Being a pastor is hard. Crossing a culture as a missionary is hard. Being a parent and a Christian in this world feels impossible some days. Theology and missiology concern more than the mind. They require a lot of heart if we are to grasp the significance of God’s calling for his people. This is why I sometimes show videos like these. The lesson this teacher shares with the student and his father have significance for us as well. It’s... Read more
The male students in my class agreed, “The Bible says that men are more important than women.” In Chinese culture, one never wants to provoke a teacher, but that is exactly what they did that day. Of all people, my Chinese students should grasp the interdependence of maleness (yang) and femaleness (yin). The yin-yang symbol signifies the balance of contrasts, male-female, dark-light, and perhaps we might add Bible-culture. When discussing contextualization, evangelicals make a similar mistake as my students. How?... Read more
Here are a few highlights from the latest issue of Themelios for those interested on doing theology while thinking about mission. Book Reviews In the Mission and Culture section: Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing by Andy Crouch. The Trinity Among the Nations: The Doctrine of God in the Majority World. Edited by Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, and K.K. Yeo. Confucius for Christians: What an Ancient Chinese Worldview Can Teach Us... Read more
If you want to see an example of good contextualization, read Gregg Ten Elshof’s Confucius for Christians: What an Ancient Worldview Can Teach Us about Life in Christ (Eerdmans, 2015). It’s short, practical, and very substantial. A book like this could be polarizing. So, let’s begin by clarifying what Ten Elshof does and does not do. Otherwise, we might misread him (as at least one reviewer has done). He does not: attempt to “reconcile” or “harmonize” Confucianism and Christianity treat... Read more
This post introduces you to Gregg Ten Elshof’s Confucius for Christians by responding to (what I feel is) an unfair review of the book in the recent issue of Themelios. (For full disclosure, I recently become the new book reviews editor for Themelios’ Mission and Culture section.) I am so glad to finally read this concise and exceptional book. Ten Elshof has written exactly the sort of book the church needs to read if we want to utilize global perspectives... Read more
The Bible not only gives us our message; it should shape our methods. In One Gospel for All Nations, I suggest that the biblical writers have a distinct pattern of presenting the gospel. In effect, they provide us with a firm and flexible model for contextualizing the one gospel in any culture. I know that sounds like an audacious claim. Yet, what if it’s true? Might we then be able to change the conversation about contextualization from mere principles to... Read more
Do you have an ethical ministry strategy? I’m guessing most people have never asked this sort of question. What does strategy have to do with ethics? What’s strategy to do with ethics? A few months ago, I heard a book survey different ethical approaches (e.g. utilitarianism, virtue theory, etc.). It dawned on me that the same basic ways that people think about morality or ethics also shapes how missionaries (and pastors) determine their methods of ministry. This is significant. Recognizing... Read more
This short video explains the meaning of “honor and shame,” highlighting key themes are mark all human cultures. It clarifies certain impressions and misunderstandings about how honor and shame work within a cultural context. The above video is the third in a series that provides a short introduction to a number of topics. In Part One, I explained the “what” and “why” of contextualization. In Part Two, I gave an overview about “how” we contextualize the gospel in any culture.... Read more
How did honor shape evangelicalism in the American south before the civil war? Robert Elder answers this question in his new book The Sacred Mirror: Evangelicalism, Honor, and Identity in the Deep South, 1790-1860. Readers can gain a better grasp how honor-shame work in various cultures. More importantly, I think his book will equip the church to learn lessons about how ot to repeat old mistakes. Below, I link to a few interviews with Elder. Redefining Honor & the Shame of... Read more
I’m very grateful to Southeastern Theological Review for publishing a review of One Gospel for All Nations. Greg Mathias does an exceptional job summarizing the book’s essence. Authors appreciate when reviewers genuinely engage with one’s ideas. It’s very apparent that he did. If you’d like an introduction to One Gospel for all Nations, check out his review of the book. He concludes with a kind endorsement, While especially profitable for those working in non-Western contexts, I highly recommend this book... Read more
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