Status Seeking and the Media We Consume

January 19, 2021 By Jackson Wu

How do the sitcoms and movies we watch affect our views about social position, social rank, and our motivations and fears about losing social status? Read more

Reviewing Rachel Welcher’s Talking Back to Purity Culture

January 12, 2021 By Jackson Wu

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The Imago Dei concerns both our bodies and our relationships with others, regardless of gender, so says Rachel Joy Welcher. In Talking Back to Purity Culture, she does a masterful job investigating all manner of purity culture. Read more

Six Approaches to Contextualization in China

January 5, 2021 By Jackson Wu

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The following six categories signify six ways that theologians and missiologists talk about and do theology for a Chinese context. Although each has defining characteristics, this does not deny overlap and agreement between the approaches. Read more

A Dictionary for Learning Theological Chinese

December 29, 2020 By Jackson Wu

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In this post, I want to spotlight a fantastic specifically designed for English speakers who do cross-cultural ministry to Chinese speakers. It is a dictionary of Chinese vocabulary and prayers in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Read more

New and Noteworthy Articles and Reviews

December 22, 2020 By Jackson Wu

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If you can’t read everything (and you can’t), then read book reviews instead. This is a great hack to get familiar with a wide range of resources. This most recent issue of Themelios has several worth noting. Here are some book reviews published in the Mission and Culture section. Read more

Christ was Born with Honor through Shame

December 16, 2020 By Jackson Wu

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The narratives surrounding Jesus’ birth make it abundantly apparent that we misjudge what and who deserve honor or shame. As I said in the previous post, the incarnation reveals the true nature of honor and glory. Today, I will highlight just a couple of examples. Joseph’s Honor through Mary’s Shame A good story builds to its climax. But for a first-century reader, Matthew opens with what would seem like a challenge that would be the climactic obstacle in most any… Read more

The Incarnation as the Revelation of Glory

December 14, 2020 By Jackson Wu

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All too often we speak of the incarnation as the action by which God sets his glory aside to embrace the shame that is the muck and dross of this world. No doubt, there’s some truth to that sentiment. However, we also know that, like many other things, there is something true in every half-truth. What can go unnoticed, if we’re not careful, is that the incarnation represents the precise opposite in several extraordinary ways. Yes, the baby Jesus was… Read more

Training Missionaries to Cross Honor-Shame Cultures

December 8, 2020 By Jackson Wu

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How might Christians from one honor-shame culture effectively serve as missionaries in another honor-shame culture? By answering this question, churches and mission organizations can better train cross-cultural workers whose cultural backgrounds offer advantages not enjoyed by many Western missionaries. Read more

Thoughts on China’s “New” Regulations on Foreigner’s Religious Activity

December 7, 2020 By Jackson Wu

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Joann Pittman, from China Source, recently wrote an excellent article analyzing China’s new regulations concerning the religious activities of foreigners. (For an English translation, click here.) Before Joann wrote the article, she solicited reflections from me, Brent Fulton, and others. I have not developed my thoughts as articulately as Joann, but, nevertheless, perhaps some people might find my fuller response to be helpful as they form their own perspective on the matter. China’s Regulations are Both New and Old The… Read more