A Message from Your District Dismantling Racism
By Joseph Park and Taylor Mills
Maybe you’ve heard of the IDI but you aren’t quite sure what it is. Perhaps your district superintendent or district dismantling racism team has encouraged you to take it but you aren’t sure if you should. You might be wondering if it is a test or if it will go to your DS or perhaps you have other questions.
Is the IDI a test?
It is not a test. It is an inventory. The IDI is a series of questions designed to determine where you are on a continuum between a “monocultural mindset” and an “intercultural mindset.”
Will it go to my DS?
No. Once you take the IDI, a person who has been trained to interpret the inventory report will contact you to set up a day and time that is convenient for you to go over it together in confidence.
What is the benefit of taking the IDI?
You can learn your “intercultural competence” and how it affects your interactions with others. Intercultural competence is your ability to function effectively across cultures and to communicate and work with people from different cultural backgrounds.
How much does the IDI assessment cost ?
The North Carolina Conference is paying $55 for each individual to take the IDI and to receive a debrief. It is offered for free to the first 100 clergy and lay members of each district in the North Carolina Conference.
Why are we being encouraged to take the IDI?
By taking the IDI we can learn ways to grow in our intercultural competence as individuals and as the church, moving together toward our vision of having healthy congregations and effective leaders in every place making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Does IDI assess a person’s racist tendencies?
No, IDI is a tool to measure a person’s intercultural competence in interacting with people from their own and other cultures.
If you have not taken the IDI yet, please reach out to your AADS and she will give you the information for the website and your code to take the IDI for free.
If you would like to read other articles from the Sound District Dismantling Racism Team, you are asked to follow this link: https://sounddistrictnc.org/category/dismantling-racism/