Comments on: The Danger of doing Good: Forming Stereotypes http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/ Thoughts on the Journey Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:54:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: crossn81 http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/#comment-36789 crossn81 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:39:43 +0000 http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/#comment-36789 You are absolutely spot on! Fortunately more and more groups are rethinking this approach and trying to create justice not charity focused trips or projects. At least you had racial diversity at Wheaton, I don't think we had much at all at Taylor - I'm thinking really hard and can't come up with any non-white staff and a handful of faculty (we had a good number of non-white students). The only exception was Dr. Richard Allen Farmer was our Chaplin for awhile! We were in a corn-field though :) You are absolutely spot on! Fortunately more and more groups are rethinking this approach and trying to create justice not charity focused trips or projects.

At least you had racial diversity at Wheaton, I don’t think we had much at all at Taylor - I’m thinking really hard and can’t come up with any non-white staff and a handful of faculty (we had a good number of non-white students). The only exception was Dr. Richard Allen Farmer was our Chaplin for awhile! We were in a corn-field though :)

]]> By: Joshua http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/#comment-36787 Joshua Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:28:03 +0000 http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/#comment-36787 Or just go to other countries and places in your own city where other cultures gather, and just hang out. Have dinner with locals (other cultures are usually much more welcoming than ours), just go be a visitor and appreciate their perspective on life, instead of "an answer to all their problems." Here's a link Ariah to something I wrote based on an expereince in Nashville: http://joshua.voxtropolis.com/2006/09/09/white-middle-class/ Or just go to other countries and places in your own city where other cultures gather, and just hang out. Have dinner with locals (other cultures are usually much more welcoming than ours), just go be a visitor and appreciate their perspective on life, instead of “an answer to all their problems.”

Here’s a link Ariah to something I wrote based on an expereince in Nashville:

http://joshua.voxtropolis.com/2006/09/09/white-middle-class/

]]> By: Richard http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/#comment-36778 Richard Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:52:23 +0000 http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2008/07/02/the-danger-of-doing-good-forming-stereotypes/#comment-36778 I definitely do agree with this. I think it's a vicious cycle too, because it's often easier to sell a cause if it fits within people's pre-existing images. I think that churches who are experiencing the call to go beyond their own culture would be wise to have multiple types of interaction with those cultures. Go and run a vacation bible school, but also be lead in bible studies by the pastor of the church you're partnering with. Go and build houses, but learn about the economics of the country/region from someone who lives there and has studied a lot about it. etc. I definitely do agree with this. I think it’s a vicious cycle too, because it’s often easier to sell a cause if it fits within people’s pre-existing images.

I think that churches who are experiencing the call to go beyond their own culture would be wise to have multiple types of interaction with those cultures. Go and run a vacation bible school, but also be lead in bible studies by the pastor of the church you’re partnering with. Go and build houses, but learn about the economics of the country/region from someone who lives there and has studied a lot about it.

etc.

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