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All Things to All People: The Power of Cultural Humility
Throughout the Old Testament, God gave and repeated his promise to one day gather the nations into his kingdom and bring them together as one people. Jesus boldly announced that the time had come when God’s promises would be fulfilled, and that his people should gather and make disciples of all nations. But that does not come without challenges. The more diverse a group is, the more difficult lasting unity will be. Paul understood this well, as a significant portion of his letters deal with gathering the nations and teaching the churches how to navigate cultural conflicts within the body, culminating in his example and call to be all things to all people. That is the task of the diverse church that has taken seriously the call to gather the nations.
We must constantly work at our cultural unity, but how do we do that? Which cultural norms and expressions do we use—yours, mine, or those of another group? Do we ignore these issues and simply default to the dominant culture in the society around us, allowing it to dictate our practices and community life? Or do we intentionally choose not to conform to the patterns of the world and, instead, become a body that truly strives to embody what it means to be all things to all people?
We must constantly work at our cultural unity, but how do we do that? Which cultural norms and expressions do we use—yours, mine, or those of another group? Do we ignore these issues and simply default to the dominant culture in the society around us, allowing it to dictate our practices and community life? Or do we intentionally choose not to conform to the patterns of the world and, instead, become a body that truly strives to embody what it means to be all things to all people?
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 6, 2019
12 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Michael Burns
158 books10 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 12, 2023
I listened to him read this book and provide commentary on his podcast. This is an excellent book, and really a must read(or listen) for everyone. It helped me a ton just to see how much of an affect culture can have on how we think about and react to other people's actions. The author was concise and provided helpful real world examples to better understand his points.
June 21, 2024
The title captures the theme verse of Michael’s case for the power of cultural humility in the Christian life, individually and corporately: “I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means” (1 Cor. 9:22). As stated in the introduction: “I will make the case that the gospel itself involves the call to gather up people under the rule of Jesus the King from every people group and culture. We have been given the mission to gather the nations into one family…[and] that it is far too easy for multiracial churches to slip into utilizing one culture as its default…” (p10)
The book is split into four sections: The King’s Vision, Dynamics of Culture, Bridging the Gaps, and Moving Forward, which respectively establish the conviction of cultural humility, what culture is, some general cultural differences, and what actions individuals/leaders/churches can take.
In the first section, Michael explores several theological concepts he identifies in the Bible. In Genesis, Michael sees humans made as images of God to rule on His behalf, working together in community as a model of the Trinity’s preexisting relationship. In Matthew, Michael points out that Jesus’ commission to “make disciples…” is crucially followed by “…of all nations”, which is aligned with various Psalms and prophets describing the gathering of the nations. “That is the mission of the gospel: to gather the nations into one family.” (p31). Michael argues this isn’t just about planting churches globally, but that individual churches must be diverse, per Acts 6 or Gal. 2, where conflicts of diversity are not resolved by splitting churches but by addressing the conflict. Our role in God’s mission is to “be all things to all people”, not as an evangelism technique, but as the “ethos of a community of disciples” (p39). Doing so will require self sacrificing love for “all God’s people” (Eph. 1:15).
In the second section, Michael defines culture and describes its impacts. He emphasizes the breadth of culture, the need to be aware of our own culture, and the presence of dominant cultures. His handling of dominant and non dominant cultures is helpful—he captures the realties present in this (“when all someone has known is domination or superiority, equality or flexibility feels like oppression”), but it’s clear that he’s not favoring either group (“all groups of people are called to be all things to all people, not just the historically dominant group”, p72). At first, acknowledging cultural influence on the spiritual life of a church can feel dividing, but it is only to bring to light a reality that must be respond to thoughtfully. Michael provides insights from his own context, the dominance of white American culture.
The third section covers key cultural differences, such as boundaries of family, time, money, individualism, high/low context communication, etc. this section also addresses generalities of eastern versus western culture and generation Z, which is a bit oddly placed, but I understand the relevance.
In the last section, Michael covers what culturally competent people, church leaders, and churches may look like. I found these chapters the strongest in the book, and connected much with the anecdotes he shared in this section regarding church leaders.
With the topic of diversity, inclusion, and being a culturally minded church, there are several concerns I could see arising regarding Michael’s work. He addresses a variety of these concerns well. He says, “valuing someone’s culture, recognizing its dignity, and at times participating in it for the purpose of including all people in worship of God has nothing to do with being cool” (p13), clarifying that this work is not motivated by being “seeker-friendly” or appealing. Michael addresses tolerance, which he notes “has been expanded to include acceptance…you must accept them as valid and not critique them in any way” (p41). Among other reasons he finds the virtue of tolerance unhelpful, he proposes participation. “The best the world can do is tolerance; the kingdom calls for participation” (p41). This section is a bit confusing however, as Michael states a problem of tolerance is that it demands agreeing with other views and his proposal of participation “demands that we embrace and respect the cultural expressions of others in the kingdom community” (p42), which appears to up the ante from agreeing to conforming with other cultures (this certainly isn’t intended, but this section alone is awkward). Elsewhere he clears this up noting that “culture in itself is not opposed to God’s word nor is it negative. Aspects of culture can be closer to how God wants humans to live or directly opposed to it, but most expressions and practices of culture are neutral.” (p60). It seems he is advocating that we do discern our cultural backgrounds, rejecting some aspects of culture, but broadly we should seek to participate by understanding and benefiting from each other’s cultures in Christ.
Aside from what I have already mentioned, the book is very readable, filled with suggestions for application, and seasoned with wise nuance. There is a bibliography and some end notes, but I do wish more of the bibliography was specifically called out in the endnotes where most applicable throughout the book. Also, there were moments he dropped in nuggets of theology that were off-topic at times, which could distract from the main point for the intended audience.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will refer back to it as I think through my own cultural background and engage with those of different backgrounds around me. I would encourage those who lead in churches to read this, take it to heart, and have courage to take action on behalf of all people in their communities.
The book is split into four sections: The King’s Vision, Dynamics of Culture, Bridging the Gaps, and Moving Forward, which respectively establish the conviction of cultural humility, what culture is, some general cultural differences, and what actions individuals/leaders/churches can take.
In the first section, Michael explores several theological concepts he identifies in the Bible. In Genesis, Michael sees humans made as images of God to rule on His behalf, working together in community as a model of the Trinity’s preexisting relationship. In Matthew, Michael points out that Jesus’ commission to “make disciples…” is crucially followed by “…of all nations”, which is aligned with various Psalms and prophets describing the gathering of the nations. “That is the mission of the gospel: to gather the nations into one family.” (p31). Michael argues this isn’t just about planting churches globally, but that individual churches must be diverse, per Acts 6 or Gal. 2, where conflicts of diversity are not resolved by splitting churches but by addressing the conflict. Our role in God’s mission is to “be all things to all people”, not as an evangelism technique, but as the “ethos of a community of disciples” (p39). Doing so will require self sacrificing love for “all God’s people” (Eph. 1:15).
In the second section, Michael defines culture and describes its impacts. He emphasizes the breadth of culture, the need to be aware of our own culture, and the presence of dominant cultures. His handling of dominant and non dominant cultures is helpful—he captures the realties present in this (“when all someone has known is domination or superiority, equality or flexibility feels like oppression”), but it’s clear that he’s not favoring either group (“all groups of people are called to be all things to all people, not just the historically dominant group”, p72). At first, acknowledging cultural influence on the spiritual life of a church can feel dividing, but it is only to bring to light a reality that must be respond to thoughtfully. Michael provides insights from his own context, the dominance of white American culture.
The third section covers key cultural differences, such as boundaries of family, time, money, individualism, high/low context communication, etc. this section also addresses generalities of eastern versus western culture and generation Z, which is a bit oddly placed, but I understand the relevance.
In the last section, Michael covers what culturally competent people, church leaders, and churches may look like. I found these chapters the strongest in the book, and connected much with the anecdotes he shared in this section regarding church leaders.
With the topic of diversity, inclusion, and being a culturally minded church, there are several concerns I could see arising regarding Michael’s work. He addresses a variety of these concerns well. He says, “valuing someone’s culture, recognizing its dignity, and at times participating in it for the purpose of including all people in worship of God has nothing to do with being cool” (p13), clarifying that this work is not motivated by being “seeker-friendly” or appealing. Michael addresses tolerance, which he notes “has been expanded to include acceptance…you must accept them as valid and not critique them in any way” (p41). Among other reasons he finds the virtue of tolerance unhelpful, he proposes participation. “The best the world can do is tolerance; the kingdom calls for participation” (p41). This section is a bit confusing however, as Michael states a problem of tolerance is that it demands agreeing with other views and his proposal of participation “demands that we embrace and respect the cultural expressions of others in the kingdom community” (p42), which appears to up the ante from agreeing to conforming with other cultures (this certainly isn’t intended, but this section alone is awkward). Elsewhere he clears this up noting that “culture in itself is not opposed to God’s word nor is it negative. Aspects of culture can be closer to how God wants humans to live or directly opposed to it, but most expressions and practices of culture are neutral.” (p60). It seems he is advocating that we do discern our cultural backgrounds, rejecting some aspects of culture, but broadly we should seek to participate by understanding and benefiting from each other’s cultures in Christ.
Aside from what I have already mentioned, the book is very readable, filled with suggestions for application, and seasoned with wise nuance. There is a bibliography and some end notes, but I do wish more of the bibliography was specifically called out in the endnotes where most applicable throughout the book. Also, there were moments he dropped in nuggets of theology that were off-topic at times, which could distract from the main point for the intended audience.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will refer back to it as I think through my own cultural background and engage with those of different backgrounds around me. I would encourage those who lead in churches to read this, take it to heart, and have courage to take action on behalf of all people in their communities.
December 26, 2021
I appreciate how the author uses examples from his personal life to illustrate how easy it is for us to be unaware of how our hidden cultures influence and shape our relationships with others in and out of the church.
June 1, 2022
A must read for all Christians, especially those seeking education on cultural competency. Informative, relevant, and bible based. Burns also uses stories that brings concepts to life for visual or imaginative learners.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews