Is our ministry “effective”?

Last updated on: August 12, 2015 at 1:00 am By Brad Vaughn

When assessing various methods of ministry, one of the early questions people have is this: “Is it effective?” However, have you ever stopped to ask yourself what it means to be “effective” from a biblical perspective? If we properly understand the meaning of being “effective” it would transform the way we do ministry, particularly how we assess various tools and strategies. People often talk about being faithful and fruitful. Yet, even this distinction might muddy the waters when it comes... Read more

July Issue of Global Missiology is Here!

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 11:15 pm By Brad Vaughn

Doug Coleman and I had the privilege of co-editing this month’s issue of Global Missiology. We were fortunate that so many great writers were willing to contribute their insights. The articles cover subjects ranging from “obedience-based discipleship”, biblical theology, insider movements to the ministry of mothers in a cross-cultural context. Here is an inside look at what you’ll find. Obedience-Based Discipleship Zane Pratt, Vice-President for Global Training for the IMB (International Mission Board) examines the value of “obedience-based discipleship.” Such... Read more

Hoarding Theological Training?

Last updated on: August 12, 2015 at 1:03 am By Brad Vaughn

Training Leaders International posted a great video by Richard Pratt, an Old Testament professor at RTS. While speaking about the ministry he does around the world, Pratt explains why theological training is so practical. He even suggests that the Western church, on the whole, is hoarding theological education. After watching it, I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment. Read more

If Asians Said The Stuff White People Say (about theology)

Last updated on: August 12, 2015 at 1:06 am By Brad Vaughn

Contextualization begins when we see the world through another person’s eyes. It’s easy to forget that other people don’t see the world the same way we do. Videos like the one below remind us that we all have implicit ideas about what is true, normal, or even right. For instance, have you ever noticed that Westerners sometimes get a little defensive when people talk about “western theology.” If you speak like this, they assume that you are somehow belittling their... Read more

Rewriting the Gospel for Oral Cultures

Last updated on: August 24, 2015 at 3:48 pm By Brad Vaughn

Interested in honor and shame? What about orality? Well, you might be interested in this book. The International Orality Network (ION) has just released Beyond Literate Western Contexts: Honor & Shame and the Assessment of Orality Preference (edited by Samuel Chiang and Grant Lovejoy). The book compiles many of the papers discussed at a consultation held last year in Houston’s HBU. Samuel and Grant were gracious to invite me and so you’ll find my paper included in the book as... Read more

Finding Honor-Shame in UPG Cultures

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 8:03 pm By Brad Vaughn

A lot has been written about how honor and shame influence large cultures, whether Chinese, Japanese, among many others. But what about smaller or unreached people groups (UPGs)?This post gives a few tips to help you identify ways that honor and shame influence the “unreached people group” with whom you work. This is a simple and practical post. Possible Conversation Starters Here are a few possible sample questions that you could use to learn more about their “honor-shame” perspective. How... Read more

4 Keys to Evangelism in Honor-Shame Cultures

Last updated on: January 12, 2022 at 4:03 am By Brad Vaughn

(This post originally appeared on Ed Stetzer’s blog The Exchange) I’ll never forget when an atheist, Chinese taxi driver shared the gospel with me. It was one of the best presentations I’ve heard. He didn’t believe it, of course, but he had heard the message so many times that he could rattle it off like Billy Graham himself had trained him. I had spent the past 15–20 minutes explaining the gospel in a way that made better sense in an... Read more

Missiology reviews "Lost World of Adam and Eve"

Last updated on: May 11, 2015 at 8:30 pm By Brad Vaughn

A few months ago, I ran a series reviewing and applying John Walton’s book The Lost World of Adam and Eve. I just found out that a shorter review I wrote has been published in Missiology: An International Review. If you want to check it out, click here. Read more

Links corrected to Chinese resources

Last updated on: August 12, 2015 at 1:37 am By Brad Vaughn

I was informed that a number of my links to Chinese resources were broken or inaccessible in the Mainland. Many were on the wu-rong.org site. Most of the Chinese language resources use Dropbox. However, if you need links that are more consistently available in Mainland China, click here for Chinese language materials. For the Chinese translation of Saving God’s Face: Dropbox: 挽回神的脸 Baidu Cloud: 挽回神的脸 This is important to note because many Chinese friends may not be able... Read more

Introducing “The Creator King”

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 8:22 pm By Brad Vaughn

One reason why people reject the gospel is simply this––they don’t get it. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that many Christians don’t read their Bible for a similar reason––they don’t get it. How do we make the Biblical message simple enough that anyone can understand it? Honestly, there’s a problem with that question. On the one hand, the answer is blatantly obvious––we can’t. The Bible talks about an infinite God. How could we ever expect anyone to get our minds... Read more