How does the New Testament address the thorny issue of rivalry and honor competition? What might we learn that applies to our own mission teams and cross-cultural partnerships? My latest article offers suggestions.
The article title is “Giving Honor: A Key to Fruitful Cross-Cultural Partnerships.”
- Manuscript PDF (easier to read)
- EMQ magazine PDF
This article was published in the October–December 2018 issue of EMQ (Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 4). It’s now available without going through the online subscription system of Missio Nexus. (The Missio Nexus policy is that three months after publication, articles may be released to the public.)
You can also access the PDF of the corresponding PowerPoint presentation from my SlideShare account. Click here. This is the presentation I used for a workshop given at the 2018 Missio Nexus Leaders Conference.
Consider using the article and PowerPoint—and adapt it for teaching the material yourself.
The article opens with this introduction:
We begin with two assumptions: First, challenges concerning honor competition and rivalry affect cross-cultural teams, networks, or partnerships throughout the world Christian movement. Second, solutions (though not easy) are found in Christ.
Problem: (1) Honor competition—rivalry—was a major cultural feature of the New Testament world and a problem in the New Testament church. (2) Honor competition and rivalry occurring in mission teams and cross-cultural collaborations hinder biblical unity and fruitful ministry.
Solution: (1) Jesus and Paul teach that serving and “giving honor” undermine the problem of rivalry. (2) Unity in the body of Christ happens when the so-called honorable “give honor” to the so-called less honorable. (3) The practice of empathic listening is an appropriate way of giving honor in any culture. Giving honor by listening builds trust and unity for fruitful ministry—a vital practice in the collaborative, intercultural, global mission of God.
