Three Simple Practices to Understand Your Neighbors Better
Borrowing Ethnographic Techniques from Anthropologists
“A culture is a way of life of a group of people: the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them.”
Your church has a culture. Your neighbors also have a culture—many actually. From regulars at the pub to medical professionals, every group of people you encounter in your community have a culture. Effective ministry will occur when we find the common ground between the culture of our church and the culture of our neighbors. Before we can discover that common ground, we must first understand the culture of our neighbors.
In his book Ethnography: A Way of Seeing, anthropologist Henry Wolcott offers three helpful (and memorable) ethnographic practices that can help you do this:
1. Experiencing:
This refers to the practice of participant observation, the cornerstone of ethnography. In participant observation we learn about the culture of a group of people by joining them in their everyday life. If you are hoping to learn about the pickleball community in your city, then go buy a racquet and join a league. As you participate in the group be sure to do so with a heightened sense of attention and observation. Take notes as soon as you leave. Over time you will start to build an understanding of the group.
2. Enquiring:
This one refers to the practice of interviewing. In interviewing we ask specific and directed questions to members of the group. It’s a perfect follow up to participant observation as you can ask the interviewee about things you’ve observed. You can ask for clarification, for deeper understanding, or for the back story of the things you’ve seen. Once you’ve been playing pickleball for a month or two ask a fellow player to grab coffee after a game. Ask them about some of the things you’ve observed.
3. Examining:
This refers to the practice of archival research. This can be reading research by others who are interested in the group you are interested in. It can also include studying physical objects and other artifacts related to your group. As you seek to understand your pickleball players more you might find a book about the history and rise of pickleball in the United States, you might walk around the popular pickleball courts and read the signs around the courts, and you might search for websites or Facebook groups for pickleball players in your city.
When you put these three practices together over a period of time you will be amazed at the things you can learn about your neighbors. And as you understand your neighbors you will start to see possibilities of how you might connect with them in more meaningful ways.