Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence

by David A. Livermore, Paul Borthwick (Foreword)

Short-term mission trips are great ways to impact the kingdom. Yet they can lack effectiveness because of mistakes or naiveté on the part of participants. In this insightful and timely book, David A. Livermore calls us to serve with our eyes open to global and cultural realities so we can become more effective cross-cultural ministers. Serving with Eyes Wide Open is a must-have book for anyone doing a short-term mission or service project, whether domestic or overseas. Foreword by Paul Borthwick.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Christianity, Christian Living, Theology, Religion

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

David Livermore, (Ph.D in International Education, Michigan State University) is a social scientist, devoted to the topics of cultural intelligence (CQ) and global leadership and the author of ten award-winning books. He leads the Cultural Intelligence Center in East Lansing, Michigan and he’s a visiting research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Prior to leading the Cultural Intelligence Center, Dave spent 20 years in leadership positions with a variety of non-profit organizations around the world and taught in universities. He’s a frequent speaker and adviser to leaders in Fortune 500’s, non-profits, and governments and has worked in more than 100 countries across the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe.

Reviews

[Tara Kram · Rating 5 out of 5]

p. 36 - the importance of partnerships, not just "self-supporting" ministries

p. 61 - errors in short term missions - "it's as if you were invited to dinner at someone's house and during your brief visit you insisted on re-arranging all the furniture in the house to suit your tastes"

Need to read White Man's Grave

www.persecution.com

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read if you are going to do any kind of missions work. The author raises important questions to ask before you go and gives other things to consider while you’re abroad.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be my favorite short-term Mission book. I wish all of my fell Staff members would read it.

I think Livermore’s CQ grid is super helpful. Drive, knowledge, strategy and action are all things we need to be faithful in the midst of short term work.

Read this before you go overseas to serve.

[Alle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A still-relevant read challenging, specifically white American, enthocentlrism, egocentrism and theological correctness despite being the MINORITY Church. Livermore can come off offensive but that means you have something to learn! He challenges us to question our assumptions about the missions motivation as well as our own individually. We are challenged to consider our misconceptions of time (urgency), similarities/differences of the people and culture (over simplification/stereotyping), what’s biblical, the impact of money, authority, and more. Basically a must read for any ministry outreach leader and should be strongly recommended for those interested in participating in short term missions.

[Luke Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Livermore has some helpful suggestions for short term ministry trips (part 3). But the chiding tone throughout and the bulk of the criticisms in the book leave me thinking, "Are you sure you want to advocate for short-term mission trips?" (and sometimes, "Are you sure you're 'not interested in putting us on an overwhelming guilt trip'?" [31]). Why not just advocate for missions without this particular variety (i.e., short-term)? Maybe short-term trips are not the best use of the church's resources (cf. Matt Rhodes, No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions). Not sure I would recommend this one. Maybe just skip to part 3.

[Nila Novotny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helps you to think things through about short term missions. I've done a lot of them and have grown immensely through the experience. This book took a look at some of the things I hadn't really thought much about. Engaging the locals and joining in their life, food, daily struggles, etc. One of the biggest things is getting away from the Us and Them mentality and seeing them as individuals on equal terms. It also looks at a much larger world view than just "American". It is worth reading if you're thinking of doing short term missions. I wish I had read it a long time ago.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good in showing us some of the mistakes that short term missions groups have made in the past and how we can improve in the future. It gave four areas that we can focus on developing out cross cultural understanding and some clear steps we can take at the end of the book. One area that we can work on is developing relationships with the people that we are ministering to. Loving God and loving others is an area we can honor the Lord not only in our communities but through short term missions trips.

[Elisabeth Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Relevant Read and Call to Cultural Intelligence at Home and Abroad

This book addresses the valid issues surrounding the potential to do more harm than good in global short term missions. Beyond an analysis of the issues, it offers solutions on how to approach global missions with cultural intelligence. A great read for those who desire to serve in a culturally competent and ethical manner.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for my cross cultural to Kenya. It brought up some good points, but overall it was pretty boring and I had a hard time understanding what the author's central claim was. The book seemed to bounce from topic to topic. Still a good read, though, for those who want to be effective cross culturally.

[Jennifer Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well written book that is giving me a new perspective on how I view missions. The information about cultural intelligence was very helpful, especially since the author used several reall world examples of how it looks in real life. This is a great read for anyone going on an intracultural short-term trip or looking into full-time missions.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was reading this book as part of our Kenya mission team. I liked some of his basic points, but thought that the technical jargon really detracted from the book and also the first half of the book, I was continually left wondering "so what am I supposed to do with this?"

[Kaylah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mainly about Cultural Intelligence, which was very helpful. However, the title is a bit deceiving because the author does not really touch on the issue of how to serve with Cultural Intelligence.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read for anyone thinking about doing any sort of short-term mission work.
I went on my first mission trip without a lot of knowledge on what to expect and I feel like if I had read this boom first I could have had a better and more effective experience.
Worth the read.

[Sarah Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this to anyone who is planning on short term or long term missions. Fantastic insights, practical applications, and sanctifying warnings. A very good read.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

School textbook
This was better than the other book by the same author, but it just was relevant enough for me personally

[Tyler Timmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye opening view on short term missions

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for Churches who prioritize “missions”. Learn to follow Gods leading in your churches and learn to do it well and in a way that won’t hurt those you’re called to help.

[Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into my short term missions trip with renewed perspective. Great read for reframing why and how to do missions trips and to think long term rather than short term.

[Dogdoc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anyone interested in exploring new cultures, especially through missions.

[Doug Rumbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for young adults and prep for short term missions.

[Liz Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It brings new life to true missions and the mistakes that are made specifically by American Missionaries on short-term missions overseas.

[Mary Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening, I really didn't realize how closed my eyes were.

[Larson Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re going on a short term mission trip internationally, then this is great. I read it for a US mission trip and it didn’t apply to me very much.

[Michael Henebry]

Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence (2013), is written by David Livermore and is about the author’s experience as a short-term missionary for over 30 years. During the author’s time, he has conducted much research concerning how short-term missions engage, impact, and effect target cultures. Much of the data compiled by Livermore suggests that American missionaries are ignorant of how to conduct themselves among different cultures and insensitive to the true needs of the target cultures they wish to share God’s Gospel with.
This book is an attempt to point out the errors of Western missionary thinking, why Westerners fail to properly engage other cultures, and how we can increase our Cultural Intelligence (CQ) in order to correct these deficiencies. The book is broken up into three different sections. Part One deals with the changing face of Christianity and the fact that the majority of the Christian Church no longer lies in the West but in Africa and Latin America. Livermore points out that the typical image of a Christian woman is no longer a white Southern female that prays every morning but that of a Nigerian or Brazilian woman living in a village. He writes, “The vast majority of Christians are young, poor, theologically conservative, and people of color,” (33).
In addition to this, the author gives several snapshots of what the majority world church looks like compared to ours in the West. He discusses everything from the West no longer being the head of missional activity in the world to the differences of how other cultures view the content of the Bible. Of the former, Livermore points out that for every person in the country of Nigeria that is converted to Christianity, five of those converts become missionaries to other countries. Of the latter, he writes about how commonplace the thought that there are spiritual and demonic forces at work in the world really is in other countries.
Part Two deals with how the Western culture view missional work in the world compared to how other target countries view the missional efforts of the West. Livermore posits the question of what really drives the West to do missions. Reasons that he ascertains come from his own personal drives and also his research, such as, motivation to travel and have adventure versus being helpful to the target country. He also implies that sometimes missions to other countries are conducted in order for the sending youth to grow spiritually mature over what the target people actually benefit from the visit. Sadly, while most youth do get to reflect on the situation of others, Livermore holds that most do not have any real change in their lives from these trips. Another point that Livermore makes in this section is how the model of short-term missions was conceived because of the urgency to fulfill the Great Commission and the availability of college students during the summers (62).
Lastly, part three deals with ways that missionaries in the West can improve their CQ in order to do missions correctly and with the people in mind. He summarizes the four different aspects of CQ: Cultural Drive, Cultural Knowledge, Cultural Strategy, and Cultural Action. He uses an example of a team of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) missionaries who just arrived in China and are dealing with the first few days of their trip with their host and how these four pillars of cultural intelligence can be used and ignored. Finally, Livermore gives a small but dynamic model of how missionaries can prepare for missions, conduct missions, and debrief from missions.
Overall, I believe that the author is very harsh on missionaries in this book but I also believe that Livermore is not wrong on a single point that he explores. Missionaries in the West need to look into themselves and answer the question, “Why am I interested in doing mission?” If we are true and give a truthful answer, then we can know what our real motivation is. Our motivation needs to be service to God by loving the people that He loves, which is every face that you see every day.

[Russ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Helpful discussions, raises important (albeit uncomfortable) questions. Readers who give up on the book before making it to the end may think that the author is trying to discourage short-term missions, but if you muscle past those challenging issues introduced in the beginning, you realize that he is merely pushing us to do it better. No mission group will be worse off for reading it, but may be worse off in the long run for not reading it (or something like it). There is a helpful warning stated at various points about drawing generalizations of a people group based on limited exposure, but at points I felt that the author was guilty of this very thing. That did not discredit the book, it merely illustrated how difficult the habit is to break. One statement caught my attention and warned me about swallowing some of the research "hook, line, and sinker." He mentions the practice of McDonalds in Nepal, but there is presently no McDonalds in Nepal, and I cannot seem to find any history of McDonalds ever being in Nepal. I do not believe that the author intends to deceive with this misinformation, only that he has perhaps been misled by the research of others. Nonetheless, I have been helped by the book, and I believe others will as well. I notice that there is an updated edition available, and perhaps some of the shortcomings I noticed in the book have been addressed in the new edition.

[Nathan Little · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Livermore outlines many of the problems that come with short-term missions trips - many of them based on ignorance, wrong motivations, and arrogance on the part of those going. These attitudes, coupled with a short-term mission trip can and too often are destructive.

I resonated with his examples and agreed with his diagnosis(though I disagree with his assertion that we need to return study focus to the historical context of Jesus' life in order to best determine method - This approach seems to still be a Western academic model and it only seems to set up, once again, a path towards an objective right or wrong application). Are there not better ways of living with and finding beauty in our diverse interpretations without appealing to academic study?

Thankfully Livermore did not just settle for disillusionment and has worked to develop categories of cultural intelligence training that will be helpful to and better prepare those going into short term missions. Though this will be helpful for many and was encouraging for me - I still finished the book unconvinced that he redeemed the negative qualities of short-term mission trips he mentioned previously in the book. Livermore’s repeated admonition to “do short-term missions with a long-term view” might hint that he also still feels this way.

In Short: helpful and accurate diagnoses of short-term missions, but unconvincing or inadequate solution.

[Debra Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone leading or involved with mission work this is a must read. It help you take a hard look at assumptions made, the importance of understanding cultural Q's, and learning to identify what motivates you into mission work.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone interested in or involved with short term missions. David Livermore does an excellent job highlighting the issues that are all too common in this area, and giving some recommendations to avoid and combat those issues.

The one problem I have with the book is that if you don't read through to the end it is very easy to become jaded with the entire idea of short term missions, which is actually antithetical to Livermore's point. The concluding chapter does a great job bringing everything back into focus and giving us hope for how to better engage with the needs of the world, but that content could have been more clear earlier on.

If you are struggling through the book, I'd recommend reading the concluding chapter and then going back and reading the rest. It is definitely worth it!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book for awhile and my motivation to finally dive in and read it was David Livermore coming to speak at my church during the missions conference. I really enjoyed the session! I did enjoy the book and I learned a lot about what kinds of things can improve the way that we do short-term missions. Having participated in many of these types of trips, I read many things that I knew and already applied, and many things that I wish I had known. I do wish that the author had used more real-life examples of times where CQ (cultural intelligence) was applied and examples of when it should have been. Definitely a book that you should read if you are planning a short-term mission trip!

[Adam Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livermore does a good job discussing the current problems associated with Short-term Missions, especially noting the tendency of North American churches to underprepare in necessary ways and over describe the impact we are having on those we serve with (if we serve *with* them at all). In this way, Livermore offers a solution: Cultural Intelligence (CQ). This CQ, is described through a mixture of research, anecdotal evidence, and philosophical approaches which makes the book an easy read. It did, however, feel like it dragged on, and the 3 parts were a bit disjointed. It did, however, improve my understanding of relationships, not only abroad, but locally, and the proper means of communicating multi-culturally.