One wrongly translated word contributed to the atomic settlement of World War II. In July, 1945, many influential Japanese, including the emperor, were prepared to consider the terms of the Potsdam ultimatum. Before responding, the Japanese cabinet felt that they needed more time, so they announced that their policy was mokusatsu, meaning (1) to refrain from comment, or (2) to ignore. Unfortunately, the foreign press translated the policy as "ignore" rather than "refrain" as intended. It was impossible for the Japanese to correct the wrong interpretation. Hostilities intensified. The hope for settlement was lost. Within weeks, the world saw the flames of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Russian invasion of Manchuria, and the division of Korea into north and south.
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Words are not the only things that are explosive. Proper actions are important in cross-cultural communication. After I preached a sermon as a guest preacher in a Korean church, the pastor stood up to lead the prayer. Before he began, he announced, "That was the best sermon I have heard from someone wearing shoes." I had forgotten that in Korea, most pastors remove their shoes to preach. Thus, a large portion of my message was lost because I was doing something highly offensive while bringing the message.
When I started preaching in an English-speaking congregation overseas, I tried to learn the basics of cross-cultural communication. Over the years, I have discovered that these principles help my overall preaching impact, whether I am speaking across the generational boundaries to our youth group or across linguistic boundaries through a translator to a group of Koreans.
When speaking to a culture different from your normal congregation
Remember that you are respected. Most cultures respect outsiders. The apostle Paul always gained an initial hearing. It was only after his Athens speech that some called him an idle babbler. When I speak to a new group, I remember that I have an automatic deposit in my respect account. I reciprocate this by thanking them and finding something positive to say about them. It doesn't help to address the difficulties that I had in traffic or locating the building. It also doesn't help to spend time correcting or amending the introduction which the pastor has given for me. If I am speaking through a translator, I memorize the most brief form of greeting in the people's language. A simple hello shows that I care about their culture. Words that erode initial respect are unnecessary comparisons, jokes about things that I dislike, and extensive qualifications of terms.
Write your sermon beforehand. A full manuscript helps to address your questions about message length, topic, illustrations, and overall impact. Recently, I spoke through a translator who received an advance copy. One illustration was ineffective in his opinion, so I dropped it and substituted another.
The full manuscript helps you pay attention to sentence length and vocabulary. Long sentences with dependent clauses may come across as a fog to non-native English speakers. If a word isn't in the spellchecker, I try to find a synonym. When preaching through a translator, I give an identical copy of the message so that I can point out the place where we are during delivery.