Speak clearly and with sincerity. I teach preaching to foreign students from Myanmar, India, and Korea. Each student must listen to sermon tapes by missionaries and pastors from various churches world wide. The sermons most requested are by Bill Hybels (Willow Creek). Why does Hybels appeal even though he pastors a homogeneous church in suburban Chicago? I asked my students, and they responded that Hybels speaks clearly and is not afraid to laugh. An effective cross-cultural preacher knows how to tell a story, speaks clearly, speaks sincerely, avoids the unnecessary anecdote, and assumes that the audience understands.

Enhance your geopolitical awareness. When Dan Quayle called Latin America a part of our country, he reinforced a common sentiment that most Americans are woefully ignorant of world geography and issues. Checking your geo-political references is important if you are speaking to a particular group. Ask an American where he is from, and he will probably name his state or province. Someone from another culture may only name his country, although he probably belongs to a specific people group within that country. A Filipino group will appreciate your understanding that all Filipinos do not speak Tagalog. Before speaking to a particular group, learn the capital city, the name of the language spoken, the continent where the group is located, the current leader(s), the correct pronunciation of the country, and the name that the people call themselves.

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Balance your culturally-bound illustrations. I listened to a pastor who boarded a jet to cross eleven time zones, ate foreign food, removed his shoes to preach, and then spoke through a translator. However, his sermon used American Football as the main illustration. Far more time was spent explaining the intricate relationship between coach, quarterback, team, and spectators than was spent describing the text. I asked a Korean friend who attended the sermon what he had learned. He said, "I discovered so much that I never knew about American football, but I didn't understand his message."

Is it impolite to choose unfamiliar illustrations? Not if the illustration connects with the message and helps the listener know more about your culture. If I am using the relationship between quarterback and coach to describe the way we should get our game plan from God, then I might start the illustration by saying that "Americans love technology. One example is the way our national sport, football, has seen its uniforms develop. When the sport first started, the uniforms had little padding and a small leather helmet to protect the person from those who were trying to tackle. Now, dozens of pads and a state of the art helmet is worn by the players. In fact, the team leader, the quarterback, often has a radio connection in his helmet so that he can hear the voice of the coach telling him where to lead the team."

Giving our listeners some reasons why we think the way that we do can make our illustrations communicate both biblically and culturally.