A Brief Reflection on Personal Cultural Experiences

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American life is an experience in cultural diversity, for those who would recognize and engage it. A cross cultural experience can be realized by simply traveling from one end of Pennsylvania to the other. I, for example, was born and raised in the rural woods and hills of Western Pennsylvania; I now live in Lancaster City, which is on the Eastern side of PA, of course. The cumulative experiences had on both sides are a virtual lesson in cross cultural living. Western Pennsylvania is beyond rural. Whatever images come to mind when you ponder the “country” concept or idea, be assured that the part of Western PA I grew up in is far to the left of whatever your mind conjures up. Life was, when I was growing up there, all about off road vehicles, farming, garages, duct tape, tobacco, beer, gas station coffee, and hunting. We had three days off from school every year for buck season. That’s an event! My life experiences in Eastern PA could not be more culturally removed. I’m living in a city where life revolves around art, community, environmentalism, activism, government and good cafe specialty coffee. The differences between the two cultures are wide and very, very real. Experiencing both of these places has made me a much broader thinker. I honestly desire to relate to the people living in both experiences so as to communicate the one message – the gospel – that would unite us in spite of our differences in lifestyle.

There are forty-nine other states (and one district) that share the same diverse cultural traits that characterize Pennsylvania. When I was nineteen years old, I hopped on a Greyhound bus and moved to Los Angeles, CA for three and a half years. Needless to say, Los Angeles introduced me to a cultural experience that I would never have realized in my small portion of Western Pennsylvanian farm country. There ethnic diversity alone was astounding. The accompanying religious, social, and political diversity present amplified my already booming cross cultural experience. Truly, Los Angeles was a mosaic that reflected more of the larger world. It had to be…

The cultural diversity beyond America’s boarders is just awesome. The world is a very large place and it is full of color. We would be a better people, would that we actually journey beyond our familiar and immediate confines towards the different people groups and cultures that do exist in our world. It would be a good thing to engage our global diversity, to say the least. I had an opportunity to do just that in January 2006, during my second year of seminary. An important component of Lancaster Theological seminary’s M.Div program requires all students to fulfill a cross-cultural requirement. Our class’ cross cultural requirement was a three and a half week trip to Turkey and Lebanon. There we were immersed in Muslim culture. I am convinced that one cannot honestly begin to understand Muslim culture basically until he/she actually wakes to the sound of the Muslim call to prayer at daybreak. Beyond that surreal experience was the incredibly intimate and meaningful personal interactions I shared with Turkish, Kurdish, and Lebanese brothers and sisters. We also stayed at Near East School of Theology and had the opportunity to interact and converse with Iraqi, Swedish, and German students. It was an awesome and edifying time.

I’m convinced that the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth is all about cross cultural experiences. We are all missionaries in a foreign land called to honest relationship. We must relate and understand one another to accomplish this and fulfill our call. So, don’t get too comfortable.

Have you considered your own cross cultural experiences? I bet you have had many of them, right there in your own neighborhood. What cross cultural experiences have you had lately?

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