A Beginner's Guide to Crossing Cultures: Making Friends in a Multicultural World

by Patty Lane

The global village has arrived. Recent census figures show that communities in the United States are more culturally and ethnically diverse than ever before. And you may be just one of many who find it challenging to build relationships with people from backgrounds unlike your own. Crosscultural specialist Patty Lane answers these questions and more. She shows you how to develop hands-on relational skills that build crosscultural friendships. And she provides practical resources to help you navigate multicultural environments with sensitivity and savvy. Filled with vivid stories of real-life situations, her helpful guidebook explains frequently misunderstood aspects of culture, debunks stereotypes and suggests ways to resolve crosscultural conflicts. Above all, Lane demonstrates God's heart for building bridges across cultures and shows how you can reach out to people of every nation, culture and ethnicity. Whether you are actively ministering to people of different cultural backgrounds, traveling to other countries for your business or simply want to make friends across cultural lines, this engaging handbook is a perfect introduction to the journey.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Cultural Studies, 21st Century, Social Science, Christianity

206 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Acacia Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read! Really helped me understand some problems I have had in intercultural relationships. She incorporates the gospel and christ as the center so well.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with practical, helpful tips on interacting with people from other cultures. As we interact more with people from around the world, I think this book would be a wise read for many. I appreciate how Patty Lane addresses the impact our own culture has on our interactions, while giving basic insight into other cultures. Just having this awareness will be beneficial. I also liked her steps to action at the end of each chapter. Definitely a valuable read.

[James Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful perspective on how we see the world and the different presuppositions that we bring to faith. She lays out 6 frameworks that cultures differ on and shows common blind spots when seeking intercultural relationships while showing how significant intercultural relations are for Christian faith. It has short, clear chapters and is laid out well.

[Kaylyn]

I learned so much about my own cultural lenses and how to relate to different cultures. Everything is viewed through and influenced through our own culture - including our interpretation of spiritual texts or faith practices. Recommend this book for anyone or any group interested in appreciating and celebrating many cultures.

[Silvia Sabovíková · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really lovely book for intercultural communities - it's so important to stay open to each other's experiences and ways of living in the kingdom of God while honoring all cultures and backgrounds. some parts just seemed a bit simplistic to me

[Matias Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so incredibly practical and eye opening. I loved it.

[Emmy Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written - thought it was good info for those in a cross culture settings. Would recommend to those new to working alongside neighbors from different cultures

[Abigail Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical and data-based

[Ann Kapteyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for beginners in the area of cross-cultural friendships. One of the best parts of the book is all of the illustrations and personal experiences the author incudes. Appendix A, which lists separately all of the verses in the Old Testament that talk about caring for strangers and aliens, but especially eye-opening.

[Brian Hitchcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for students or professionals in the helping fields of human services. It is intended to help you become more aware of cultural differences and allow you to become more knowlegable. Many books on this topic are filled with bias, however the author does a good job of keeping it academically focused. You will learn what primary differences are between all cultures and it includes hints on working with clients of other cultures.It is based on the Christian faith and does include hints for bible study and bible reference.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It teaches you how to enter the world of other cultures and how to make friends with people of other cultures. It talks about the six lenses for understanding cultural differences - context, activity, authority, relationship, temporal, and reality. It also talks about how to resolve conflicts with other cultures. At the end of each chapter is something called "Connecting". It tells you different ways you can learn about different cultures. This is a very important book to read since we work with and live around people of different cultures.

[Sara Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A beginner's Guide to Crossing Cultures" was a well written, practical book. I am considering making it a text book for "Preparing to Live Interculturally". The "connecting" section at the end of each chapter and the appendices makes this extremely useful for the classroom. The material is well cited so it leads to other good resources.

This was my second time reading. The first was for a course I took, this time in preparation for a course I teach. The teacher - learner line can be hard to discern sometimes.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents interesting concepts about how different cultures think about the world and how they relate to each other in order to help the reader to be more comfortable in different situations. While I think the concepts are very important, the book is rather repetitive and I think this would be better as a discussion book than a book for personal reading.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative. Good treatment of cross-cultural communication and relations from a Christian perspective. Recommended if you are interested in missions or cross-cultural issues.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to understanding cultural differences with lots of helpful appendices.

[Matt Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an excellent primer on cross-cultural communication and relationship building. simple enough for lay people, yet with enough depth for use in an undergraduate classroom. Recommended.