Leading Cross-Culturally: Covenant Relationships For Effective Christian Leadership

Leading Cross-Culturally is a book written by senior professor of anthropology Sherwood Lingenfelter that seeks to identify and understand leadership, both its culture and role, and how in accordance with Scripture, it becomes more effective in engaging with other cultures and learning its perspectives, define power and empowerment in the context of leadership, and envision constructive communities of culture. In first defining what cross-cultural leadership is, he goes on to explore how to inspire people, how to build trust, pathways to empower and what leading cross-culturally means. Lingenfelter speaks of power-seeking versus power-giving leadership and remarks that """"history of the church is littered with the tragic stories of powerful leaders who not only failed to bring about the kingdom by force but caused great damage to the church"""" (p. 122). He adds one """"of the most common flaws of leaders is their failure to ask for correction, and when they receive it, to accept it and learn from it"""" (p. 147). Works such as Leading Cross-Culturally, in tangent with the Scriptures, will ensure a more clear and respectful approach to those cultures that differ from our own and establish leaders and servants that will co-exist and both life and work interdependently as God intended. While at times, it steers away from the Scriptures to culture, it is a gentle introduction into the topic but more biblical-centred works are needed.