Please considering joining us at the: Patron-client relationships were foundational in the world of Scripture. Plus, the dynamics of status, benefaction, generosity, reciprocity, loyalty and gratitude remain foundational in societies today. Yet the realities of patronage remain ignored in theological and missional conversations. This symposium will …

The Patronage Symposium (Oct 2018) Read more »

The second title—Esther—in the Honor-Shame Paraphrase series is now available. Esther: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase costs $2.99 on Kindle and PDF. Readers often misinterpret Scripture for a simple reason—our culture is very different from the ancient cultures of the Bible. For example, Westerners …

Esther: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase (new book) Read more »

All Bible translations face a problem—the cultural gap between the Bible and contemporary readers. English words evoke Western assumptions and values that are unlike those of biblical writers. The word “grace” (Greek: charis) is a good example of this problem of …

The Problem of “Grace” in English Bibles Read more »

When I wrote The 3D Gospel and developed www.TheCultureTest.com in 2014, I thought that the concept of guilt/shame/fear cultures was unique to Christian missiology. But recently, I encountered a very similar cultural model by a secular psychologist. Richard Shweder is a …

Guilt, Shame, and Fear in Secular Research Read more »

The post is adapted from chapter #3 of  The Bridge to Racial Unity: Discussion Guide 2.0 from Be the Bridge ministries. A personal awareness of racism and racial injustice can generate uncomfortable feelings of shame and guilt. In America’s individualistic …

Shame and Guilt in Racial Reconciliation Read more »

Jackson Wu (Ph.D., SEBTS) teaches theology and missiology to Chinese leaders. He blogs at www.JacksonWu.org. Honor and shame are essential for being and making disciples. They are more than mere labels used to describe culture and improve cross-cultural communication. To …

6 Ways Honor and Shame Make Disciples (Not Converts) Read more »

The latest issue of the magazine Modern Reformation includes my article “Talking About Faith in Non-Western Contexts.” This article explains the biblical meaning of “faith” in terms of patron-client relationships and recent New Testament scholarship. The opening paragraphs are included below, and …

The Meaning of “Faith” Read more »