In response to some things stirring within me, along with the sense that there is some cultural context we are striving to find yet failing in our search, I am devoting my blogspace on Thursdays to what I am calling “3rd Culture Thursday.” It’s an exploration and conversation related to the idea of third culture kids and how we as the church should move towards embracing the concept within our own communities. This whole 3rd culture idea became aware to me from reading Dave Gibbons‘ book: The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership For A Third-Culture Church.
Gibbons defines 3rd culture as:
The mindset and the will to love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort.
A key element to the discussion is this idea of being committed to something while being in the midst of pain and discomfort. It involves honesty, conflict, hard work and an attitude of openness. These are all hard things to deal with on an individual basis, but imagine what life would be like if we were to take them all on once and then some. Imagine the amazing things that come about if we would at least try.
Here’s a video from Dave Gibbons that gives a bit of insight on the 3rd culture mindset:
Does this resonate with you? Are you intrigued? Beginning to feel a sense of connectedness? If so, it is my hope that this forum will help educate and be used as a way to lend a voice to others and engage in some new dialog.
Learn more by visiting Dave Gibbons’ 3rd culture website: http://www.3culture.tv or by reading his book: The Monkey And The Fish. Also, look for tweets with the hashtag #3ct or follow the aggregate list of tweets on twubs.com/3ct as I will be tweeting 140 characters at a time throughout the week to help facilitate better understanding and dialog on 3rd culture.
See you here next Thursday as we kick-off the conversation with a post titled “Who is your neighbor?”
Related posts:
- 3rd Culture Thursday: Who is my neighbor?
- 3rd Culture Thursday: Multi-Cultural vs Third Culture
- 3rd Culture Thursday: Why bother?
- Third Culture
- Dave Gibbons Blog Tour Stops Here!
Tags: 3rd culture, church, multi-cultural, multicultural, third culture
Great website. Thanks for starting it- I am looking forward to experiencing the truth that emerges from this. Thanks Dave.
Tony, thanks so much for your inspiration in my journey to better-understand and help facilitate a third culture mindset and environment. Your leadership and vision along with all at Newsong are second to none in this movement!
I think I’m a 3rd culture person where everywhere is home yet nowhere feels like home.
Samuel: Unfortunately, that is the dilemma of being a third culture kid. I’m doing my best to open my eyes to the richness of diversity and how those varying experiences, within differing contexts, can be brought together for the glory of God in our communities. Thanks for being a part of this for a short time!