Confusing Law, Commands and Absolutes

March 16, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

Whenever people express concern to me about honor and shame, they inevitably reemphasize the importance of law. They are nervous that honor-shame threatens to displace “law” as a key biblical theme. After countless conversations, I’ve realized what the real issue is. (After all, I repeatedly tell them that law is an important idea.) People are afraid that by not stressing law-language, we would relativize right and wrong. This is a bad assumption that is based on their confusing law, commands,... Read more

10 Characteristics of an “Individualistic Gospel”

March 9, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

What is an “individualistic gospel”? It’s common to hear people criticize evangelistic presentations as “individualistic.” However, that is a rather vague description. How do people know if their gospel is “individualistic”? In this post, I’ll suggest 10 features that tend to characterize an “individualistic gospel.” I don’t claim that such a message always has every attribute. I simply want to identify tendencies. Also, don’t confuse “individual” with “individualistic.” Although the gospel does speak to individuals, it does not need to... Read more

Doing Missions by Darwinian Evolution

March 2, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

If certain missionary methods have no biblical precedent, then why do they multiply so rapidly? Pragmatism is proficient in spreading its DNA. We need to consider how culture (including church/missionary subculture) influences our methods of ministry. Therefore, I wrote the article, “The Influence of Culture on the Evolution of Mission Methods: Using CPMs as a Case Study.” This essay addresses an urgent need. It aims to offer suggestions from a practical perspective. I’m often surprised that people who are familiar... Read more

Does Grace Require Reciprocity?

February 25, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

God’s grace is an invitation to have relationship. That relationship creates an obligation, which is inherent to any relationship. We should love and honor Him. We belong to His family and so are not independent of other believers. Here is a key objection: a gift that expects reciprocity (some future response) is not free grace. It is more like a down-payment conditioned on our future response. Is Grace Conditional? I have a few answers to this objection. 1. Don’t confuse... Read more

Responding to Grace in Romans

February 23, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

Some people have concerns about the content of my previous post. Building on John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift, I explained that reciprocity is standard feature of grace in the ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish world. As Barclay argues well, the idea that “grace” implies no expectation of return (from the recipient) is a modern Christian emphasis. In this post, I want to briefly list a few biblical passages that illustrate why even God’s grace requires us to respond in some... Read more

Grace, Gift-giving, and Guanxi in Chinese Culture

February 17, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

Recently, a student generously gave me brewed coffee, to which I said thank you. On cue, he replied “应该的” (i.e. I ought to do it). We were studying Romans in class. So, thinking I’d be clever, I said, 应该的不是恩典, indicating “It’s not grace if it’s what you are supposed to do.” Unfortunately, I was wrong. I didn’t realize it however until I reflected more on John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift. I was once again reminded that Christians have a... Read more

The Difference Between Worth and Wages

February 10, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

In Romans and Galatians, Paul does not correct views about the merit of one’s works as much as he challenges the measure of one’s worth. This conclusion stems from John Barclay’s recent work Paul and the Gift (which I introduced in part 1 of the series). This post begins to explain Barclay’s distinction and the difference it makes for our message and mission. He forces us to rethink why the Bible contrasts grace and works. Works are not attempts to... Read more

Does the “Plan of Salvation” Make Disciples?

February 4, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

Thanks to Asian Missions Advance, who have published my latest article in its Jan 2016 issue: Does the “Plan of Salvation” Make Disciples?: Why Honor and Shame Are Essential for Christian Ministry The article deals with a few major issues all at once. How might honor and shame reshape our view of Christian discipleship and evangelism? I refer both to one’s being a disciple of Christ and to making disciples. This raises many other questions, like “What are honor and... Read more

Grace Honors the Unworthy (by John Barclay)

February 2, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

On honorshame.com, John Barclay recently wrote an excellent summary about the relationship between honor-shame and grace. With permission, I have reposted his comments below. I think his final paragraph is especially helpful. Paul’s theology of grace was a radical intervention into a culture of honour-acquisition and status-competition. Paul’s gospel announces that God’s definitive gift in Christ does not, as one might expect, follow pre-constituted standards of worth, but is given without regard to worth and grants the only worth that... Read more

Why Give Grace? Glory.

January 27, 2016 By Brad Vaughn

In the ancient Roman-Greek and Jewish world, why did people give gifts (grace, χαρις)? And how might this insight help us understand the Bible better? In this series, I am exploring the implications and applications of John Barclay’s recent book Paul and the Gift. (Click here for part 1). As we see today, Barclay helps us use an honor-shame perspective to bring theological and missiology into conversation. In the ancient Greek-Roman world, patronage and gift giving were common practices. Those... Read more