Category: Missiology

By Posted on Posted in leadership, Ministry, Missiology, patronage, Relationships 1 Comment Tagged with , ,
Let’s start with the obvious—patronage has a P.R. problem. For many people, patronage seems like nepotism, corruption, colonialism, and the mafia! The phrase “biblical patronage” sounds like an oxymoron. Although patron-client relationships are often corrupted and broken, I propose that …

How to Make Patronage “Biblical” Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, ethics, leadership, Missiology, Uncategorized 1 Comment Tagged with ,
Ajith Fernando (ThM, Fuller) serves as the teaching director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka. This post is from his latest book, Discipling in A Multicultural World (Crossway, 2019), which has a strong focus on practical discipleship in honor-shame oriented cultures. This excerpt …

Not Taking Revenge (Ajith Fernando) Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, Missiology, patronage, Resources 6 Comments Tagged with , ,
For the upcoming Patronage Symposium we developed this document “Patronage—A Quick Definitions Sheet.” Since “What exactly is patronage?” was a common question that people asked in the patronage survey, I figured this resource would be worth sharing more broadly.  Introduction This …

“Patronage”: A Quick Definition Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, Honor, Ministry, Missiology, Shame 4 Comments Tagged with , ,
People often assume Africa is a “fear-power” culture. The animistic and magical practices of African Traditional Religions (ATRs) reflect the values of fear-power. Although Africa ranks higher in the fear-power category than other regions of the world according to The …

Is Africa ‘Power-Fear’ or ‘Honor-Shame’? Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Evangelism, Honor, Missiology, Shame 1 Comment Tagged with , ,
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 »

By Posted on Posted in Christology, Evangelism, Honor, Missiology, Shame 3 Comments Tagged with , ,
Dr. Philip D. Jamieson is President of the United Methodist Foundation (Memphis and Tennessee Conferences) and author of The Face of Forgiveness: A Pastoral Theology of Shame and Redemption (IVP, 2016). I recently saw Martin Scorsese’s new movie, Silence (based …

“Silence” and the Shame of the Cross Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Honor, Missiology, Resources, Shame No Comments Tagged with , , , ,
The latest issue of the Lausanne Global Analysis includes my article “Honor & Shame in God’s Mission.” This short primer (1,600 words) is available online for free, so functions as a 5-minute introduction to honor-shame. The article explains: (1) the meaning of honor & shame, …

Lausanne Article: “Honor & Shame in God’s Mission” Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Communication, Culture, ethics, Honor, Ministry, Missiology, Resources, Spirituality, Wesetern 2 Comments Tagged with , , , ,
“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 …

New Training Video about Ethics and Discipleship Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Communication, Evangelism, Ministry, Missiology, Resources 4 Comments Tagged with , , , , ,
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 , …

Set of 30 Bible Stories about Honor & Shame Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, Evangelism, Jesus, Ministry, Missiology, Relationships, Theology 4 Comments Tagged with , ,
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 »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Honor, Ministry, Missiology, NT, OT, Resources, Shame, Theology 1 Comment Tagged with , , , , , ,
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 »

By Posted on Posted in Communication, Culture, Ministry, Missiology, Relationships, Shame, Spirituality, Theology 6 Comments Tagged with , , ,
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 …

How Honor-Shame Cultures Confess Sins Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, Missiology, Relationships, Sin No Comments Tagged with , , ,
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. Have you heard (or personally experienced) this story before?  Once upon a time…a national Christian worked for a Western ministry …

Resolving Conflict…Without Shaming Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Culture, Honor, Missiology No Comments Tagged with ,
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. Honor-shame cultures share something in common with wine. They both have terroir—a unique flavor depending on the context. Honor …

The Different Faces of Honor-Shame Cultures Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Culture, Missiology, Resources 1 Comment Tagged with , , ,
I’m thrilled to share this wonderful infographic “Culture’s Color, God’s Light” from Global Mapping International. The professional map below visualizes the 8,500+ global results from www.TheCultureTest.com to show which countries are guilt, shame, or fear.     A minimum threshold of 4 respondents was required …

A Global Map of Culture Types Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Bible, Culture, Evangelism, Honor, Missiology, Theology 1 Comment Tagged with , , , , ,
Guest Jackson Wu teaches Chinese pastors and blogs at www.JacksonWu.org. His latest book is One Gospel for All Nations: A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization. When meeting up recently, he mentioned how our books share some overlap. Here’s the idea. …

One Gospel for Shame, Guilt, & Fear Cultures? Read more »