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
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
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
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
In this post, I want to argue that we have mislabeled " fear-power cultures." Instead, we should call them “fear-peace” cultures. Read more
Mentoring is a major aspect of ministry and missionary labor. In Christian parlance, people often refer to mentoring as “disciplining” someone. For those who work cross-culturally, the fact that mentoring is a part of one’s ministry is so obvious and needed that we might tend to overlook certain complicating factors involved with mentoring across cultures. Read more
Improving people’s economic status does not undermine tribalism. In fact, our goal is not to eradicate “tribes” (i.e., groups of belonging). We do well to have proper expectations and keep in mind what actually is the problem and what is not. Read more
In 2016, the first Honor and Shame Conference was held in Wheaton. It brought together leading voices in the theology and missions world to deepen the honor-shame conversation. Some of those voices have now joined together as contributors to a new book! It’s called Honor, Shame, and the Gospel: Reframing Our Message and Ministry, edited by Christopher Flanders and Werner Mischke. Here is a list of the contributors: Steven C. Hawthorne Jayson Georges Tom Steffen Jackson Wu Randolph Richards Mako... Read more
Looking at the table of contents, I scratched my head trying to imagine how McCaulley would use Scripture to address topics such as policing, black identity, and black rage. I could only hope his methodology would be more exegetically rigorous than many authors of black liberation theology. He did not disappoint. I was humbled and in awe of the ways that McCaulley analyzed several texts. Read more
Prior to the release of Esau McCaulley’s Reading While Black, I had mixed feelings about reading the book, which had received a lot of press leading up to its publication. I'm so glad I came to my senses. in this post, I explore how Reading While Black can be seen as an exercise in contextualization. Read more
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