During a workshop about honor and shame, Kyle Wiebe of Create Taiwan drew “Perspectives” as her notes.Though simple in form, I found myself staring and analyzing the images that portray honor-shame, power-fear, and innocence-guilt. I suspect others would fine the drawing fruitful for devotional or …

A Complete Picture of Salvation Read more »

The English word “thanksgiving” means food and football. The biblical concept is far different. In honor-shame cultures, the ideology of patronage structures most relationships. This means clients are morally obligated to express thankfulness and gratitude to patrons. The failure to properly reciprocate …

Unthankfulness = Sin. So, Happy Thanksgiving! Read more »

Robert Elder (PhD, Emory) is Assistant Professor of History at Valparaiso University. His book The Sacred Mirror: Evangelicalism, Honor, and Identity in the Deep South, 1790-1860 (UNC Press, 2016) explores the role of honor-shame among antebellum southern evangelicals. This is …

The Gospel of Honor…according to White, Southern, Antebellum Evangelicals Read more »

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 …

INFOGRAPHIC: How Cultures Clash Read more »

InterVarsity Press is making Chapter 7 “Relationships” of Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures available as a free PDF download. Feel free to download, read, and share this resource. Mark and I glad to offer this chapter. It includes over 20 case examples from 15 different global …

FREE CHAPTER: 8 Guidelines for Fruitful Relationships Read more »

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 …

6 Keys for Relationships in Honor-Shame Cultures Read more »

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. …

Honor & Patronage Among Church Leaders Read more »

The Iraq War has cost America 3 trillion dollars, claimed over 100,000 lives, and helped create ISIS. So, what triggered this spectacular catastrophe? Many factors caused the Iraq War, but the precipitating cause seems to be the West’s inability to grasp the …

The Iraq War & ISIS began with a Cultural Miscue Read more »

A conversation with a young Central Asian Muslim changed my theology forever.We were having a conversation about God, and there was an open door to share the gospel, so I said something like, “Your sins make you guilty before God, …

3 Tips for Evangelism in Honor-Shame Cultures Read more »

My latest book Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures: Biblical Foundations and Practical Essentials (InterVarsity Press) is now available.This 270-page book equips Christians to proclaim and embody the gospel in honor-shame contexts. Our aim was simple: to show how honor-shame is central …

New Book: Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures (IVP) Read more »