There is No Christmas Without Adoption For years, I heard that of the two NT genealogies of Jesus (in Matthew 1 and Luke 3), one traced his lineage via Joseph and the other through Mary. After all, if Mary is not a blood relative of David, how could the prophecy be true whereby Jesus becomes David’s offspring who would rule the nations (cf. 2 Sam 7; 1 Chron 17)? Adoption, . . . that’s how. Here are the relevant verses... Read more
I want to briefly follow up on the “(Mis)Understanding Honor, Shame, or Face” series (Part One, Two, Three), giving at least some nod in the direction of application. The implications are so vast, one could not suppose to tease them all out over a lifetime of writing. In broad strokes, what are some spheres of daily and church life that are affected by honor and shame? Everything. All people have a sense of identity and a system of values that... Read more
What do you think about this article, “Why Sharing Your Story Is Not the Best Way to Share the Gospel“? (more…) Read more
I previously wrote a post announcing that Werner Mischke, Executive Vice President and Director of Training Ministries at Mission ONE, has designed a new evangelistic booklet that uses an honor and shame perspective. It’s called The Father’s Love Booklet. Today, I review it. Overall, I like it. I should first give full disclosure. I’m not a fan of things like tracts but acknowledge that they can be useful tools, if they are used wisely and do not replace a more... Read more
If Jesus has been born Chinese, he may well have said it this way, “For whoever would save his face will lose it, but whoever loses his face for my sake will find it,” (cf. Matt 16:25). Here are some other passages for thought–– Rev 22:3–4, “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name... Read more
In case we’re not friends yet, go to my Facebook page and press “Like” Look up Jackson Wu Read more
Craig Thompson, over at Clearing Customs, has a helpful article with “Eleven Tips for Helping Someone with Cross-Cultural Transition Loss.” It’s worth passing along to those you know who have made or will make a cross-cultural move. Here are a few of his suggestions: Remember that grieving is a long process. Don’t minimize the loss. Give advice cautiously. Help your [friend] create new traditions/rituals/activities. He also give a number of links and resource suggestions that some may want to check... Read more
Originally Posted at Desiring God. Read more
In the last post, I said that while I love the emergence of missional language, I don’t think it’s helpful for people to say, “Every Christian is a missionary.” Missionaries are missional but missional people are not necessarily missionaries. Think of concentric circles. The big circle represents those who should be missonal (i.e. all Christians). The inner circle represents missionaries (i.e. those crossing cultures). First of all, I want to respond upfront to an assumption I’ve heard voiced many times.... Read more
(This is a follow-up to an on-going series “Death by a Thousand Cuts“) chinese traffic Brakes. I feel nauseous more times than I don’t when in a taxi. Perhaps, it is due to some inherent desire to harmonize the yin-yang that drivers seemingly drive with both feet, alternating in rapid succession between brake and accelerator. I guess i just prefer either-or driving to a both-and approach. My stomach is not so culturally tolerant as if crosses back and forth, front... Read more
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