EMQ » Jan – March 2025 » Volume 61 Issue 1
Crossing Cultures with the Gospel: Anthropological Wisdom for Effective Christian Witness
By Darrell Whiteman
Baker Academic, 2024
272 pages US$19.59
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Reviewed by Kenneth Nehrbass, PhD, author of Advanced Missiology and God’s Image and Global Cultures.
“Have you been born again, again?” This is the question Darrell Whiteman has asked students of missions over the years. The first experience of being born again is obviously one’s conversion, as described in John 3:1–15. However, Whiteman points to a sort of second conversion that needs to happen for a cross-cultural worker to be effective – just like the experience that happened to the apostle Peter in Acts 10:9–23. This conversion happens when a curiosity and love for other cultures is awakened in one’s heart.
Whiteman has taught missiological anthropology for decades. His new book draws on his experiences preparing missionaries for cross-cultural service. He notes, “In all my many years of researching and studying missionaries, I have yet to discover anyone who overidentified with the local people” (112). However, he gives several potent examples of missionaries who have under-identified with their host cultures.
Whiteman challenges a new generation of missiology students to separate cultural forms from the underlying meanings. “There are no sacred forms, only sacred meanings” (125). For example, Whiteman asks, would you identify with the culture of teenagers in the USA to the point that you would serve them communion with Coca-Cola and potato chips, instead of bread and wine? Or is it going too far to translate John 1:29 in the languages of Melanesia as “the pig of God who takes away the sin of the world?” Additionally, Whiteman provides examples of syncretism or miscommunication from places like Laos, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Whiteman has updated important models in the field of intercultural communication. For example, he explains that the communicator-message-receptor model must also recognize the role of paralanguage, context, and worldview – all of these change over time. He also developed a “2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 20” model: The first two hours shape the first two days, which affect the first two weeks, which affect the first two months, which affect the first two years, which influence the next 20 (133). One critique would be that, like many other models and theories in the field of intercultural studies, the empirical research backing these assertions is often thin. However, the book introduces some interesting empirical studies connecting personality types to the experiences of culture shock and acculturation.
Because the book introduces students to longstanding theories in missiology – from Jaime Bulato’s description of “split level Christianity” to Kalervo Oberg’s work on culture shock, to Edward Hall’s study of “silent language” (non-verbal communication) – it will be a valuable text for any college or seminary course on cross-cultural service. The book would be even more useful if it had heuristics such as reflection questions and study guides to aid group discussions. However, the content is thought-provoking and inspiring enough to start those conversations.
For Further Reading
Advancing Models of Mission: Evaluating the Past and Looking to the Future edited by K. Nehrbass, A. Arrington, and N. Santos (William Carey Publishing, 2021)
Crossing Cultures with Jesus: Sharing Good News with Sensitivity and Grace by K. Rawson (IVP, 2015)
EMQ, Volume 61, Issue 1. Copyright © 2025 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
