In the Great Commission, Jesus told his followers to "go and make disciples of all nations". But today, you don't need to be a missionary in another country to come across different cultures. In your neighborhood, school, workplace, and shopping area you probably run across many people with backgrounds vastly different from your own. To have an effective ministry in the U.S. today, outside or inside the church, Christians need to be aware of how people's culture affects the ways they think and live. Talking about Cultural Diversity in Your Church gives classes, workshops, or small groups the opportunity to discuss issues of multiculturalism. Presenting what culture means in the first part of the book shows how understanding and misunderstandings of culture affect American society. This beginning section encourages readers to be aware of their own cultural assumptions and how these assumptions color relations with others. It then highlights special skills for communicating between cultures and highlights the special challenges for religion in a pluralistic society. But the heart of the book is eleven case studies with discussion questions. These concrete cases allow participants to see about how their understandings of culture have real world implications. And the discussion questions let participants talk in meaningful ways about these difficult issues. If you want a useful discussion about multiculturalism in your congregation, you should take a look at Talking about Cultural Diversity in Your Church. Visit the author's web page

Chapter 1 The Challenge of Cultural Diversity Chapter 2 Background Issues Chapter 3 Culture in Social Science Perspective Chapter 4 Reflections on Cultural Diversity Chapter 5 The United States as a Pluralistic Society Chapter 6 Special Challenges for Religion in a Pluralistic Society Chapter 7 Skills for Effective Intercultural Communication Chapter 8 A Case Study in Communication Across Ethnic Borders Chapter 9 A Case Study in Religious Pluralism Chapter 10 A Case Study in Social Class and Social Resonsibility Chapter 11 A Case Study in Gender Rights Chapter 12 A Case Study in Sexual Orientation Chapter 13 A Case Study in Aging Chapter 14 A Case Study in Disability and Community Chapter 15 A Case Study in Racial Attitudes Chapter 16 A Case Study in Language as Social Capital Chapter 17 A Case Study in Family Organization Chapter 18 A Case Study in Interfaith Cooperation Chapter 19 Conclusion