The upcoming 2020 honor-shame conference will feature an array of extraordinary women from diverse backgrounds. Many of them are authors. Some are theologians and missiologists. All draw from valuable practical experience.

This post highlights a few speakers and workshop presenters you will meet at the conference. Honor and shame not only cross every cultural boundary; it affects both men and women, young and old, as well as every other type of person.

Women, Missions, and Cultural Identity

We are excited that Sheryl Takagi Silzer will be a plenary speaker this year. Her talk is titled “Honor-Shame and Cultural Identity.”

She is a third-generation Japanese American multicultural consultant with SIL International and Wycliffe Bible Translators. She served for many years in Colombia, South America and in the Asia Pacific area. She has written Tapestry of Grace: Unraveling the Cultural Complexities of Asian Life and Ministry (2016, co-authored with Ben Shin) and Biblical Multicultural Teams: Applying Biblical Truth to Cultural Differences (2011). I featured their book here .

We are also thrilled that Mary Lederleitner is a recent addition to the conference. Her book Women in God’s Mission: Accepting the Invitation to Serve and Lead was recently named Christianity Today’s 2020 Book of the Year Award (in the Missions/Global Church category).

Mary is the founder and executive director of Missional Intelligence. She has a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and an MA in intercultural studies from Wheaton College, and teaches as an adjunct professor at both institutions. She is a veteran mission leader and researcher who has served for two decades with the Wycliffe Global Alliance in a variety of international leadership roles.

The following is a preview of her workshop:

An honor-shame worldview provides a fresh way to think through how we are working with women in our ministry contexts, and the impact of our language and processes upon their growth and development. This session will highlight research with respected women in global mission, and how the Egalitarian / Complementarian conversation is impacting them personally and professionally as they seek to honor their Lord through their work and ministries.

Theology? Missions? Yes!

The list could go on. The conference integrates topics related to both theology and missions. Check out the following workshop titles

Sam Kim, “The Concept of Shame in World Religions Eastern Asia and the Middle East.” She is Assistant Professor of Missiology at Asbury Seminary.

Audrey Frank, “Unclean No More: Muslim Women and the Gospel of Purity.” She is a fellow at The Truth Collective and author of The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World.

Mary James, “Ostracized not Rotten,” where she will examine cultural connotations of shame and how the West’s demonization of shame misses a fuller meaning. She has served as a church planter in Arabian Peninsula for over 25 years.

Cathy Hine, “Writing My Own Ending: The Power of Story to Overcome Shame.” She is a mission practitioner and co-founder of When Women Speak.

Grace Sangalang Ng, “The Holy Spirit’s Transformation of Shame into Honor in Romans 8.” Grace is a PhD student at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.

Patricia Toland, “Identifying Characteristics of Leaders who Honor Biblically.” She is a missionary with WEC since 1990.

Sunny Hong, “Honor and Shame in the Book of Ruth in Light of Diaspora Ministry.” She is an intercultural consultant with SIL International and Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Juliet November, “Honor-Shame in Ethnic Partnerships for Christian Movies.” She is a cross-cultural worker in Thailand and the author of Honor/Shame Cultures: A Beginners Guide to Cross-Cultural Missions.

For more information or to register, check out the conference page.