 If you have been in Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for a while, you have likely heard teaching on the Belief Tree, Worldview, and YWAM’s Foundational Values. Let us delve deeper into these concepts.
YWAM addopts Darrow Miller's teaching of the Belief Tree from his book he co-authored with Scott Allen (2006), The Forest in the Seed. The book starts with the power of ideas. The Bible reveals a fundamental principle, 'For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he' (Pr. 23:7 KJV). This principle applies to individuals as well as entire cultures. The key to cultural transformation, therefore, lies in the transformation of the mindset or worldview of a people. (Allen & Miller, 2006, p. 13). When we address changing culture, we must first address the worldview of the people. This is true when we are discipling nations, and it is equally true when changing the culture of a YWAM operation location. Allen and Miller (2006) later write, Just as the quality of the soil and roots of a tree determines the quality and variety of the fruit produced, so it is with our ideas.… The deepest beliefs, assumptions and convictions of a people will determine their values, feelings and emotions. These, in turn, establish their patterns of behavior; and finally, their behavior has consequences for their lives, the lives of their families and their society. (pp. 14-15) This is the core teaching of the belief tree. Nevertheless, I do want to focus on the first sentence of the last quote. The quality of the soil and roots will determine the quality of the fruit. From there, Allan and Miller (2006) state, "As a formula, it may be expressed as follows: "BELIEFS >> VALUES >> BEHAVIOR >> CONSEQUENCES” (p. 15) The belief tree teaching tells us that our beliefs (the roots) are ingrained in our worldview (soil). “When we speak of worldview, we are speaking of the total set of beliefs or assumptions that comprise the mindset of an individual and determine what they value and how they behave” (p. 15). A person’s worldview comprises the cumulative set of beliefs/assumptions that influence their values and behavior. These beliefs are not like a theological, doctrinal statement clearly written out and cited but are assumptions deep in one’s subconscious, rarely processed and questioned. Therefore, the quality of our values' application is directly related to the soil and the beliefs/assumptions. Often in YWAM, when the belief tree is taught, the focus is dealing with the roots. The roots are what we believe about God, humankind, truth, and choice (Cunningham et al., 2014). Darlene Cunningham (2020) and Miller both teach that the soil represents "…the environmental worldview that influences people – it may be Buddhist, Hindu, Animist, Muslim, secular humanism, etc. The roots represent the basic beliefs" (p. 37). However, neither Cunningham nor Miller addresses cultural lenses in line with the belief tree. Religion plays a significant role in a person's worldview; nevertheless, many cultural concepts are transcultural beyond religion. Nevertheless, cultural lenses are a part of a person's beliefs and assumptions. Assumptions are accepted as truth and rarely questioned. Cultural lenses need to be considered when applying our values. We need to remember that a person's worldview comprises culture and beliefs. Both lie underneath the soil and are unseen. Taking it a step further, Allen and Miller (2006) expound on worldview. Worldviews act like the computer software that runs the hardware of our lives. Worldviews are not only personal, they are also corporate. Consider an organization that you are affiliated with, perhaps your church, or a Christian organization – or even your family. Within any group or organization, there are a dominant set of ideas, beliefs, assumptions and convictions that shapes its "corporate culture.” (p. 15) In YWAM's context, we do have our own culture. When visiting different operating locations, there are differences in culture seen. This can be due to the host country's culture, especially when most of the staff are from the host culture. The worldview (soil) expresses itself through a YWAM location. Nevertheless, we are linked together by specific commonalities. All YWAMers have completed a DTS, and they strive to live by the same values. However, there are times when things do not feel right in a YWAM location, indicating a misalignment. Allen and Miller (2006) addressed this: These dominant ideas will determine the values and principles by which the organization functions. These values may be the same or different than those written down in a corporate values document. Yet these operational values – stated or unstated – inform the day-to-day practices, programs and activities of the organization. (p. 15) When we in YWAM do not live our "written values," we embrace our unwritten values and apply those to our daily lives and activities. One can conclude that if a person is applying an unwritten value, it is rooted in an unprocessed assumption/belief embedded in their worldview. This is why YWAM needs to teach a deeper understanding of our beliefs and assumptions along with the values. One's beliefs are more organic than logical. Discovering one's beliefs on a matter takes time to unearth and process. That said, there are times when two people from two different cultures apply a value, but the outcome looks very different due to their worldviews. One person from one culture sees someone from a different culture doing something and thinks they are not applying the value based on the observer's cultural application of it. In the book, Walking Naked into the Land of Uncertainty, Rawlins (2012) gives us more insight into values when he wrote, You can’t separate your emotions from your values. If you feel strongly about something, it is the expression of a value. If you fear losing something, it is an expression of another value. All of the feelings of the heart can be traced back to values. I would say that your emotions are the language of your heart/values. (p. 46) To discover their “unwritten values,” a person needs to trace their emotions back to the value. As Rawlins (2012) stated, Jesus came as a radical. To be radical means to go to the root or origin of something. The root or origin is at a heart level, a value. This was Jesus’ life. He was a radical and was always going to the root or origin of issues in the lives he was dealing with. (p. 51) What is clear is that many times a person’s values are not clear. One may think they value something, but their emotions expose them that their value may lay elsewhere. In most cases, the values are hidden from the person who carries them. This is when tension in one’s life reveals their emotions and exposes the person’s values. As Rawlins (2012) says, Tension is God’s gift to us that signals there is a difference or misunderstanding and we need to talk about it. Tension is a part of love and if we try and remove all tension, then we lose love and relationship as well. (pp. 107-108) God loves man so much that he uses tension in an individual’s life to bring to light one’s value through their emotions. From there, a person can dig deeper to find out the hidden beliefs/assumptions they may carry. If that person is a Christian, God can then uncover any unbiblical lies one is believing. From there, we move onto Adeney's six-point plan on how in her article, Contextualizing Universal Values. In her plan, she shares how to interject a new Biblical value into a particular context. She uses the value of gender equality as an example of how to apply these six steps. The first step is to recognize the importance and universality of the value. Adeney (2007), at one point, writes, "Christians draw values from Scripture, studying the Bible in communities that believe that God's Spirit will aid understanding and application of the wisdom of God's Word" (p.33). Secondly, she discusses the acceptability of the value in another context. After that, the other cultural values that prevent the practice of universal values need to be identified. Then there is the necessity to recognize the complexities of the culture. Next, work with the Christians in the culture to clarify traditional practices' priorities in light of the universal values. Finally, Adeney shares the need to work with Christians in the culture to devise new behavior patterns that demonstrate universal value. Adeney's article concerns apply to how we impart our YWAM values to our staff globally. Communicating our values in a cross-cultural context is vital. Her insight could be beneficial as we consider cultural lenses in our teaching of YWAM's values. Trefry (2006) discusses the effects of organizational culture, national culture, and people from different cultures in her journal entry, A Double-Edged Sword: Organizational Culture in Multicultural Organizations. She discusses the positive and negative impact of organizational culture in a multicultural setting. When it comes to organizational culture, Trefry says that it is the prime factor in the success or failure of large-scale change efforts. She goes on to say that more diverse organizations are more flexible toward change. Therefore, it is easier to change practices, systems, and procedures; it is challenging to change underlying values, beliefs, and assumptions that drive organizational practices. Nevertheless, organizational culture is a powerful means of shaping people's behavior. Even though organizational culture is strong, the national culture is very persistent. National culture will affect the values, while organizational culture usually addresses practices. Overall, Trefry believes that the benefits of multicultural teams outweigh the detriments. She also addresses the effects of the national culture (location of the team) on the multicultural team. This is something we should consider in our YWAM setting. We should look at the effects (positive and negative) of our operational locations' host culture. Also, we should consider how it affects our values and the dynamics of our multicultural team. In conclusion, understanding and integrating the concepts of the Belief Tree, Worldview, and YWAM’s Foundational Values are crucial for fostering a cohesive and transformative culture within YWAM. By addressing the deep-seated beliefs and assumptions that shape our values and behaviors, we can more effectively disciple nations and navigate the complexities of multicultural environments. Acknowledging the influence of both religious and cultural lenses on our worldview helps us apply our values more authentically and sensitively across diverse contexts. As we continue to teach and live out these foundational values, we must remain vigilant in examining our own unwritten values and assumptions, embracing the tension and growth that come with this process. Through such intentional reflection and adaptation, we can ensure that our “YWAM culture” aligns more closely with our stated foundational values, ultimately enhancing our global mission and impact. To read more articles on YWAMs Value and Culture Click Here References Adeney, F. S. (2007). Contextualizing universal values: a method for Christian mission. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 31(1), 33-37. Allen, S. D., & Miller, D. L. (2006). The Forest in the seed: A biblical perspective on resources and development. Disciple Nations Alliance Cunningham, D., Hamilton, D. J., & Gauslin, D. (2014). The Belief Tree. Youth With A Mission. https://ywam.org/for-ywamers/the-belief-tree/. Cunningham, D. (2020). Values matter. YWAM Publishing. Rawlins, M. (2012). Walking naked into the land of uncertainty. Amuzement Publications.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed