely appreciated among the missions community as the reference for multicultural teams and global partnerships. A believer in the advantages of multicultural teams and global partnerships, Dr. Roembke does all she can to remove the barriers that prohibit unity in the body of Christ.
Spring 2003 Pasadena

DESCRIPTION:

Are multicultural teams a bane or a blessing? Are they more trouble than they are worth? Are they an obstacle to be overcome in the work of God's kingdom? How do we prepare the way for such teams, reducing or eliminating casualties? How do we remove barriers to the credible communication of the Gospel? This course purposes to sensitize students to their own and unlike cultures to enable them to work credibly in teams and partnerships in a (sub-) culture other than their own.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Develop and articulate convictions consistent with Scripture relating to growing self-perception and sensitivity to other cultures in multicultural teams and partnerships.
• Identify problems in multicultural teams/partnerships and develop convictions correcting them for the benefit of all (especially cultural minorities in the team).
• Develop skills to enable self and team to have a credible, culturally relevant ministry of evangelism and discipleship, as foundational to the life of the church.

COURSE FORMAT:

This course will meet as a two-week intensive. Lecture, discussion, case studies and group work methods provide opportunity to explore the concepts relating to multicultural teams and partnerships.

REQUIRED READING: 1200 pages required. If you have previously read any of the required texts, please select an alternative text from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the faculty member.

Roembke, Lianne. Building Credible Multicultural Teams. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2000.
Foyle, Marjorie. Honourably Wounded. Grand Rapids: Monarch/Kriegel, 2001. (New edition)
Bonk, Jonathan. Mi$$ion$ and Money. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1991.
O'Donnell, Kelly, ed. Missionary Care. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1992. (selected pgs. 37-201)
Lingenfelter, Sherwood. Transforming Culture. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.
Chalke, Steve. Making a TEAM work. Eastbourne: Kingsway Publications Ltd, 1996.
Rinehart, Stacy T. Upside Down. Navpress, Colorad Springs, CO 1998.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Smalley, William A. "Missionary Language Learning in a World Hierarchy." Missiology, October, 1994.
Elmer, Duane. Cross-Cultural Conflict. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1993.
Brewster, Elizabeth and Brewster, Thomas. "Bonding and the Missionary Task" in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement . Winter, Ralph and Hawthorne, Steven C. eds. Pasadena: Wm Carey Library, 1981.
Cunningham, Loren and David Hamilton. Why Not Women? Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 2000.
Foster, Richard J. Money, Sex and Power: The Challenge of a Disciplined Life. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985.
Hofstede, Geert. Cultures and Organisations: Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival. London: Harper Collins Business, 1994.

PREREQUISITES:

A class in anthropology, cross-cultural ministry or related subjects is recommended.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. A 500 word, double-spaced, typed book review for each book submitted before or on the first day of class.
2. One 2500 word paper, typed double-spaced, on an approved subject related to multicultural teams and partnerships, submitted at the end of the quarter.
3. Small group work with a class report on one aspect of multicultural team life.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRUCULUM: Elective.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

Last Date Edited: January 10, 2003