I look forward to attending ETS and SBL 2015 next month! I hope to connect with many of you. For now, I’ll let you know where you can find me. I’ll be presenting … Tuesday, November 17th 2:50–3:30 “Have Theologians No Sense of Shame?: How the Bible Reconciles Objective and Subjective Shame” Here is my abstract: If it is true that theology should shape Christian ministry and practice, then the church is ill equipped to deal with the subject of... Read more
This post gives a number of suggestions for learning and teaching theological concepts in Chinese. However, many of the ideas below could easily be applied to other languages as well. In the last post, I explained three of the most critical suggestions. Today, the list is more straightforward, starting with tip #4. 4. Use Flashcards No one “likes” doing flashcards. However, they are indispensable for establishing a firm foundation and easily recalling many theological words and concepts. After all,... Read more
Practically speaking, how can people learn and teach theological ideas in Chinese (or any other foreign language)? My previous post explained “why” missionaries should learn theological language (not merely “religious” language). Today, I want to talk about the “how” by offering 3 initial tips. Later, I’ll offer a lot more suggestions. What do we do? 怎么办？ 1. Read English. Speak Chinese. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll assume a person’s mother language is English. Feel free to use whatever is... Read more
I once sat in a meeting with a group of new missionaries being sent to East Asia. One man wanted to have proper expectations about learning Mandarin. He raised his hand and asked sincerely, “How long will it take before we can read things like theological journals in Chinese?” With a snorting laugh, one woman interjected something like, “Ha, don’t count on ever doing that!” (The sentiment was echoed by some of the leaders in the room.) I on the other... Read more
What image comes to mind when you think of a Chinese pastor? Meek and mild? Bold and tireless? Often, Chinese pastors are very daring in their evangelism; sadly, that boldness does not always serve them well when it comes to shepherding their churches. I’ve said before that one of the more critical needs in the Chinese church is theological training. One area is particular is ecclesiology––the doctrine of the church. In this post, I will use a news story from... Read more
In Exodus, God catalyzes a “people planting movement.” This differs from “disciple making movements” or “church planting movements” (CPM). In fact, I have argued elsewhere that there are no CPMs in in the Bible. In Exodus 13, we see God in the early stages of planting a royal priesthood and a holy nation (cf. Exod 19:6). From these Israelites, the Lord would grow a people who are called by His name. Out of a desire to see people saved, we... Read more
I’m thinking a lot about the atonement these days. At this years ETS Conference, I’ll be talking about the sacrificial system from an honor-shame perspective. Also, I am preparing a class called The Theology of Atonement. One of my favorite books from this past year is Adonis Vidu’s Atonement, Law, and Justice: The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts. As an introduction to the book, I’ve posted the video below. A key aspect of cultural contextualization is exegetical contextualization. By... Read more
Simplification is not contextualization. Of course we want to communicate the gospel as simply as possible. Yet, the gospel is not as “simple” as many people suppose. Consider the various contexts involved. We have to understand the gospel as it was understood in multiple ancient settings. Our own cultural lenses limit our interpretations. In addition, we are trying to communicate and apply that message in a cross-cultural context. Do we preach an “abstract” gospel? There is nothing simple about... Read more
There is a very particular story that frames the way the biblical writers present the gospel. This is an important premise of the model I propose in One Gospel for All Nations. The framework of the biblical story is unchanging. It is what gives firmness to our gospel presentations. As Paul says in Gal 1:6–7, there is only one gospel. Some aspects of the gospel are inflexible. Naturally, we should identify what those are. (I am in the middle of... Read more
What do think? Is this the gospel? Read more
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