Reading: Why this Book Exists?

Read: Textbook pp. i–3 (the Preface, second edition, and “Knowing Where You Are Going and Why”)

Before You Read

Key terms: proclamation, creating understanding, interpersonal, intercultural

Guiding question: What does the author say is the central problem in communication?

[IMAGE: Graphics Brief 2 — “Two Ways to Talk: One Way and Two Way”]

What the Reading Teaches

1. A book of fundamentals. The opening page says, “This is not a book of techniques. It is a book of fundamentals, especially the fundamental responsibility given by God to create understanding of the Almighty God in every place, culture, and within every child, woman and man.” (p. i)

2. A book about giving. “The Message we have received is for giving, not for keeping.” “This is a book about proclamation.” But the author asks why it is a book about “creating understanding” and not “how to evangelize.” The answer: “this book is about communication… to ‘create understanding’ of both material and spiritual realities.” (p. 2)

3. More than sending information. “Communication is more, much more than transmitting information, more than stimulating others to do what we suggest. Communication seeks to create understanding that will enable others to make their own choices.” (p. 2)

4. A two-way process. “Genuine communication is a two-way process for creating understanding.” Communicators often stress “only a one-way process, the process of sharing information.” But “communication involves interchange between people.” (p. 2)

5. The central problem. “Interchange between people always deals with differences, whether they are called personal differences or cultural differences. The variation between people may be small, or it may be so great that even talking together is difficult. This is the central problem in communication: how to achieve understanding across differences, no matter what causes them.” (p. 2)

6. Small differences and large differences. When differences are small, “they are seen as interpersonal problems.” When they are large and marked by language, clothing, skin color, and similar things, “they are considered intercultural problems. Still, the underlying dynamics are very similar.” Once the basic dynamics are recognized, “they can be a guide in every situation.” (p. 2)

7. Two assumptions, and a third. This leads to the first two basic assumptions of the book (p. 2):

• All communication is cross-cultural.
• Culture is the way we organize our experiences.

The third assumption comes later in the Overview (p. 5). The Preface to the second edition names all three as “the three foundational positions on which Creating Understanding is built.” The third is: Communication is the human part of proclamation and discipling. (p. i)

8. Nineteen principles. In this edition the “Propositions” have become “Principles.” The number was reduced to 19 “to minimize overlap without omitting significant aspects of creating understanding.” They are now organized in three sections: foundations, frameworks, and functions. (p. i)

Reading Guide

1. In your own words, how is “creating understanding” different from “sharing information”?
2. Why does the author say personal differences and cultural differences have “very similar” dynamics?
3. Think of a person in your own family or church who is very different from you. What difference makes talking together hardest?