Category: Communication
Honor Is Not One Dimensional
Rich Y. (B.Th) has worked in the Arab world for eight years. When I was new to the Arab world, I used to have a one-dimensional view of “honor” and a stock approach to discipleship with Arabs—“Those who exalt themselves…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Honor, Relationships, Shame Tagged with: al-'izzah, al-karamah, Honor, multidimensional
4 Practical Ways To Use The Culture Test
Since being released in late 2014, people have found creative and strategic uses for The Culture Test. The following four stories shows areas where an awareness of guilt-shame-fear dynamics can be beneficial. 1. Theological Apologetics Martin was a Kenyan Christian…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Ministry, Resources Tagged with: apologetics, learning, strategy, teaching, the culture test, training
The Meaning of ‘Shame’—A Short History
Where do these categories of “guilt-shame” or “shame-honor” come from? Like all ideas, the notion of “shame” has developed over time. This post summarizes the main currents of shame research in the 20th century. The Beginning: Ruth Benedict The binary…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Honor, Shame, Wesetern Tagged with: anthropology, guilt-innocence, guilt-shame, honor-shame, psychology, Ruth Benedict
Guilt-Shame-Fear & Other Cultural Models
There are many models that explain how global cultures differ. They all simplify reality in different ways. This post shows how the guilt-shame-fear paradigm compares to other well-known cultural models. 1. Hofstede’s 6 Dimensions An organizational anthropologist named Geert Hoftstede…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Ministry, Relationships Tagged with: anthropology, culture, Hofstede, Lewis, Lingenfelter, models, Schrewer
The Value of Cultural Models
In 2015 I taught a course in Chad, Africa. I considered bringing gifts for the 12 Chadian students, but we had a very tight luggage allowance. The school director suggested instead that I buy a goat at the end of…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Relationships, Resources Tagged with: categories, complexity, culture, models
The 3D Gospel: Updated and Revised
The 3D Gospel started in mind as a 2-page PDF that would help people understand the results of The Culture Test. But it mushroomed into an 80-page book that I published on Amazon. Since then, The 3D Gospel has become a…
Raising Support in Honor-Shame Cultures: 5 Tips
As the global Church expands, there is a growing need for money to fund ministry. The Church in Asia, Africa, and Latin America has a vision for global missions, and this vision requires financial resources. Traditional fund-raising models are often…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Honor, Ministry, Relationships, Shame Tagged with: finances, fundraising, gifts, support
The Problem with Bible Translations: Your Culture
Anyone who reads the Bible today faces an unavoidable fact—Scripture was originally written in and for a culture different than our own culture. This makes the Bible difficult to understand. Consider the meaning of these words: He whistled at her,…
Posted in Bible, Communication, Culture, NT, OT, Theology, Wesetern Tagged with: community., HSP, individualism, interpretation
New Training Video about Ethics and Discipleship
“Transforming Honor” is a new training video about biblical ethics, morality, and discipleship in honor-shame cultures. My aim with this video is to (1) transform Western misconceptions about honor cultures and (2) transform honor into a positive source for moral change. The 33-minute resource is…
Posted in Communication, Culture, ethics, Honor, Ministry, Missiology, Resources, Spirituality, Wesetern Tagged with: ethics, morality, resource, training, video
Stetzer, Moreau, & Kärkkäinen at the Honor-Shame Conference
Three leading missiologists will join us at the Honor-Shame Conference (June 19-21) at Wheaton. Ed Stetzer is the Billy Graham Professor of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College, Executive Director of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, and blogs at The Exchange…
Set of 30 Bible Stories about Honor & Shame
Biblical writers communicated God’s honor for the shamed through stories. Narratives recount how God saves his people from disgrace and displays honor.Here is a story set of 30 biblical narratives that address honor and shame. For a more complete list ,…
Posted in Bible, Communication, Evangelism, Ministry, Missiology, Resources Tagged with: bible, ministry, NT, OT, resource, story set
The 5 (Unwritten) Rules of Honor-Shame Cultures
During my years in Central Asia, I always dreaded being pulled over by a policeman. No matter how much I tried to demonstrate my innocence according to all the traffic rules, the officer usually showed little interest in concepts like…
4 Benefits of Learning about Honor & Shame
Why learn about honor and shame? Here are four benefits.1. HermeneuticsI once saw a Turkish person read Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15). He read the opening verse about the son asking for his inheritance, closed the Bible, and declared, “That…
Posted in Bible, Communication, Honor, Relationships, Resources, Shame, Spirituality, Theology Tagged with: bible, ministry, relationships, resources, spirituality
Honor & Patronage Among Church Leaders
Patricia Toland (Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies, Biola University) has served in Africa and Latin America since 1990 mobilizing the Latino church and training Latino Missionaries. She also lectures, trains, and ministers internationally to missionaries on the field and in universities.Church…
Posted in Communication, Culture, leadership, Ministry Tagged with: latin, leadership, ministry, patronage, power
INFOGRAPHIC: How Cultures Clash
We all judge other people cultures according to our own cultural values. This is fine when two people share the same culture. But when people from two different cultures interact, using your own culture to judge others can be disastrous. The cultures…
Posted in Communication, Culture, ethics, Relationships, Resources Tagged with: culture, infographic, relationships, resource
6 Keys for Relationships in Honor-Shame Cultures
For people to understand, you must speak their language. Obvious, huh?But most Westerners ignore this basic rule of communication in their cross-cultural relationships. To meaningfully communicate love and honor to people, we must use the cultural “grammar” of honor-shame in…
Posted in Communication, Culture, ethics, Ministry, Relationships, Resources Tagged with: culture, ministry, relationships, resource
The 3 Kinds of Honor
The three types of honor are bad honor, good honor, and eternal honor. People use the same word “honor” for all three, and this causes confusion. Failing to note the three kinds of honor affects our discipleship and theology. So here…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Evangelism, Honor, Theology Tagged with: culture, definition, Honor, theology
How Honor-Shame Cultures Confess Sins
How should people confess their sin? What form should confession take?I was raised Catholic, so the the word “confession” means reliving those experiences as a mischievous little boy shuddering in a confessional booth saying, “Forgive me father for I have…
Posted in Communication, Culture, Ministry, Missiology, Relationships, Shame, Spirituality, Theology Tagged with: confession, relationships, repentance, theology
To Be, or Not To Be … a Patron?
This post is part of the online conversation “Leading and Ministering in Honor-Shame Contexts” in April 2016. Click here to read reflections and insights from mission practioners. In many countries, patronage is the de facto socio-economic system.Patronage can be defined as “a reciprocal relationship between unequals.” The…
Why Muslims Defend God’s Honor
Bruce Sidebotham (D.Min., New Geneva Theological Seminary) spent 7 years doing cross-cultural ministry in Indonesia. He directs the ministry called Operation Reveille that helps service personnel with cross-cultural relations. Why do Muslims attempt to defend the honor of Islam against insults? Amidst the…
