Blogging as Cross-Cultural Communication

Mark Vowels, CGO Director

Blogging is a form of cross-cultural communication.

It is undoubtedly communication; the cross-cultural element comes because blogging still represents only a certain segment of society.

My parents don’t blog – read or write them. But most millennials I know use some means of digital expression to inform others of their perspectives. For communication to succeed, the idea in the mind of the speaker (or writer) must essentially be reproduced in the mind of the hearer (or reader). Doing this is hard enough, as roommates, spouses, and humans in general can easily attest. But doing this across cultural barriers is harder still.

One of the great masters of this craft was the Apostle Paul. He knew just how to communicate for maximum effectiveness in various cultural situations. More about that to come in later blog posts.

The Center for Global Opportunities is all about communication and we’re all about crossing cultures. So we find every means of sharing our perspective about gospel expansion appealing. We hope our blog serves as a source of information, inspiration and inclination to make a difference in our world by making a difference for you.

To that end, we plan to communicate over the next several months about aspects of life and ministry that matter deeply to us. Among the topics we plan to feature in this blog are racial tensions and the role the gospel plays in reconciliation. Related to that, we’ll blog about how those who are committed to spreading the gospel should think about immigration issues. We’ll take a look at contextualization to see how much we can or should adapt to the world around us for the sake of making Jesus known and forging a path for following Him in diverse societies. That has ramifications for missionaries, but it applies to the shifting patterns of our American culture as well.

Then, in order to advance the gospel, we need to be sure we know just what we are seeking to accomplish. So we will be considering the balance between good deeds and Gospel words. Another of our aspirations is to look at the blessings and challenges of having international students studying in the U.S. in general and at Bob Jones University in particular. Finally, over the next several months we want to focus on the future of missions and contemplate how millennials could be the greatest of all missionary generations.
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Stay with us as we strive to communicate from our culture to yours.