Category Archives: Ministry to women

Jesus Makes Us Clean

atonement, Bible commentary, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, Ministry to women, sexual abuse

I’ve just redesigned my blog. I wanted a new look, and also wanted it to be easier for readers using tablets and smartphones. Hope you like the new design. The banner photo comes from our trip to Spain in May; it was taken on a country road between Malaga and Ronda. Loved the ancient arches from the Roman Empire—and the symbolism of a modern road that leads you toward the ancient.  ♦  This post originally appeared at Gospel-Life.net. It has been slightly modified. —Werner

I had just preached a sermon on how God covers our shame and restores our honor based on the Prodigal Son story. Afterward, a smiling elderly Christian woman came to me and shared how the sermon had blessed her. Wonderful!

But I was especially startled when she said. “You know, when I was a little girl, something happened to me, and I’ve never been able to get rid of it. Until today.”

It seems she knew she was forgiven of her sins, but because of the sins of another against her, she had felt defiled—literally for decades.

Sexual abuse has always been with us, but it seems more rampant and ubiquitous today. In fact, one in four women and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.

In May I had the privilege of speaking at an international Baptist church in Spain. My sermon was “Jesus Makes Us Clean.” At the end of the service, an individual was crying. Like me, she had grown up with a mentally-ill father. For years, she and her sister had been deeply embarrassed and ashamed. They felt defiled.

She was involuntarily stained by the effects of a sinful fallen humanity by a father who involuntarily suffered from schizophrenia.

Is relational pollution getting worse and worse? Maybe it’s just always been this way.

What is sin to a post-Christendom world?

Alan Mann Atonement for a Sinless SocietyIn our postmodern secular world many people no longer believe in the reality of sin. Alan Mann writes in his book, Atonement for a Sinless Society, that “geneticists, sociologists, and psychologists increasingly … allow us to live in the confidence that we do no wrong.”[1]

And as for the death of Christ, “To twenty-first-century sensibilities, the crucifixion of Jesus [is] nothing more than a primitive, barbaric, pointless death.”[2]

Part of Mann’s thesis is that the best way for secular peoples to come to terms with sin is to be presented with this: Sin is relational defilement, uncleanness, pollution.

Consider the relational defilement that most secular peoples readily acknowledge: poverty of all kinds … racism and bigotry … sexual trafficking … an epidemic of addictions … the persistence of slavery … institutional greed and corruption … violent nationalism … honor-killings … bloody culture clashes.

What does it all add up to? A dirty, traumatized, defiled, relationally polluted world!

In this world of sin, I am unclean. Isaiah observed: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips and dwell among a people of unclean lips …” (Isa. 6:5).

Sin is personal—for I am an agent of sin having fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

And sin is social—for I am also a victim of the sins of others. I’m defiled by living in a world-nation-community-family of fallen humanity. Am I “playing the victim card”? No. I’m describing the complexity of the effects of sin. When it comes to sin, we are all both agents and victims.

Is Christ’s death sufficient to cleanse us from being both agents and victims of sin?

agent and victim of sinThe Psalmist David reveals this agent-and-victim duality about sin: “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions” (Ps. 65:3).

On the one hand, I am the victim of the sins of others (“iniquities prevail against me”). On the other hand, we are all responsible agents of sin (“our transgressions”). But David’s song to God contains good news concerning his sinfulness both as an agent and victim of sin: “You atone for our transgressions” (Ps. 65:3). There is an atonement-remedy for both!

The writer of Hebrews said of the death and atonement of Christ: “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order that he might sanctify the people through his own blood” (Heb. 13:12). In his death, Jesus became unclean—he “suffered outside the gate.” Why?  “…in order that he might sanctify the people”—in order to cleanse the people. Through His death, Jesus became unclean in order to make believers clean forever.

“When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions” (Ps. 65:3). When Jesus made “purification for sins” (Heb. 1:3), He made provision to cleanse us from sins committed by us—and from sins committed against us.

Hallelujah, what a gospel! Hallelujah, what a Savior!

For more about the power of the gospel to make us clean—and how this relates to ministry among Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim peoples, see my article, The Gospel of Purity for Oral Learners: Bible Dynamics for Blessing the Unreached. See other articles at my Resources page.

1.  Mann, Alan (2015-12-18). Atonement for a Sinless Society: Second Edition (Kindle Location 121–122). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.

2. Ibid., Kindle Location 94.

The dark side of honor and shame: Honor-based violence

Honor and shame, Ministry to women
“Nurbanu recognised her husband a moment before he threw acid in her face. The 36-year-old from Shatkhira in south west Bangladesh had divorced her violent and unfaithful partner eight days before the attack, after 18 years together.” From The Huffington Post: http://tiny.cc/hwq4ow
“Nurbanu recognised her husband a moment before he threw acid in her face. The 36-year-old from Shatkhira in south west Bangladesh had divorced her violent and unfaithful partner eight days before the attack, after 18 years together.” From The Huffington Post: http://tiny.cc/hwq4ow

Here is some illuminating information from The AHA Foundation:

What is honor violence?

Honor violence is a form of violence against women committed with the motive of protecting or regaining the honor of the perpetrator, family, or community.  Victims of honor violence are targeted because their actual or perceived behavior is deemed to be shameful or to violate cultural or religious norms.  Conduct such as resisting an arranged marriage, seeking a divorce, adopting a Western lifestyle and wearing Western clothing, and having friends of the opposite sex have resulted in honor violence.

Honor violence involves systematic control of the victim that escalates over a period of time and may begin at a young age.  Honor violence can be perpetrated by one individual or can be a group campaign of harassment and violence committed by an entire family or community.  It can take many forms, including verbal/emotional abuse, threats, stalking, harassment, false imprisonment, physical violence, sexual abuse, and homicide.

How is honor violence different from domestic violence?

Although honor violence involves violence by one family member against another, it has characteristics that make it unique and warrant a different approach by social service providers and law enforcement.  For example, a perpetrator of honor violence believes that his conduct is justified because of the victim’s actions.  Because this perception is supported by deeply ingrained cultural mores, he is generally not alone in this belief and often has the support of his family and community, either in planning and committing the violence or fleeing from law enforcement afterwards.  Additionally, a victim of honor violence is likely to be shunned by her family and community because she is believed to have caused the violence through her own behavior.  For a victim of honor violence to leave the abusive situation, she must not only part from her abuser, but often must be ready to leave her entire nuclear and extended family, and perhaps even her cultural community.  She will face immense pressure to change the offending behavior so as to bring peace to the family and restore the family’s honor and will be made to believe that she deserves the abuse she is suffering.

Does this happen in the United States?

Yes. There are numerous recent examples of honor violence and honor killings in the U.S., a few of which are described below.

Aiya Altameemi

In Arizona in February 2012, 19-year-old Aiya Altameemi was physically assaulted by her mother, father, and younger sister because she was seen talking to a boy.  Her father put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her, while her mother and sister tied her to a bed, taped her mouth shut, and beat her.  This incident followed a previous incident in November 2011 when Aiya’s mother burned her on the face with a hot spoon because she refused to consent to an arranged marriage with a man twice her age.  During an interview with police, Aiya’s parents stated that they had abused their daughter because her behavior violated “Iraqi culture.” Aiya’s mother, father, and sister are all facing charges related to these incidents.

Sarah and Amina Said

In Texas in January 2008, Yaser Said shot and killed his teenage daughters, Sarah and Amina, because he was enraged by their Western lifestyle, particularly that they each had boyfriends. During a vigil held for the girls after their deaths, their brother took the microphone and suggested that his sisters were responsible for what had happened to them, saying “They pulled the trigger, not my dad.” Said fled after the murders and has not yet been apprehended.

Noor Almaleki

In Arizona in October 2009, Faleh Almaleki murdered his 20-year-old daughter, Noor, by running her down with his vehicle because he believed that she had shamed the family by becoming too Western and refusing to marry a man he had selected for her in Iraq. In February 2011, Almaleki was convicted of murder and sentenced to 34 ½ years in prison.

Fauzia A. Mohammad

In May 2008, Waheed Allah Mohammad stabbed his 19-year-old sister, Fauzia, outside of their home in Henrietta, New York. The stabbing occurred during a heated argument between Fauzia and a number of family members over Fauzia’s plan to move to New York City with a friend. Mohammad told investigators that he had stabbed his sister because she had disgraced their family by going to clubs and wearing immodest clothing and was a “bad Muslim girl.” Mohammad pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Become aware of honor-based violence, and how to respond to it, by browsing the website for The AHA Foundation.

Real hope, honorable work for women in rural Kenya

Cross-cultural partnership, Global Christian mission, Helping the poor, Indigenous ministries, Ministry to women, Partnership with national missionaries, Stories and reports, Training
Mission ONE President Bob Schindler with one of graduates of the Kijabe Town
sewing class. “She gave a stirring testimony of how she got saved and learned
the vocational skill of tailoring through the class.”

Mission ONE president Bob Schindler just returned Monday from Kenya. One of the major reasons for going was to visit with Mission ONE’s long-time ministry partner, National Evangelical Outreach (NEO Kenya), led by Pastor Wilfred Githongo Kabiru and his wife Rahab. (Also, a major strategic mission partnership with NEO Kenya is in the works, and Bob was there to navigate the process.)

One of NEO’s newest and most successful projects has been a tailoring school for women, located in Kijabe Town. While Bob was there, the tailoring school celebrated it’s second graduating class. (See other pictures below.)

This tailoring school ministry has been rescuing women from the sex trade. These women are receiving hope for eternity through faith in Jesus Christ—as well as hope for today—through learning the trade of tailoring. The tailoring trade enables the women to earn a living honorably in order to avoid the sin, shame, and life-threatening hazards of living “on the street.”

Funding for this tailoring school came from a Baptist church in North Carolina. We praise the Lord that this three-way strategic mission partnership—between NEO Kenya, a generous local church, and Mission ONE—is resulting in a beautiful collaboration through Jesus Christ to bring hope to the hopeless. Praise the Lord!

Sewing class in Kenya through Mission ONE cross-cultural partnership

The second graduating class of the Kijabe Town sewing class,
National Evangelical Outreach, Kenya