Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – The Preeminence of (Identity in) Christ

Cleveland does a great job wrapping the book up in this final chapter. She uses it as an opportunity to bring in a variety of ideas from past chapters in relation to her final points. One of the key points she made throughout the book that I was able to take away from it is the fact that it is extremely difficult for Christians to step out of their comfort zone and break from the patterns they are used to. I have been able to better understand this idea that our identities and cultures are too small and we need to work on acknowledging our greatest common denominator, God. He is what brings each and every one of us together with a common identity in Him. Cleveland states that “Christian groups who hope to attract more diverse members continue to idolize their smaller cultural identity.” She isn’t wrong in saying this. I can agree that while I or my church continues to reach out and continue growing in a diversified manner, we also continue to group up and find our “common identities”. This is eliminating and harming the idea of expansion and we need to begin using that word, We! Becoming a we creates a common ground.  We naturally like others much more, we become more open to receiving helpful criticism from others, we forgive more easily and are less likely to expect others to experience collective guilt, our diversity initiatives begin to work, we treat each other better, and so many more positive benefits follow. The concept of we and we together with our common identity in Christ is huge. I hope that this can be a lesson to all individuals as we expand and become a diversified church, we step back from our groups and become a We!

Chapters 8 & 9

Chapter 8 –

I could relate to many aspects of this chapter; however, it was the first couple of pages that really stood out to me. It began by discussing a professor at a Christian college and how whatever he believed was “right,” was “right.” This stood out to me on a unique level. I not only came from a public school to Dordt but I also have only ever known what it means to be Lutheran or Baptist. The Reformed religion at Dordt College was a big step for me. I was not quite sure what to expect but the first couple of months were extremely difficult. There was one course in particular that really got my gears grinding and made me wonder who was really “right” in the given situations. The professor made themselves out to be correct and then would finish everything with “if you’re Reformed.” This irritated me as a Lutheran because I knew a few differences were there but never saw them as major and this professor made it out to be right verses wrong and not something that could go either one way or another. Just as Cleveland stated, “consider the theological differences.” This is extremely important, especially in my case as I was on the edge, calling my parents and pastor weekly and considered transferring throughout that semester. When it comes to many things including theology, assumptions should not simply be made but rather acknowledged and discussed properly.  

Chapter 9 –

I had many thoughts passing through my mind as I read through this chapter. Cross cultural contact can be awkward or difficult for some people to come by as it is instinct to categorize each other. However, it can be extremely beneficial for all individuals involved. The summer before my freshman year at Dordt, I constantly checked online to see who my roommates would be and if I could get in contact with them prior to school starting. Once I was in contact with two of them for over a month, another student was added to our room. This student was from South Korea. While I had interacted with my exchange students in my high school, I had never met a student from South Korea. This scared me and made me wonder who I could compare her to. Then, I got here and I met her. It was great, we became very good friends and I spent a lot of time with many of the students from South Korea and the Philippines. I was thanked many times for helping them learn about the American culture and give them that support as they found there way around a place that is so unknown and confusing to their culture. For me it was just as well a whole new world and learning experience. I believe this diversified cultural interaction helped me grow as an individual and view those with unique backgrounds and cultures much differently.