Many partnerships between churches in developed countries and churches in developing countries fail because the parties do not communicate well or do not understand each other’s culture and expectations. Mary Lederleitner sets out to remedy this situation in her book Cross-Cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission. The book explores a range of difficult issues including differing cultural beliefs about financial resources, the relationship between accountability and paternalism, and dealing with misunderstandings and conflict.
Westerners tend to have an individualistic approach to money, whereas people in many other cultures have a collectivistic approach. Americans often think of partnerships in terms of short-term transactions, whereas Africans may think of partnerships as lifetime commitments. Westerners may view the use of designated funds for a non-designated purpose as stealing, whereas people from other cultures may view the failure to share resources as stealing.
The author explains a wide range of concepts which should be considered to ensure successful partnership including communication and harmony, “face”, status, the meaning of gifts, ambiguity, perspectives about time, dependency, possible negative effects of foreign funding, dignity, mutual accountability, capacity building and sustainability, conflict management, and dealing with embezzlement.
Although the subject matter is very important in the context of current trends in global mission, I was expecting the book, based on its title and cover, to be fairly dry and academic. This turned out not to be the case at all. The author’s writing style is highly engaging and the content is presented in a very readable manner. In my opinion this book should be at the top of the reading list for any church which is involved, or thinking about becoming involved, in a cross-cultural mission partnership.