Sarah Lanier’s Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot – And Cold – Climate Cultures (McDougal Publishing, 2000) is a helpful little book for anyone involved in cross-cultural ministry. A seasoned missionary, Lanier recounts many stories that help provide insight into the reasons why people react in distinct ways in different cultures. The book describes some of the differences between what Lanier calls “hot-climate” and “cold-climate” cultures.
Here is an example: cold-climate cultures are task driven while warm-climate cultures are relationship driven. We in the West tend to think about getting something done and getting it done on time. Those in warm climate cultures consider the entire event. In some places it is offensive to arrive to dinner on time (because it makes it seem like you are only arriving for the task and not the relationship). In other places it is offensive to arrive to dinner late (because it makes you seem like you are not respecting the other person’s time.)
Lanier also shows how the type of communication differs from culture to culture. After all, in a hot-climate culture, communication takes place indirectly. It seeks to maintain the atmosphere of friendship, whatever the cost.
The only weakness of Foreign to Familiar is also its strength. The strength of the book is its brevity and immediate accessibility. But in the interest of brevity, Laner makes major generalizations, and therein lies its only weakness.
Still, as an introduction to understanding the differences between different kinds of culture, Foreign to Familiar is terrific. Pick it up and start learning how to navigate the murky waters of contextualization!
written by Trevin Wax © 2008 Kingdom People blog
Trevin Wax is vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board and a visiting professor at Cedarville University. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has contributed to The Washington Post, Religion News Service, World, and Christianity Today. He has taught courses on mission and ministry at Wheaton College and has lectured on Christianity and culture at Oxford University. He is a founding editor of The Gospel Project, has served as publisher for the Christian Standard Bible, and is currently a fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He is the author of multiple books, including The Thrill of Orthodoxy, The Multi-Directional Leader, Rethink Your Self, This Is Our Time, and Gospel Centered Teaching. His podcast is Reconstructing Faith. He and his wife, Corina, have three children. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook, or receive his columns via email.
