Werner Mischke, D.D. (Hon. Causa), has been serving with Mission ONE since 1992. He currently serves as Vice President. Mission ONE exists to partner with the global Church in making communities more like the kingdom of God. Mission ONE’s indigenous partners serve in evangelism, church planting and holistic ministries in such countries as Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, India, Pakistan, and Thailand. Mission ONE is also engaged in a long-term vision to help its partners develop sustainability through various strategies.
In August 2017, Werner received a Doctorate in Divinity (Hon. Causa) from Hindustan Bible Institute and College, Chennai, India.
Werner has a long-term special relationship with Mission ONE’s partner in the Middle East—where Arab nationals are building a network of house churches through holistic ministry among various Muslim peoples. Werner’s experiences there have led him into a passionate pursuit of understanding the pivotal cultural value of honor and shame in Scripture and the cultures of the Majority World.
Currently living in Scottsdale, Arizona, Werner and his wife Daphne are members of Scottsdale Bible Church. Werner has also been a student at Phoenix Seminary in their Intercultural Studies Program. Werner and Daphne have two adult sons and two grandchildren.
Books and resources by Werner Mischke / Mission ONE
THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World (352 pages, 2015, Mission ONE Resources). The singular issue which this book addresses may be defined by posing this question: How can the honor/shame dynamics common to the Bible and many Majority World societies be used to contextualize the gospel of Christ in order to make it more widely understood and accepted? The Global Gospel…
- Explains why understanding honor and shame is a strategic issue for world evangelization.
- Demonstrates that honor and shame is the pivotal cultural value of the Bible.
- Explains the blind spot about honor/shame in Western theology.
- Organizes nine dynamics of honor/shame in the Bible into a cohesive whole.
- Uses more than 85 diagrams, charts and graphic aids.
- Presents honor-status reversal as a Bible motif—from Genesis to Revelation.
Book reviews of The Global Gospel can be accessed here.
The Beauty of Partnership
—Ideal for a six-week small group study, this resource equips individuals and teams to gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for healthy cross-cultural partnerships. Based on adult learning theory, The Beauty of Partnership helps mission teams
to develop effective cross-cultural relationships and partnerships …
while reducing misunderstanding, confusion, wasted money..
Operation WorldView
is an eight-session DVD missions curriculum for small groups inspired by the Perspectives course. Operation WorldView has been used by some 800 churches and mission leaders in America, Canada and other nations. Eight sessions cover four aspects of world missions: Biblical, Historical, Cultural, and Strategic.
The Father’s Love Gospel Booklet—a pocket-size booklet to help believers know and share the blessing of Jesus Christ in the language of honor and shame. It is an evangelistic resource based on the story of The Prodigal Son. Available in English and Spanish. Through Mission ONE’s partner in Lebanon, an Arabic version has also been developed and widely shared.
Articles
- H/S-1 to H/S-5: Levels of Awareness of Honor/Shame in Cross-Cultural Ministry: Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ), April 2015.
- Honor-Status Reversal: Dominant Motif of the Biblical Grand Narrative: Published in Orality Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015.
- The Gospel of Purity For Oral Learners, in Beyond Literate Western Contexts: Honor & Shame and Assessment of Orality Preference. (International Orality Network, 2015, Samuel Chiang and Grant Lovejoy, Eds.)
- Honor & Shame in Cross-Cultural Relationships: An easy-to-read 30-page article analyzes five basic culture scales through the lens of honor and shame. It includes examples from Scripture—and insights for cross-cultural partnerships.
Training
- From thirty-minute sermons … to one-hour workshops … to half-day or two-day seminars … to a two-week, three-hour class — Werner has taught about “Honor, Shame and the Gospel” in Thailand, Lebanon, India, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey—and the United States. His classes and seminars are designed on the basis of adult learning theory for a rich, interactive learning experience.
- He as served as a workshop and seminar speaker on the dynamics of honor-shame for … ISI, Frontiers, ACMI, Avant Ministries/Malaga Media Center, East-West, GC3 in New Zealand—and many other churches and ministries.
- Four webinars on honor-shame for Missio Nexus in February 2015 were among the most well attended in its history.
- In January/February of 2016, Werner taught a six-session series at his home church, Scottsdale Bible, titled, “Honor, Shame and the Gospel”.
Conference leadership
Werner current served as the conference coordinator of the Honor-Shame Conference.
From 2004 to 2015, Werner served on the Resource Team of COSIM (Coalition on the Support of Indigenous Ministries)—a fellowship of evangelical organizations with a common interest in the support and development of majority-world ministries. Werner contributed significantly to the design and logistics of COSIM’s annual conference.
Interviews
- Author interview (March 2015) audio version: Marv Newell, Executive VP of Missio Nexus, interviews Werner Mischke concerning Werner’s book, The Global Gospel. The interview examines the significance of honor and shame in society, in Scripture, and what it means for the cross-cultural ministry and the gospel. Click here to listen.
Author interview (October 2015) print version: “Presenting the Gospel in Honor-Shame Cultures: A Conversation with Werner Mischke.” This is based on Marv Newell’s audio interview, edited for print publication in the October 2015 issue of the Missio Nexus Anthology.
- Author interview with Nick Peters/Deeper Waters, audio version on YouTube.
