AMERICAN VALUES IN THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE BOOK AND THEIR APPLICATION IN THE LIFE OF PEOPLE IN CHARISMATIC WORSHIP SERVICE SEMARANG CHURCH

Transcription

1 AMERICAN VALUES IN THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE BOOK AND THEIR APPLICATION IN THE LIFE OF PEOPLE IN CHARISMATIC WORSHIP SERVICE SEMARANG CHURCH (Case Study: Assemblies of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church) A THESIS In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Sarjana Degree Majoring American Cultural Studies in English Department Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro University Submitted by: Ayu Sendilla Kartika A2B FACULTY OF HUMANITIES DIPONEGORO UNIVERSITY SEMARANG 2013

2 PRONOUNCEMENT This thesis is originally written with no duplication of another existing thesis or research project in S-1, S-2, S-3 and in Diploma degree. The writer believes that this thesis contains neither publications nor one s paper writings but several one listed on the reference. Any reproduction of this thesis or part of it is required to have allowance from both the author and thesis advisor. Semarang, 16 July 2013 Ayu Sendilla Kartika

3 MOTTO AND DEDICATION It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ,... he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. Ephesians 1:11 (Msg) This paper is dedicated to My Heavenly Father, my beloved family and to everyone who helped me accomplished this paper.

4 APPROVAL Approved by, Thesis Advisor Arido Laksono, S.S., M. Hum. NIP :

5 VALIDATION Approved by Strata 1 Thesis Examination Committee Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro University on September 2013 Chairman Prof. Dr. Nurdin H. Kistanto, M.A NIP First Member Second Member Dra. Christine Resnitriwati, M.Hum Arido Laksono, S.S., M. Hum. NIP NIP

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly, the writer would like to express her deepest gratitude to the Almighty God in the name of Jesus Christ who gives His Holy Spirit to guide in every step of her way, with the words of God You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. (Revelation 4:11-NIV). The writer realizes that her thesis will have not been finished without the support of those who always give her inspirations and motivations. The deepest gratitude and appreciation are extended to Arido Laksono, S.S., M.Hum my advisor who has given continuous guidance, helpful correction, moral support, advice, and suggestion, without which it is doubtful that this thesis came into completion. Therefore, on this occasion, the writer also would like to express her deepest gratitude to: 1. Dr. Agus Maladi, M.A as Dean of Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro University. 2. Sukarni Suryaningsih.S.S., M.Hum, Chairman of English Department, Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro University. 3. Her thesis supervisor, Arido Laksono, S.S, M.Hum for his patience, guidance, supports, and correction from the beginning to the completion of the writer s final assignment. 4. All of her lecturers for the learning in English Department, Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro University.

7 5. Her family, Senny, and Hernanto, the best parents, and also Deshinta, her sister for the warm and joyful family with endless cares, loves, and attention. 6. Her family in FALSetto; Khory, Putri, and Risa for their loves, smiles, supports, and unforgettable adventures, hoping that we will be family forever. FALSetto, candlelight! 7. Her soulmate, Agustinus Dwi Atmaka for his loves, cares, supports, patience, and also for the books. 8. Cristy and all of her unforgettable friends in PMK, for the prayers, togetherness, and giving beautiful days during her academic years. 9. All of her family in CWS Church Semarang. 10. Her beloved friends in class C, for the awesome moments. 11. Her respondents in CWS Church Semarang, for their cooperation, participation, and time to be her respondents in this research. 12. And all of those who cannot be mentioned here who have surrounded her with loves, cares, and smile, and supported her with prayers The writer realizes that this thesis is far from being perfect and she would be glad to receive criticism and suggestions to make this thesis better. Finally, she expects that this thesis would be useful for the readers. Semarang, 16 July 2013 Ayu Sendilla Kartika

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE... i PRONOUNCEMENT... ii MOTTO AND DEDICATION... iii APPROVAL... iv VALIDATION... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS... viii LIST OF TABLES... x APPENDIX LIST... xi ABSTRACT... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Scope of the Study Aims of the Study Hypothesis Method of the Study Organization of the Writing... 4 CHAPTER 2 LITERARY REVIEW Profile of the Research Objects Summary of the Book Profile of the Assemblies of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church (CWS Semarang Church) Theoretical Framework American Values Individualism The pursuit of happiness Freedom or Liberalism Equality God... 16

9 Self-reliance Family Theory of Reader Response CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD Type of Research Data Sources Population and Samples Technique of Collecting Data Technique of Analyzing Data CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS Research Result Focus Group Discussion Result Questionnaires Result Research Analysis Kinds of American Values in the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life Liberalism/Freedom God Family The Reader Response toward The Purpose Driven Life Further Research CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION REFERENCES... 53

10 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Table of the result of question number 1 in questionnaire Table 2. Table of the result of question number 2 in questionnaire Table 3. Table of the result of question number 3 in questionnaire Table 4. Table of the result of question number 4 in questionnaire Table 5. Table of the result of question number 5 in questionnaire Table 6. Table of the result of question number 6 in questionnaire Table 7. Table of the result of question number 7 in questionnaire Table 8. Table of the result of question number 8 in questionnaire Table 9. Table of the result of question number 9 in questionnaire Table 10. Table of the result of question number 10 in questionnaire Table 11. Table of the result of question number 11 in questionnaire Table 12. Table of the result of question number 12 in questionnaire Table 13. Table of the result of question number 13 in questionnaire... 40

11 APPENDIX LIST 1. Transcription of Focus Group Discussion 2. Questionnaire in Bahasa Indonesia 3. Result of 4 questionnaires

12 ABSTRAK American values atau nilai-nilai ke-amerika-an yang terdapat dalam suatu hasil karya menjadi sebuah topik yang menarik bagi penulis. Bagaimana nilainilai tersebut disampaikan dan disebarkan sehingga warga negara lain pun dapat mengetahui macam-macam nilai tersebut. Dalam skripsi ini, korelasi antara American values dengan beberapa poin mengenai tujuan hidup manusia yang dibahas dalam buku The Purpose Driven Life menjadi satu dari dua topik utama yang dianalisis oleh penulis. Topik utama lainnya adalah bagaimana pembaca merespon buku The Purpose Driven Life melalui pengimplementasian poin-poin dalam buku tersebut yang memiliki korelasi dengan American values di kehidupan mereka. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui poin-poin apa sajakah yang terdapat dalam buku The Purpose Driven Life yang memiliki korelasi dengan American values dan implementasi seperti apakah yang dilakukan oleh pembaca buku tersebut sebagai bentuk respon mereka terhadap buku tersebut. Data yang digunakan adalah kuesioner yang diajukan kepada 4 orang responden yang merupakan jemaat sekaligus pengurus dari Gereja Charismatic Worship Service (CWS) Semarang. Dalam menganalisis data yang ada, penulis menggunakan beberapa jenis American values yang sudah dipelajari oleh penulis, serta teori mengenai Reader Response dari Wolfgang Iser. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa responden dapat menemukan adanya korelasi antara beberapa jenis American values dengan sejumlah poin dalam buku The Purpose Driven Life dan menyebutkan judul poin yang dimaksud beserta alasannya. Responden juga diketahui mengimplementasikan poin yang memiliki korelasi dengan American values dalam kehidupan mereka sebagai respon atas buku tersebut. Meskipun begitu ada sedikit perbedaan antara hipotesis dengan hasil penelitian, yaitu responden mengalami perubahan hidup setelah membaca buku The Purpose Driven Life, bukan setelah mengimplementasikan poin-poin dari buku tersebut. Namun hal tersebut tidak terlalu berpengaruh terhadap hasil penelitian secara keseluruhan. Kata kunci: American values, The Purpose Driven Life, Reader Response, korelasi

13 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study American values are considered as standards or norms that arrange the society life in USA. There are many ways to maintain American values through movies, books, music, etc. One of the books that inserts the American values is The Purpose Driven Life which is written by an American pastor named Rick Warren, a pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. His identity as an American makes him understands about American values, and it becomes the reason why there is a correlation between American values and several points in The Purpose Driven Life. The Purpose Driven Life itself is a book that explains about what a man s life purposes are and how to know them through a number of steps which are divided into forty points. Among those forty points, there are several points that deal with American values. Here, the American values are not the same as Bible values because the center of the Bible values is God, whereas the center of American values in this book is assumed to be the life purposes of a man. Although The Purpose Driven Life is an American book, it is published not only in America, but also in other parts of the world. As a book that discusses about man s life purposes, this book gives positive influences toward its readers who read it based on the method written on the book that is read only one chapter

14 a day. Here, the writer assumes that the assemblies of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church (later it be called as CWS Semarang Church) experience life-changing after reading the Indonesia version of The Purpose Driven Life. The influences of the book toward the life of several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church can be seen in some aspects, like in their personal lives and evangelical activities. Those facts become the reason why the writer wants to dig out more about the reader s response toward the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life and the American values that correlate with several points in the book. 1.2 Scope of the Study In this thesis, the research involves several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church as the respondents. Then, the topics that will be analyzed are several points in the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life that have correlation with American values and their application in the life of several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church. 1.3 Aims of the Study The aim of the study is to know what points in the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life that have correlation with American values and how several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church perceive the book by applying the points in The Purpose Driven Life that correlate with American values in their life.

15 1.4 Hypothesis Hypothesis is "an idea or explanation of something that is based on a few known facts but that has not yet been proved to be true or correct" (Hornby, 2005:736). The hypotheses in this research are: there are American values that correlate with several points in the Indonesia version of The Purpose Driven Life, and then, there are several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church who apply those points in their life as their perception toward the book and feel the changing after applying it. 1.5 Method of the Study 1. Method of Research In this thesis, the writer uses field research, which is divided into two kinds of method, qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative research is a method in which the interaction between researcher and respondent is set out during the research process (Moleong in Herdiansyah, 2012:9). The writer uses books, articles, and internet sources to help gaining the information. On the other hand, quantitative is based on numeric information. Here, questionnaires and test are used to collect the data (Nasehudin and Gozali, 2012:70). 2. Method of Approach

16 The writer uses kinds of American values and Reader Response theory by Wolfgang Iser to analyze the research. Kinds of American values is used to give information about the existence of American values in the Indonesian version The Purpose Driven Life, while Reader Response theory is used to analyze the responses of respondents toward the book. The writer involves several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church as the object of interview. 1.6 Organization of the Writing CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION It consists of Background of the study, Scope of the study, Aims of the study, Hypothesis, Methods of the study, and Organization of the writing. CHAPTER 2 : LITERARY REVIEW This part contains the summary of the book and theoretical framework that is used to reinforce the analysis in this thesis. CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHOD It contains the Type of Research Method, Data Source, Population and Samples, Technique of Collecting Data, and Technique of Analyzing Data. CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS

17 This is the main part of the thesis which analyzes the result of field research by using methods that the writer uses to support the writing. CHAPTER 5 : CONCLUSION It contains the review of result analysis.

18 CHAPTER 2 LITERARY REVIEW 2.1 Profile of the Research Objects Summary of the Book Our life is not for ourselves. It is for God s. He made us and had the authority of our lives. Life is a process and if we have an understanding based on God about our identities, we will realize that our existence is not coincidentally. God has His own purpose for our life. Unconsciously, sometimes people have wrong interpretation about what God s true purpose is. We should not take advantage of God for our own purpose, but let God take us for His purpose. Based on this assumption, Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life, a book that helps us understand God's great plan for our lives. This is more than a book; it is a guide to a 40-day spiritual journey that will enable you to discover the answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for? By the end of this journey you will know God's purpose for your life and will understand the big picture-how all the pieces of your life fit together. Having this perspective will reduce your stress, simplify your decisions, increase your satisfaction, and, most important, prepare you for eternity (Warren, 2002:5). In this book, Warren shows us how to obtain a purpose in a unique way. Often, self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Warren says that we must begin with God and His eternal purposes for each life. The Purpose Driven Life is divided into 40 days of reading

19 in six easy-to-read sections. In the first sections, there is an answer of a fundamental question every man has, "What on earth am I here for?" Warren said that everything starts with God and that our life is not an accident. The second section is about man's first purpose, "we were planned for God's pleasure." What God's pleasure that Warren reveals is about discovering true worship and developing friendship with God. The second purpose of man's life that is unveiled in the third section is "we were formed for God's family", and it is about experiencing life together and protecting the church. In section four, there is purpose three, "we were created to become like Christ." Here, Warren stated that we are transformed by truth and trouble as we grow through temptation. In the fifth section, the fourth purpose of man's life is covered: "we were shaped for serving God." This, if we accept the assignment for serving God, we will act like how the real servant act and finding God's power to help us in our weakness while fulfilling the service. Last, in the sixth section, the fifth purpose is revealed: "we were made for a mission." It is about sharing our life message and living a missionary life every day. ("Purpose Driven Life." Christ Notes (2012). Par. 2. Accessed 8 October 2012). The complete six sections with their chapters are presented below: 1. WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR? Day 1 It All Starts with God Day 2 You Are Not an Accident Day 3 What Drives Your Life? Day 4 Made to Last Forever

20 Day 5 Seeing Life from God's View Day 6 Life Is a Temporary Assignment Day 7 The Reason for Everything 2. PURPOSE #1: You Were Planned for God's Pleasure (Worship) Day 8 Planned for God's Pleasure Day 9 What Makes God Smile? Day 10 The Heart of Worship Day 11 Becoming Best Friends with God Day 12 Developing Your Friendship with God Day 13 Worship That Pleases God Day 14 When God Seems Distant 3. PURPOSE #2: You Were Formed for God's Family (Fellowship) Day 15 Formed for God's Family Day 16 What Matters Most Day 17 A Place to Belong Day 18 Experiencing Life Together Day 19 Cultivating Community Day 20 Restoring Broken Fellowship Day 21 Protecting Your Church 4. PURPOSE #3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ (Discipleship) Day 22 Created to Become Like Christ Day 23 How We Grow Day 24 Transformed by Truth

21 Day 25 Transformed by Trouble Day 26 Growing through Temptation Day 27 Defeating Temptation Day 28 It Takes Time 5. PURPOSE #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God (Ministry) Day 29 Accepting Your Assignment Day 30 Shaped for Serving God Day 31 Understanding Your Shape Day 32 Using What God Gave You Day 33 How Real Servants Act Day 34 Thinking Like a Servant Day 35 God's Power in Your Weakness 6. PURPOSE #5: You Were Made for a Mission (Mission) Day 36 Made for a Mission Day 37 Sharing Your Life Message Day 38 Becoming a World-Class Christian Day 39 Balancing Your Life Day 40 Living with Purpose At the end of each chapter is completed with a section called Thinking about My Purpose (Warren, 2002:10). In this section we will find: 1) A Point to Ponder

22 This is a nugget of truth that summarizes a principle of purpose-driven living that you can reflect on throughout your day. Paul told Timothy, "Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this." 2) A Verse to Remember This is a Bible verse that teaches a truth from that chapter. If you really want to improve your life, memorizing Scripture may be the most important habit you can begin. You can either copy these verses onto small cards to carry with you, or purchase a Purpose-Driven Life Scripture Keeper Plus. 3) A Question to Consider. These questions will help you think about the implications of what you have read and how it applies to you personally. Let me encourage you to write your answers in the margin of this book or in a notebook, or obtain a copy of The Purpose-Driven Life journal, a companion book designed for this purpose. Writing down your thoughts is the best way to clarify them. By using quotations from Bible verses and references, this book gives significant sense toward the meaning of Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Mission.

23 2.1.2 Profile of the Assemblies of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church (CWS Semarang Church) Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church (CWS Semarang Church) is a church under the organization of GPPK (Gereja Pelayanan Penyembahan Karismatik). It is firstly established in Semarang in 2000 with its first religious service on August, 10, The word charismatic here refers to its religious service system. Churches which apply charismatic system are having more energetic situation in their religious services. They usually use a full-band music, energetic praises and worships, and give applauses at the end of songs. Often, they can be quite and sing tenderly if the situation becomes more silent. Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church or later we call it CWS Semarang Church is located in Lamper Tengah street. It has several activities during a week, which is cell-group on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, prayer partnership on Friday, youth prayer partnership on Saturday, and three religious services like Sunday service, Sunday school service, and Youth service on Sunday. In this church, there are many people with various social, educational, and economical backgrounds, and also different groups of age. There are group of adults, group of young adults, group of young, and group of children with the total number of assemblies is 130 people. Based on social and economical backgrounds, the most percentage of the assemblies comes from middle class

24 society. From educational backgrounds, there are assemblies with university degree and others with high school degree. A church is similar with other organizations. An organization has a management, so does CWS Semarang Church. There are several assemblies who are involved in the management; six assemblies as the boards and three assemblies as the committee s chiefs. They come from various social, educational, and economical backgrounds. Four of them have university degree and the rests have high school degree. Those nine people also have various jobs, for example as office worker, school principal, bank employee, entrepreneur, etc. 2.2 Theoretical Framework American Values There are several kinds of American values. Although each person has his or her own comprehension about the explanation of kinds of American values as stated in book Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, the main meaning is almost the same. Kinds of American values can be seen on these two following books: Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life and American Life and Institutions. They are: Individualism Individualism is considered as one of the values that are strongly believed by Americans. It derives from an old theory about human rights, "that every individual has the right to exist." Individualism can be said as a theory of human

25 nature where someone can do something with his or her own hands in which courageous, standing on own feet, and having future orientation become the requirements to get what he or she wants. Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 October 20, 1964), the 31st President of the United States ( ), believed that individualism existed in both Europe and USA and felt disposed to define it as America's special trademark. He also believed that American individualism had unique nature. Hoover clarified that the formula of American individualism are the equal opportunity and demand for a fair chance. It is because they are the method of American achievement. For Hoover, individualism is the system where a society is based on the individual' achievements that have the opportunity to contribute their innate aptitudes to the progression of the entire community, and all people are endowed with a particular capacity for intelligence, character, ability, and ambition ("American Individualism: Herbert Hoover s American Social Philosophy." Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association (2013). Par. 8 and 9. Accessed 2 May 2013). In the Christianity, as stated in Oxford Dictionary of Politics, there is belief that man has his own capacity for personal contact with God rather than to follow the instruction through a hierarchy. This is closely related to individualism ("individualism: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com." Answer.com (2013). Par. 2. Accessed 2 May 2013). On the contrary, for some people outside America, individualism is often seen same as selfishness, where man has no concern with society and will legalize anything to reach his or her goal. Yet, in America, individualism has positive

26 meaning as each person is a part of society that has to do what he or she believes and be responsible with him or herself The pursuit of happiness or opportunity for a better life The phrase "the pursuit of happiness" is clearly stated in The Declaration of Independence. It is one of the rights that have to be secured by the government (the others are the right of life and the right of liberty) because it is considered as occupying someone' life with activities that equip the whole needs. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ( The Declaration of Independence. More Declaration Resources (2013). Par. 2. Accessed 8 May 2013). The right to pursue happiness protects the individual' efforts to live for his or her own life, rather than for the life of society. It means that someone has right to live for him or herself, individual happiness, to choose what constitutes his or her own life, and to struggle for its performance, as long as he or she respect the same right in others. In pursuing the happiness, someone also cannot be forced to give his or her life to the happiness of other people ("Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-Principles of a Free Society." Ayn Rand Center (2013). Par. 1. Accessed 8 May 2013). In Jeffersonian era, happiness was considered to be what God meant because it was assumed as natural human right, so that it deserved protection. The happiness that can be pursued not only on material things, but also on spiritual and moral condition of human.

27 Liberalism/Freedom In the book Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, freedom is assumed as the most resounding American value, and in some ways, it is defined in both personal and political life. Yet, the meaning of freedom itself turns out to be left alone by others, not depending on other people s ideas or values of life forced upon one, being free of arbitrary authority in work, family, and political life (Bellah, 1985:23). In American life, freedom or liberalism has several types, such as the freedom to choose a religious faith and to worship according to someone conscience. The Congress, in the first amendment to the Constitution of The United States, states about the freedom to worship: Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof It is clear that Americans in every state have the same freedom of religion. The other freedoms are freedom of speech and freedom of the press Equality According to Oxford Advanced Learner s Dictionary, equality is stated as the fact of being equal in rights, status, advantages, etc (2005:492). In America, the value of equality can be divided into several kinds: equality of opportunity, equality of gender, equality of rights, equality of race and equality of class. Equality in America is considered as the central of American ideal, as Thomas Jefferson clearly stated in The Declaration of Independence that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by

28 their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ( The Declaration of Independence. More Declaration Resources (2013). Par. 2. Accessed 8 May 2013). In this case, the action of government like making law or act about equality is needed, so that the full equality can be achieved and the rights of people in equality can be secured. Equality is something that people want to achieve, even Martin Luther King Jr. had something profound to say about equality in his speech at Civil Rights March: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character ( definition of equality by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. The Free Dictionary (2013). Par. 5. Accessed 8 May 2013) God Americans are known as one of the most faithful people in the world (Susilo, 2009:30). Mostly, they have religious behavior, believe in God, pray, and perform religious doctrines. They attend church regularly for about ten times more than Europeans. In the 1990 s survey, there are approximately 92 % people who believe in God. The majority are those who pray every day and attend church every week (Susilo, 2009:107). Historically, the early history of USA is begun due to religious reason, and religion becomes the basic of Europeans occupation in America. Protestantism

29 doctrine which is expanded in America also emphasize on faith into God and good deed (Susilo, 2009:107). On the other hands, the statement of One Nation, Under God in the Pledge of Allegiance is assumed as the maker of the USA national desire refers to religious doctrine (Susilo, 2009:107). Another thing assumed as evidence that Americans are faithful people is a sentence In God We Trust that is included in US dollar backside Self-reliance Self-reliance is one of the individualism aspects, together with selfconfidence and non self-egoism. Emerson, in his essay Self-Reliance says about self-reliance that individual has to look inside his or her heart and becomes a nonconformist. There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till ( Self-Reliance. Emerson Central (2009). Par. 2. Accessed 8 May 2013). He or she must recognize his or her skill and know the good and the bad thing of him or herself. In self-reliance, people will soberly and carefully to choose what they will do together with the consequences. People will have a responsibility to their activity even when they are failing, if they have selfreliance in their life.

30 Family Family is a small unit of society and divided into nuclear family and extended family. Nuclear family, ideally, consists of two married parents of different genders and their biological or adopted children that live in the same residence. While, extended family is the nuclear family that lives together with their grandparents and other relatives. Traditionally, family is seen as a sacred organization as the vows made on behalf of God and made for certain purpose. Each family has its own values and how families encourage family values are various. As an addition, there is no right or wrong family style ("Definition of A Nuclear Family." Love to Know (2013). Par. 3. Accessed 2 May 2013). The ideal family has to have a strong bonds, so that it can creates a safe, positive, and supportive condition for all members. The strong bond of a family is expected as a support to help its members resolve problems. For American, bringing happiness for each family member is assumed as the purpose and a value of a family. Bern said that a family is made to equip safeguarding, love and affection, and many opportunities (Bern, 2011:18). In a strong family unit, the parents set as the role models and give good examples for their children. They give the first education for their children about how to make friends and then the children imitate them ("What Are Family Values." Essortment (2011). Par. 2. Accessed 2 May 2013). To make a strong family unit, parents and children must apply these values, such as togetherness (feeling of being close to another person emotionally and physically), stability (the strenght of family structure in doing the family

31 functions), loyalty (a feeling of mutual obligation, commitment, and closeness among each member), cohesion (a feeling of being loved, of belonging to the group, and being safe by it), flexibility (the involvement of members in making decision and development of their abilities), communication (a way to avoid misunderstanding among the members by talking verbally or showing non-verbal affection and give place for expressing feeling of each member), trust (the ability to count on each other and know that what a family member states is true), and spirituality and religion (values that are highly appreciated in families where they are included, having their own way to keep a family together in times of trouble and diffficult times) Theory of Reader-Response Reader response is a theory that focuses on reader s acceptance toward a text. In a reading process, the imagination of reader is needed to create meaning, because reading will be a pleasure when the reader is active and creative while reading the texts. Wolfgang Iser, as quoted by David Lodge in Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader, stated, a literary text must therefore be conceived in such a way that it will engage the reader s imagination in the task of working things out for himself, for reading is only a pleasure when it is active and creative (David Lodge, 1988:213). Moreover, Iser stated that when a text is concretized by the reader (the phenomenological concept whereby the text registers in the reader s consciousness), the reader automatically views the text from his or her personal

32 worldview (Charles E. Bressler, 2003:66). He believed that texts do not tell the reader everything that needs to be known about a character, readers must automatically fill in these gaps, using their own knowledge base (Charles E. Bressler, 2003:66). The reader must find the meaning of the text by using their past experience or their own knowledge during the process of reading. Here, Reader Response theory by Wolfgang Iser is used to support the writer s curiosity about people in CWS Semarang Church s perception toward this book and what they have done as their response from the process of reading.

33 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD 3.1 Type of Research The writer uses field research to collect the data. Field research is a method of research where the researcher comes to the area that becomes the object of research and doing research there. It can be divided into two kinds, qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative means collecting the data and information by using several methods, for instance, the method of focus group discussion or FGD (Herdiansyah, 2012:116). Focus group discussion or FGD is a kind of discussion where a group of organized people is discussing about certain issue (Stokes, 2006:169). The purpose of FGD is to obtain information from various points of views by holding a discussion among respondents and researcher (Herdiansyah, 2012: 146). Focus group discussion is facilitated by a moderator who introduces the topic, asks questions, probes the details, controls the discussion, and makes sure that everyone is participated, and it may be documented as video-recorded or tape-recorded (Dawson, 2002: 30). Books, articles, and internet sources are also used to gain more information. Then, quantitative means collecting the data based on numeric information from questionnaires as the instrument of data collection. Questionnaires itself is a number of questions where the answers are also written there (Nasehudin and Gozali, 2012:113). For the questionnaires, the writer uses the combination of both

34 closed and opened questionnaires. It means that the researcher arranges the format of questions, but gives chance to the respondents to choose either the given answer or make it by themselves (Nasehudin and Gozali, 2012:114). 3.2 Data Sources In this research, there are two kinds of data which are used: primary data and secondary data. Primary data comes from firsthand research or the research that is conducted by the writer itself, and it consists of a collection of data that construct the research (Stokes, 2006:30). The information that the writer gathers individually from other people is one example of primary data (Dawson, 2002:40). Whereas, when the researcher gains data from other sources like other researches, reviews, books, or internet sources, it can be called as secondary data (Stokes, 2006:30). The primary data in this research is the several assemblies of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church or CWS Semarang Church as the respondents who fill the questionnaires. Later, The Purpose Driven Life itself is used as the secondary data. 3.3 Population and Samples Population is the entire components of respondents who have similar characteristics to be observed in the research (Neuman in Herdiansyah, 2012:103). While, sample is a part of population that is being observed in the research

35 directly (Stokes, 2006:166). A sample must represent the characteristic of the population (Nasehudin and Gozali, 2012:121). The population of this research is certain assembly of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church, that is the boards and the committee' chiefs of the church. They also became the participants of 40 Days of Purpose Campaigns, a program made by Rick Warren about reading The Purpose Driven Life. The samples are the certain boards and committee chief of the church. They are selected based on several parameters, as follow: level of education, job, age, and participation in church activities. Based on the level of education, the samples must have finished their university degree. People with higher education are assumed to have more opened thoughts than those who are not. Then, based on the job, the samples are having position in their work, for example as school principal. Later, elder assemblies are considered to have more experiences than they are who are younger, so that age is also used as one of the parameters. Last, the participation of assembly in church activities. Here, the samples are the assemblies who have more participation in each church activity, such as leadership camp, Christmas celebration, and especially who participated in 40 Days of Purpose Campaign. From the staff of Charismatic Worship Service Semarang Church, the writer knew that the total number of assembly is 130 people with the amount of the board and committee' chief is 9 people, but only 4 people who comply with

36 the parameter. So, that is why they are chosen as the respondents who are involved in this research. 3.4 Technique of Collecting Data There are two methods that are used to collect the data for this research: focus group discussion (FGD) and questionnaires. The writer uses focus group discussion to give brief explanation about the American values to the respondents and to know their opinions about that issue. Questionnaires are used to know the respondents response towards The Purpose Driven Life and the American values that consist in it. Video-recorder is also used in this research to record the focus group discussion as appropriate equipment and to substitute the use of pen and paper to take notes while the discussion is going on. 3.5 Technique of Analyzing Data The writer uses following points as the steps of analyzing the data: 1. Organize a focus group discussion about explaining the American values to the respondents, 2. Spread out a summary of The Purpose Driven Life which contain a brief explanation and mention the title of 40 points that become the content of the book,

37 3. Spread out the questionnaire to several assemblies of CWS Semarang Church that become the respondents of this research, 4. Collect the result of questionnaire, 5. Make tables to group the questions and its answer according to frequency count or technique to describe the result of questionnaire by counting the responses and then reproduce them (Dawson, 2002:123), 6. Analyze the result of questionnaire by using the theory and approach the writer used, 7. Write the analysis' result of the research from the collected data.

38 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS 4.1 Research Result Focus Group Discussion Result Focus Group Discussion or FGD was held before the writer spread the questionnaire to the respondents. In this research, FGD is used to give brief explanation about the American values to the respondents and to know their opinions about that issue. According to the writer s research plan, FGD is held twice in 2 weeks, in April 7 and April 14. In the first FGD, the writer will explain about American values and its kinds to the respondents with estimated time for 15 minutes. Then, in the last FGD, the writer will give brief explanation to the respondents about the contents of the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life in 15 minutes. The first FGD could be held successfully according to the plan, but because each respondent has her or his own activity, the last FGD could not be held. So, based on the respondents suggestion, the writer decided to spread the summary of the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life instead of holding the second FGD. The summary was spread through Blackberry Messenger and copied paper. In the first FGD, the topic was about American values. The writer introduced American value and asked the respondents about their understanding

39 toward American values. After that, the writer gave explanation about several kinds of American values, such as individualism, the pursuit of happiness, freedom or liberalism, equality, God, self-reliance, and family. Based on the writer observation, all respondents have enough understanding about several kinds of American values like liberalism and equality. It is proven from their answers about what kinds of American values that they know. Yet, the respondents find it is difficult to understand the difference of American individualism based on Indonesia perspective and America perspective. In America, it is considered as each person is a part of society that has to do what he or she believes and be responsible with him or herself (see page: 14). While in Indonesia, individualism is considered similar to selfishness or egoism. The writer also explained why American values must be the topic of this thesis and what the correlation to the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life is. In this FGD, the writer also video-recorded the discussion as one of the requirements of holding a focus group discussion (see page: 22). The transcription of the video recording can be seen in the Appendix section in this thesis Questionnaires Result The writer gave 13 questions to the respondents in the questionnaires, and based on frequency count technique that is used in describing the result of questionnaire, the writer makes tables to group the questions and its answer. Because there are 13 questions in the questionnaire, there are 13 tables that show questionnaires' result.

40 Question number 1 gives information about respondents' comment toward the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life to the writer. 1. What is your comment about The Purpose Driven Life? a. A book that inspires many people because it discusses about man s life purpose b. An unimportant book because man s life purpose is not an important thing to be discussed c. A book that only suitable for children because it seems like a fairytale d. Other, please explain Table 1. Result of question number 1 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents A book that inspires many people because it 4 discusses about man s life purpose An unimportant book because man s life 0 purpose is not an important thing to be discussed A book that only suitable for children 0 because it seems like a fairytale Other, please explain 0

41 The result showed that all respondents think that the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life inspires many people for it discusses about man s life purpose. Question number 2 and 3 are related to each other. In question number 2, the writer tries to reveal respondents' response toward the book contents, whether is it applicable or not in their daily life. Question number 3 is about respondents' experience while reading the book as their response toward the book. 2. Are The Purpose Driven Life contents relevant to be applied in your daily life? a. YES If your answer is YES, please give the reason b. NO If your answer is NO, please give the reason Table 2. Result of question number 2 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents YES 4 (giving an extraordinary way of thinking or philosophy of life, the book is easy to be understood and appropriate with our daily needs) NO 0

42 From the result above we can see that all respondents agree that the contents in the Indonesia version of The Purpose Driven Life are applicable in their life. 3. What experience do you feel while you read the book? (After reading it for 40 days) (You can choose more than 1) a. I think that my life has purposes to be achieved b. I think that my spiritual and physical life must keep in balance c. I feel nothing d. Other, please explain Table 3. Result of question number 3 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents I think that my life has purposes to be 2 achieved I think that my spiritual and physical life 3 must keep in balance I feel nothing 0 Other, please explain 0 The number of answer was more than the number of respondents since there were some respondents who answered more than one option. This result

43 showed that mostly, respondents think that their spiritual and physical life must keep in balance. Question number 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 function to know how deep the respondents understand America and its values. 4. America is a big country with kinds of values live in its society, and its values are disseminated by using various ways. Based on that explanation, how do you understand America? (You can choose more than 1) a. Movies b. Songs c. Magazines d. Others, please mention Table 4. Result of question number 4 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents Movies 3 Songs 0 Magazines 2 Others, please mention (books, internet 3 sources, electronic media, television news, etc)

44 The number of answer was more than the number of respondents since there were some respondents who answered more than one option. From this result we can assume that mostly, respondents understand America from movies and other sources such as books and internet sources. 5. America has many nickname or stereotype, for instance, superpower country, liberal country, individualist country. According to you, what America is like? a. A country that provides many job opportunities b. A country where there is no discrimination in ethnic, race, and religion c. A democratic country d. Other, please explain Table 5. Result of question number 5 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents A country that provides many job 0 opportunities A country where there is no discrimination 2 in ethnic, race, and religion A democratic country 2 Other, please explain 0

45 The answers showed equal result, in which 2 respondents understand America as a country with no discrimination in ethnic, race, and religion, and 2 other respondents understand America as a democratic country. 6. What do you know about American values? a. A group of ideas possessed and believed by the American b. American customs and traditions c. America s life-maker factors d. Other, please explain Table 6. Result of question number 6 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents A group of ideas possessed and believed by 4 the American American customs and traditions 0 America s life-maker factors 0 Other, please explain 0 This result showed that all respondents understand American values as a group of ideas possessed and believed by the American. 7. What kinds of American values that you understand? (You can choose more than 1)

46 a. Individualism b. Liberalism/freedom c. God d. The pursuit of happiness e. Self-reliance f. Equality g. Family h. Other, please mention Table 7. Result of question number 7 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents Individualism 1 Liberalism/freedom 3 God 2 The pursuit of happiness 1 Self-reliance 0 Equality 3 Family 1 Other, please mention 0 From that result, we can conclude that liberalism/freedom and equality are two mostly chosen answers by the respondents considered as American values.

47 8. Based on what you choose in question number 7, what do you know about those American values? Table 8. Result of question number 8 in questionnaire Answers Number of Respondents Individualism 1 (respect individual rights) Liberalism/freedom 3 (responsible for freedom that does not disturb others, freedom from feeling afraid, freedom to express own opinion or ideas, religious freedom, every individual has her or his secured-by-government freedom) God 2 (a fully-trust in God country which is proven by a sentence ( In God We Trust ) in US dollar) The pursuit of happiness 1 Equality (no discrimination in gender, race, 3 and culture, equality of rights in life) Family 1 (family values that are emphasized in society)

48 We can assume that respondents have their own interpretations about the meaning of each American values they had chosen. Their interpretations are also almost similar to each other. Question number 9, 10, and 11 are aimed to reveal several points in the Indonesian version of The Purpose Driven Life that have correlation with American values. 9. The writer of The Purpose Driven Life is an American. According to you, is there a possibility for an American writer to insert American values in her or his works? a. YES, because b. NO, because Table 9. Result of question number 9 in questionnaire Choosen Answers Number of Respondents YES 4 (he is established by his surroundings, his view of life is influencing his work where that view is a crystallization of American values, his background is America with its society) NO 0