 Okay, okay, let's pray and then we'll start. Father God, we thank You for this day, we thank You for this time. Master, we come at this session into Your mighty hands. Lord, we pray that You would speak to us. Lord, we thank You that our sufficiencies from You and You alone, Lord. We pray that You would enable us to understand, You will enable us to put to practice. Lord, what we are learning, Lord, so that it can bring about change, transformation. Lord, the way we do things, God. I pray that it will result in even more effectiveness in the way we do ministry, in the way we work things out, God. We thank You and we commit ourselves into Your mighty hands. We give You all the praise and all the glory in Jesus' matchless name. Amen. Amen. Okay, I think last class we looked at emotional intelligence and today we're going to look at cultural intelligence. Okay, we're almost nearing the end of our sessions on this course. So we've been looking at emotional intelligence and we looked at several aspects of it, how to be self-aware, how to regulate or manage ourselves emotionally, so that we can be mature, we can understand the emotions of others as well, which is very, very important in a team setting. We looked at all that. Okay, so today we're going to look at something called cultural intelligence. We started this looking at it last class. We started by looking at what is culture. We looked at the fact that it is, you know, that it's ideas, customs, behavior of a particular group or society. Let me just put that again here. We looked at what culture is, ideas, customs, social behavior. So some of the ideas that people have, some maybe customs or the ways of doing things and also behavior of a particular group of people or society. So we need to understand or have an understanding of culture and have an understanding of a better understanding of culture. And that will actually enable us to be effective in our communication, effective in getting, you know, working together as a team. And because the thing is, culture does several things, right? Culture affects the way we do our work. It affects our, we don't realize it, but it affects our customs. It influences our customs, influences our, you know, the way we dress ourselves. Excuse me, just a minute, sorry. So culture does all that, you know, even our food habits, you know, the way we clothe, the kind of clothes we wear and our speech and everything, right? Culture plays an important role. So, you know, if you look at our own class, you know, we see that we're all from different parts of the country, right? So, and outside the country, you know, like they've, so we see that our culture is different, right? You look at the food habits, different, very different, right? Look at the way we dress, maybe there are, you know, a lot of similarities, but there could be differences also. And certain things, certain customs, certain traditions that we have are very, very different. Okay, the way we greet people, maybe, the way we greet elders, the way we treat them, right? The way we treat people when they come into the house, you know, that we could have certain things that we do, that we don't do, right? And that's part of the culture and customs, right? Like, you know, like recently attended a Hindu wedding. And this was just day before yesterday and a friend's son's wedding. So, it's there and even there, within that Hindu culture, it's that there are so many changes, so many differences. The others were saying, you know, we don't do this or we do it a little differently and so on. So, culture is, you know, it's so varied, it's so complex. Okay, now for us to have an understanding of culture is important. Why? Because the workplace has become multicultural, which means we have people from different cultures, right? It could be maybe from the same country or we could have people from a different country. Now, an understanding of culture will actually help us overcome many challenges, okay? Because a cultural difference is not just about nationality, right? Or belief because when we have, like, let's say for example, you know, when we have multi-generational, you know, like multi-cultural, what is multi-generational? It means that, you know, when we have people of varied ages, like age difference, then also, you know, the culture is different. Even within the same country or nation or people group, people of a different age, range, they are different when it comes to their culture. So, they have a variety of culture, okay? So, what is cultural intelligence? It means it's the understanding and the ability to adapt to new cultural settings, right? Let me just, that new cultural setting. So, which means that we are not rigid. See, we're not talking about compromising on truth. Okay, we need to understand that. Or we're not talking about compromising on scripture or the standards of scripture. We're talking about culture where it's not against the word of God, certain things that we do. It's just that it's different. So, understanding culture would help us understand certain behavior. You know, maybe behavior that is unfamiliar to us. Behavior that is, let me just put it clear. Or ambiguous. You know, in the sense, I think I was sharing once about a group of people to whom I was sharing the word. It's church. But then, every time I looked at them, in that group, they felt that it was actually disrespectful to look at an elder, you know, face to face, right? So, you know, if you look at someone who's a senior or maybe they consider as a spiritual leader, if you look at them in the eye and, you know, you address them or you talk to them in the eye. That means it's, you're not respecting them. Okay, the thing is to put your head down and listen. So, when I was sharing the word, I found it very, very difficult because I didn't know this. I didn't understand this, right? But then, you know, I'm looking at them to see if they've understood something and I'm sharing something and they're actually, you know, turning away, putting their head down. So, I found that very, very disturbing. I said, maybe there's something wrong with me. It's something wrong in the way I'm saying, something wrong in the way I'm, you know, sharing. Maybe I'm not able to connect with this, you know, with this church. You know, what is wrong? Then I went back and I checked and I realized that this was it. There's nothing wrong. It's just that it was different. Culturally, it was different, right? So, if I had known, then I won't be actually expecting that kind of a response, right? So, I would have been able to focus better, maybe just focus on, you know, what I needed to share and share it, right? What I needed to speak and speak it. So, these are things that we, that comes across as a challenge when it comes to culture, okay? Now, also, it means that, you know, people do things differently. For example, you know, certain cultures are, you know, they're very, very particular about spirituality. We know that to be punctual, to be on time is a good thing and, you know, we need to be on time, right? We need to, because we're honoring, it's a truthful thing to do, right? It's, you are, when you say you are on time and you want to be there at a, you know, when you say that, okay, I'll be there. This is the time it starts and you're there early, that means you're honoring your commitment, like, to be there and you're respecting the person. All that is fine. But as certain cultures, when you say, okay, you'll be there at a particular time, or when they say that, just a minute, please. Yeah, so in certain cultures, when you say that, okay, you give that particular time or they give a particular time. That doesn't mean that you need to be at that time. Let's say, you know, let's say Germany, a country like Germany, and then they give a particular time and say they give an appointment and say, okay, you be there at four o'clock, four p.m. Which means that that four p.m. is four p.m. You know, you can't go, even if you go five minutes late, that means that, you know, you're disrespecting, you know, so they have a culture of timeliness and punctuality. Even if it's five minutes late, it's showing a lot of disrespect. Whereas certain other nations or group of people, it is not so great, you know, as long as, you know, if you are there, roundabout, you know, around that time or maybe even if you're around late, you come late, it's okay. You know, like what we read is that, okay, in a country like, let's say, Brazil, South American country or even Saudi Arabia. A person of, in Brazil, a person who's very important and successful and wealthy, it's, you know, such people will arrive late, will come late, and it's considered okay. When you come late, a person who, and people believe that, okay, if a person with status and prestige is coming late, then that's fine. The crowd also accepts that as okay and shows that person greater respect. Whereas the same person, you know, if a person arrives 10 minutes late or 15 minutes late, then the person is being rude, considered being rude and disrespectful. And, you know, that's how it is. So you see, you know, culturally, you know, all these things are there, right? So for us to have an understanding of the culture or to have cultural intelligence, we will be able to address these problems, okay? And understand, okay, this is cultural. It's not that person wants to, you know, want to be disrespectful of office timings or, you know, deadlines, project deadlines, et cetera. But it's something that is cultural. But we need to address that, right? So it's not that the person is bad, but it's just that the culture, it's a cultural influence. So therefore, talk about that and say, okay, you know, here, when we say, you know, this particular time, we mean this particular time. So it's, you know, this is the culture here. So you need to make that change. You need to make that, you know, so that's something that we need to understand. Okay, so we, what we call as cultural intelligence or cultural quotient is something that's important for us. Okay, and this will also, you know, affect or influence the way people are, you know, time is just one aspect of it. There are other aspects also, which we look at it. Okay, some of the advantages of knowing these things well in advance. Okay, so you understand it. There are several components of it. You know, someone who's done a Harvard Business Review has done a study on this cultural quotient. And, you know, they talk about three components or three elements. Okay, one is the head, okay, sit right as, okay, let me just put it here. Okay, the head component, meaning it's the knowledge and understanding that you need good cultural quotient. Okay, so first of all, to have that knowledge and understanding that I need to know culturally, I need to know people, what their culture is. So that's the head component. So we, but you know, some of the things people will tell you upfront. Okay, right, culturally, this is how it is. This is what we do as a culture. This is what we eat as a culture. This is how we do it. Now, we leave our footwear out, you know, out of the house of the person. This is the culture. This is what we do. Okay, so some people might say upfront, but some most people do not say that. Okay, so we need to understand culture as we do a little research, maybe observe things, observe certain things that they do. And then we need to be able to find out. So this is a head component that we understand that, yes, I need to give some information about this culture. I need to be, you know, I need to have this ability to use these kind of ways to collect this information in order to make my decisions. Okay, and the way to communicate, etc. Okay, so that's the one element is the head, the body. Okay, so that's the second part of it. What does that mean? It means, okay, I've got this cultural information that this person or this group from this particular nation or, you know, this kind of a background. This is how what their culture is. So the second one, the head and the body means to, you know, the second component is to translate that. Okay, so which means, you know, I have this information. So how do I use that information into action? Okay, so maybe it's something to do with the greeting. Okay, now how do I use that in my communication, in my gesture, in my body language, everything to culturally, you know, make sense for this person. Okay, so that's the second one. So first was the head, second is the body. The third one is called the heart. These are just things for us to know. Okay, the simple thing is that we collect information about culture and then we use that information. Just some things for us to know. To have high culture, intelligence or cultural quotient, we need to be not afraid to make mistakes and confident enough to keep improving in order to tackle these cultural challenges. So that's the heart. So talk about three components when it comes to cultural intelligence, head, body and heart. But simply put, it means that you are aware, you keep your eyes open, you observe, you collect information about a particular culture, and then you use that information. So now when we look at outreach or reaching people, many times we do that assuming that our methods, everything, we assume that it's culturally it'll be okay. But then it is not okay. And when we look at a person with a different worldview, they may not be comfortable with you, let's say shaking hands with them. Or they may not be comfortable shaking hands you as a man or a woman shaking hands with a person of opposite gender. They may not be comfortable with you shaking hands. Maybe it's like an Islamic nation. People who have grown up in that culture and you are reaching to that group of people, then definitely you should be mindful of the culture. So we cannot say, okay, it's fine. And just put your hand out and say, okay, you can shake hands. No, it's not. So things like that, these are minor things. So we find out information. Now here are things, these are things that people will normally spell out and say, okay, you don't do this, you do this. You dress in this way and you don't dress in this way. So people will normally say that out. But there are certain things which are not said, which are unaddressed, which you will get only when you observe. These are not just mentioned out, spelled out, but you observe it. So to be aware of it means that you have a, it places you at an advantage. So you have a cultural intelligence advantage. And that will always help you. It could help you in the team that you're leading. A person of different people of different culture are in your team. Or it would also be the people that you are reaching out to. Let's look at four practical aspects of cultural intelligence or cultural quotient. First one is called the drive. Let me just put that out. So cultural quotient, the drive, it is a motivation to learn about and respond to a different culture. So people who do not care about this will find it very difficult to adapt. So when you have a motivation, when you have a drive and you're sensitive, this is a different group, this is a different culture. So I need to understand when you have that drive and you have the motivation, then you are more likely to succeed. So how do you strengthen this? Get to know people in different communities and social groups. Get to know the people and have conversations with people maybe in different settings. It could be a church setting, it could be a non-church setting. Therefore it will help. The best way to do is maybe if you are able to serve or volunteer, let me just put that here, volunteer for projects that put you in touch with different people of different cultures or different teams. So it will help you to understand the culture. So you can always read about it. So this is the first thing, drive. And one thing to understand is we need to have confidence in order to address these things. Because really unfamiliar setting can be very, very challenging. Especially if it's a different culture, you're not sure what you're doing is right or wrong. So it can be very, very unsettling. You need to understand and with the understanding comes the confidence. So it means the second one is knowledge, cultural knowledge. So cultural, first of all, you need to have the drive. Second one, you have or you collect information and knowledge for the culture. It doesn't mean that you have to know every detail of the culture. It's about knowing in general what shapes people's behaviors, values and beliefs. And you understand that the individual rules of behavior make much more sense. So that's the second thing about culture. So for example, this knowledge will also help us in our communication, in the way we speak, in the way we greet and also the kind of food. So when you know the culture, so we know that. When we greet others in a certain way, then that is culturally acceptable. It's not necessarily good or bad, but then in this particular culture, this is how it is. So we can adapt to it. We can adapt to it. Especially if we are the people who are serving, if we are reaching out to them, then we can adapt to it. I know of a person who actually was reaching out to people in UP. So he actually sacrificed quite a bit. I'm not sure if I've shared it here, but he went to live with them and he knew that they would dress differently, eat differently. So he learned the language, of course. He trained himself for it, learned the language. Secondly, he learned the customs and behaviors. And he said, okay, I want to be with them like them. And so he changed even the way of the way he would dress. He would normally dress up in a jeans and t-shirt, but he was reaching a people who were very, very conservative, very, very traditional. So it was a typical Indian way of dressing. The men would wear dhoti's. The men would actually wear dhoti's in a different way. It is not the way things would be done here at South. They would wear the white dhoti, but they were tied in a different way. So he also said, okay, I'm going to do that. And he grew up here. He changed all that. He learned the language in order to reach out, in order to be among the people, in order to not be seen as different or someone from the West, but to be with them and to share Christ with them. So he did that as a sacrifice. So it is possible. It is a challenge, but it is possible. But you just need to decide, okay, if this is what it is, if this is what is required, then let me make that change. Some places, you know, if it's urban, if it is a city kind of a ministry, or you have people who come from the city and who, you know, not necessarily, you know, have that kind of a cultural background, then you don't have to, right? You don't have to really go and you don't have to really make that change yourself personally. But, you know, this is what he did. So it is a sacrifice, but he did that in order to build a bridge and reach people. Okay. So and also with regard to the food, right? He became a complete vegetarian, complete vegetarian in order to, you know, reach them, so on. Okay. Right. So that is where the whole thing of strategy comes out. Okay. So if you're culturally aware, then the strategy that you use or the manner in which, okay, I'm just putting out that word as strategy. Okay. I think all of us know the meaning. It's the method, right? The strategy or the method that you use in order to do whatever. You become culturally sensitive. Right. And you do that. Right. So, for example, the, you know, I just read somewhere that, you know, like, for example, let me just share that with you. Just one second, please. Let's say if it's a, so here are three countries and three, you know, three words which are next to the country. And all this refers to grasshopper. Okay. Grasshopper. So in the U.S., a grasshopper is an insect. It's a pest. Right. It is eating the crops. It's a pest. Which means it needs to be eradicated. Whereas in a country like China, the grasshopper could be a pet. Right. It could be kept in a small container. It could be kept at home. It's a pet. And in a place like Northern Thailand, sorry, Northern Thailand, it's food. Right. And it has an appetizer. So you see the difference. Right. So it's the same thing, but perceived differently in different places. Okay. It's one simple grasshopper, but perceived differently in different nations. Right. So since you know that that's how it is perceived, so the way your strategy is, okay, it could be a strategy to communicate, a strategy to reach out, a strategy to maybe, you know, you're working in an organization. You want to, you know, you want to extend a certain product or sell a certain product, sell a particular service. All that changes. Right. You know that. Okay. This is how it is viewed. This particular insect is seen differently. So, you know, I need to, if that strategy involves this particular insect. Okay. So I need to change the way I communicate that. Okay. Just an example. Right. Because it's not seen as an appetizer in the US. So I cannot, you know, if I want to bring that as a food thing, I cannot communicate that as an appetizer there because it's, it doesn't work at all. So I can completely leave out that group of people. Right. So just an example to show that how, you know, our communication needs to be, our strategy needs to be different when it comes to the culture of the people. So here are some things to, you know, to be culturally sensitive. Okay. Let me just, okay. The first thing is question. Ask yourself this question or question your assumption. You know, why do things happen in different ways in different cultures? Why is it? Right. Because there's a deep-seated, you know, there's a deep-seated truth or deep-seated behavior. There's something behind the way they, behind the way they do things. Right. If, let's say they are, you know, putting their footwear out. And I'm sure, you know, in India, we do that. We keep the footwear out. Why? Right. It's, it's, why is it, why are they doing that? There is a reason. It could be, you know, because of hygiene. It could be because of whatever, whatever. It could be several reasons. So you, you know, ask the question. Right. Secondly, what will help us is also local media. Entertainment. It can also give us fresh insights. It can give us new insights into how people behave because of culture. Okay. What is on the media? What is, maybe popular forms of entertainment? Right. It gives us understanding. Just one minute. I, I just excuse me for a minute. Okay. Sorry about that. Okay. So the second thing is this. Okay. The third thing is to keep a journal. Prince also having some issues. Okay. To keep a journal, to keep a diary of all cultural observations and, you know, what are the successes? What are the challenges? It will always help us to understand, you know, the culture. So this is, you know, especially if you're doing something multicultural, you know, our cross-cultural, it's, it's very, very important. Let's say, you know, I have a friend of mine who was actually, you know, who's, he and his wife, they, they are in Singapore. He's Indian and she is, she's not from India. She's from Taiwan, but they met in Singapore. They're based in Singapore, right? So now they are getting trained to go to another nation, but it was a communist nation, right? And I can't really mention the name of the country because it's kind of, you know, secretive, et cetera. So they're getting trained to go into that nation. And so learning the language, learning the, you know, the culture, it's very, very important, right, for them to be able to, not just because you can learn the language and you can go and communicate with people, but, but it's the culture which will actually give you acceptance, right? It's knowing the culture, which will actually break down a lot of barriers because also there could be a cultural barrier. And unless you overcome that barrier, you cannot really, you know, communicate well. Okay. So, so they spent many years, they are still spending, you know, some time getting trained for that cross cultural mission. So you see that it's very, very important. Okay. So we looked at a few things that would help us to overcome those challenges culturally. The last thing is how you actually, you know, it's called action. So how you actually do that, you know, how you actually live out what you understood as a different culture, you know. If you enable, if you help, if you, if you, because of your sensitivity, if you have sensitivity to culture, you help them, then it is so very useful. It will immediately build a bridge. You know, I used to meet a person from the US. He was here in, you know, Bangalore for some time. And the fact is that as a family, they had actually ministered in an Islamic nation and they were also, you know, ministering to people who are from Islam, Islamic background. So they were very, very mindful of some of the words they used, the language, the way they, you know, the spoke, the language, the mannerism, everything was very, very different. They understood so much about the culture. They had understood so much, not just the world view. Okay. Not just what they believed in. So they understood so much about the people, about the customs, about the culture of people that they were able to, even though they came from a totally different background, you know, they looked different, you know, skin color, everything was different, but they were able to build bridges with the community more than, you know, people who lived here as, you know, as Indians. They were able to build bridges so much more because they understood the culture. And they were able to overcome that cultural barrier. Right. So a cultural intelligence or cultural quotient is so very, very important. It helps us actually cross over that divide and it's a very important life skill. So we looked at two things being, one is emotional intelligence and the other one is cultural intelligence. Okay. Now, for example, you know, maybe some of us will be asked to, or maybe God is leading you or putting a burden in your heart to, you know, to minister to a totally different culture. Right. It could be in the nation itself, but the culture is totally different. So all this would matter, right? To be culturally sensitive, to be able to engage is a different. All this would matter. Right. Because if you look at the nation itself, our nation is so diverse or so different culturally. Right. Now, look at a place like Bangalore and you move a few kilometers outside and you see the culture is different. It's very, very complex. It's very, so it's very challenging. Okay. So, especially for those of us in ministry, if we are to minister cross culturally, right, we need to be mindful of this. Okay. Understand this and God will give us the strategies. God will give us the, you know, the ability to bridge the culture, right, to cross over or whatever barrier is there because of culture to be able to, you know, to overcome that barrier. Okay. Any questions? Any doubts? Anything about culture? Right. So I just want to ask, you know, what is it that you see let's say the culture from where you are very different from, let's say in a place like Bangalore, what do you experience? You all lived in Bangalore. Right. I think most of you, except Neelam, I think Neelam is in UP, but some of you have, you know, been part of Babu College. So what is it that you noticed in your place? Maybe it's your family, it's where you come from, which is very, very different from the way things are done in Bangalore. Anything that you noticed? Dave, you could share, Karnan, Erin. Okay. Kiran says food and language. Of course, language definitely, right. The language is so very, very, it's a different language altogether. Food, okay. So what kind of... So you're from Kolkata, no, Kiran? Kolkata, so what food is less spicy or more spicy? There. Yeah, food is definitely one of the culture. Okay. The dress is how people dress. Yeah. Obviously, language is vast differently. And... Any other customs, Dave? Customs that you noticed? Actually, even though I've stayed in Bangalore, but I think we couldn't be with the locals to know about more of the culture personally, as I'm speaking. Okay. So I'm not sure about the custom and more of the thing, but only the thing that we notice when we see or look around, when we go around and that's what I'm saying. The food there is kind of good, but it's... You call it very spicy with all the spices, different kind of spices, masalas there. Our food is... We have masalas, but not so much of masalas. And a lot of chili. Chili is spicy. So those kind of things. And South Indian food you put salt in curd. And we never eat curd with salt. We always... We have sweets. We put sugar in the curd itself. Yeah, those kind of thing. Yeah. Any customs that you noticed, Dave? Maybe greeting people or any customs in the households that you notice which were very different? Custom mainly... I think it's only the language only how you greet. You say different languages. But you greet the elders and you greet those who are older to you. Like you show them respect. I think it's kind of the same thing here. Okay. Fine. So I see here, okay, Aaron says food. Yeah, it is a mixed culture. Okay, so Kiran. Yeah, everyone. There's a lot of fish being consumed in West Bengal. That's for sure. Yeah. Okay, so the South Indians very hospitable. Yeah. That's true. We're just talking about something that is different. Like from other cultures. Like from where you are. Oh, I see. Okay, so the women... Okay, Prince is saying that you should not look at your brother's wife's hair when it is uncovered. Oh, I see. Okay, so the women always cover their hair. Okay, so that's a different... That's definitely a big shift. Right? It's a big change in culture. Right? So I guess... So where are you from, Prince? What's the name of the place where you're from? Yeah, from West Bengal, but a little... ...upside from Kolkata. Okay. Yeah, what is the name of the place? Name of the village? The town. My district is Dakshin Dineshpur. Sorry? Dakshin Dineshpur. Okay, okay. In my town, in my town is Balugat. Yeah, I remember that. Yeah, Balugat. Balugat, no, okay. So, yeah, so you see so much of a difference even within the state. And so if we were to, let's say, have a meeting there, you know, have some kind of a thing and we want to interact with people, then we should be mindful of this, right, Prince? So let's say if women are coming there to minister and sing and all that, so it's best that they cover their hair. Is that correct? Yeah, yes, sir. Yeah, okay. So these are things that... So it's being sensitive to what is the prevailing culture there. We're not, you know, scripturally, you know, we're not doing anything scripturally wrong. We just need to be respectful of that culture and then do that, right? See, here in church, here in the city, we... Some churches, of course, people actually, you know, remove their shoes and go in or remove their footwear and walk in and... Whereas some churches do not, you know, it's fine. You just wear the footwear and go. So if you're in a place where that is the culture, so it's better to, you know, respect that and do it. As long as it doesn't conflict with the truth of God's word, right? So there's no problem, right? So that's the thing. So to be culturally sensitive. So this is another aspect of, you know, a skill that we can intentionally look at. You know, we may not have considered it intentionally, but if we intentionally look at it, then our, you know, our outreach strategy, our communication strategy, even when we are preaching, teaching, you know, you're ministering in that place, then you're mindful of this. And so you're, even when you share the uncompromised truth, you know, just to be sensitive and to make those small adjustments will really go a long way in overcoming the cultural barriers, right? Okay, so we'll stop here and next class we will look at change. Okay, how to anticipate change, how to prepare for change. So we will look at that and then there is one more chapter which is continuous learning and with that we come to the end of this course, right? Okay, so yeah, so we'll just one second, sorry, I'll just stop the recording.