LOE

LOE - it is a new word i have made up.  It stands for something that I have been processing in regard to how we can be more effective in our mission task.  What do we need to do when we come to a new city or approach a new work?  To effectively have impact in the culture there are some things missionaries should do in that land or city.  This is regardless of of it being a foreign land or in America.

L - Listen.   To what people are saying.  Hear what they value.  Be a friend.  Learn the language if in a foreign land.  Listen to their life-story and value it. Hear what the different generations talk about. 

O - Observe.  Where do they spend their time?  What do they drive?  Where do they gather for Coffee?  Customs. Celebrations. Clothing.  Holidays.  How they spend their free time?  How do people get places?  What TV shows have influence? 

E - Engage. Then we engage with individual people with the first hand knowledge we have gained.    

We cannot be effective if we do not become students of the culture.  LOE can help us be much more effective and it is something that we must continually be about, not just at the beginning. We must always be searching for new perspectives and insights on the people we are attempting to reach.