Category Archives: The Global Gospel

What if … the gospel was better contextualized for our multicultural world?

Contextualization, Global Christian mission, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel
What ifDo we have good news for our multicultural world?

Of course we do. We have the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. But what if…

  • What if … the gospel as we know it contained some Western assumptions that make the good news of Jesus less appealing to peoples from Majority World cultures?
  • What if … we could read the Bible in a new light—the light of the cultural values in which the Scriptures were originally written?
  • What if … we discovered that the societies of the Old and New Testament had the pivotal cultural value of honor and shame—and found that this is a lot closer to the values of our multicultural neighbors than we as Westerners ever realized?
  • What if … we could overcome certain theological blind spots? What if we could shift from a gospel articulated exclusively through a legal framework? What if we could share a more comprehensive global gospel which, by God’s grace, would better resonate with our multicultural neighbors—across the street and around the world?

This is what my forthcoming book is all about: THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World.

 

Believers have no honor deficit

Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel
This is from the summary chapter in my forthcoming book:
THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World.

Believers no honor deficit

There is an answer to the perplexing problem of sin for individuals and peoples. The answer is found in Jesus Christ. This is profoundly good news.

There is a kingdom with an infinitely mighty King, who, because of his own honor and compassion, shares his glory with people while absorbing their sin, guilt, and shame. Those who follow this King are sometimes called Christians, or simply believers. Believers have no honor deficit. They are not ashamed. They are children of God, siblings of the King. They are full and they are free, on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

King Jesus is the One whose glory and honor is of such magnitude that he gives and shares his glory (John 17:22) with those who “believe in his name” so that they literally become “children of God” (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1). Believers experience a dramatic elevation of their honor before God—an honor-status reversal. Although the King gives and shares his glory lavishly, in doing so, the King’s own honor is not diminished whatsoever. More and more people worship him—so the worshipful glory given to our King increases (John 12:32, 2 Cor 4:15), as he shares his life and glory with those who follow him.

Believers who love and obey the King are his siblings (Matt 12:48–50). They have been born again into a new family—a new kinship group. They have been born, “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). They have a new spiritual DNA out of which springs forth a life-transforming honor that sets them free. By the grace of God believers enjoy a divinely imparted ascribed honor (not achieved honor), so that no one may boast (Eph 2:9), and God receives all the glory he deserves (Rom 11:36). How offensive this is to self-exalting, self-sufficient human pride.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

For persons debilitated by sin and shame … for peoples who are oppressed, victims of a majority people obsessed by their own power … for those who consider themselves outsiders and aliens … there is a new Source of honor which heals and covers their shame. It is experienced through “the gospel of the kingdom” (Luke 4:43, 8:1, 16:16, Acts 8:12; cf: Acts 19:8, 20:25, 28:23, 31). It is located in the King and kingdom of Jesus.

The honor which issues forth from this kingdom is embedded exclusively in Christ. This honor in Jesus creates for believers a visceral experience which conquers shame. It is an honor surplus provided to followers of Jesus the moment they are saved. It is symbolized when believers are baptized, immersed into “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mat 28:19). This honor surplus is a fullness of life which overflows. It is thirst-quenching, thoroughly satisfying (John 7:38). This honor surplus is maintained experientially by being filled with the Holy Spirit, growing in the knowledge of the Word of God, and sharing in the life of Christ’s nurturing body-community (1 Cor 12:21–26), the church.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

One might think that the pursuit of knowing Christ and experiencing his glorious honor is somehow selfish. But this pursuit is the practice which Jesus commanded: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mat 6:33). It was embodied by the life of Apostle Paul (Phil 3:7–11). Paul wrote about this pursuit—this seeking-for-glory-and-honor—to the church at Rome: “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life” (Rom 2:7). This pursuit is, in reality, the very antithesis of selfishness or sinful pride.

It is by their kingdom-infused, Christ-embedded, Spirit-breathed, Word-informed, church-supported honor surplus that believers are set free from sin (Rom 6:7–8, 17–18). True believers love and give sacrificially. When insulted, true believers are free, if necessary, to absorb the shame of others. Believers are ministers of reconciliation. Believers can stop being defensive or violent, because in Jesus Christ they are peacemakers.

On the one hand, believers can, like Jesus, humbly challenge the status quo and speak truth to power. On the other hand, they freely can stoop down and wash one another’s feet, because like Jesus, they have no honor deficit (John 13:14–15).

All of these freedoms are expressions of selflessness. These freedoms reveal the very life of Jesus.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth..

Many believers live in a consumerist society in which things are worshiped, but because of their honor surplus, they are free to avoid or even relinquish things which signify social status. They may possess the latest technology devices, fashionable cars and clothes, stylish houses, or impressive job titles. But while these things may all be considered gifts from God, believers nevertheless consider them optional because believers are content (Phil 4:11). They are content because they are satisfied in knowing and serving their King. Their honor is located in the King and his kingdom, not the kingdom of this world.

Because of their honor surplus in Jesus, they rejoice in suffering—“counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41). They joyously live with an ethical righteousness that rises above depraved cultural values which are insulting to God. Believers know that sin is more than the breaking of a legal code, it is the very dishonoring of Almighty God (Rom 1:21–26, 2:23–24).

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

Believers saturated with the King’s honor gladly serve him. They know it is by the King’s saving blood and cross and resurrection that they are spared condemnation (Rom 8:1), and are adopted (Eph 1:5) into the honorific eternal family of God (1 Pet 2:6–10).

They embrace with all their hearts the honor of extending the blessing of salvation in Christ to “all the families of the earth” (Gen 12:3, Gal 3:29). They can join the King and his family on mission to bless all peoples with his great salvation. This honor thrills them because it gives them so much purpose and joy.

Their experience of Christ’s kingdom and his shame-conquering love brings healing now (Mat 5:3, Rom 5:5). It will be experienced in fullness and perfection for all believers in eternity.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

This is the global gospel.

Here’s an update on the progress of my book, The Global Gospel

Bible commentary, Contextualization, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel

Global Gospel updateSince February 2012, I’ve been working on a major book called, THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World.

It’s a book about honor/shame dynamics in the Bible and what it means for Christians engaged cross-cultural ministry across the street and around the world. In upcoming posts, I’ll be sharing various bits and pieces from the book.

Since our own cities and communities are becoming ever-more diverse, the need for contextualizing the gospel and connecting with people from Majority World cultures is rapidly growing. So the book is not just for cross-cultural workers serving on the other side of the world. It for those of us who want to connect with people from other cultures in our schools and workplaces. Or to make friends and share the gospel of Jesus with the new neighbors from across the world who now live in our own communities.

Here’s an update on the progress of the book

I am done writing the chapters, but we are not done with our own internal editing process. Right now, Mission ONE president Bob Schindler is reading the manuscript. Because of his suggestions we are doing some enhancements and other changes to the text. I hope that this part of the process will be done in May. I’m really grateful for Bob’s careful reading of the manuscript.

We are also currently in the process of getting endorsements from mission leaders, pastors, etc. If you would like to review the manuscript and contribute an endorsement, send me a request by email.

We will ultimately be giving the manuscript to Livingstone, the company which will proof, edit and design the book. I hope this can happen sometime in May. Their work will require at least three months. Then there is our own approval process. I am thinking the book will be available sometime around the end of the year or early 2015.

We are getting forewords written by two outstanding Christian mission leaders. One of the already-completed forewords is by Steven Hawthorne, editor of Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. I am grateful for Steve’s most encouraging words.

Here’s a list of features from The Global Gospel:
  • Explains why Christians from every theological tradition, including Western ones, have theological blind spots.
  • Thoroughly explains why honor and shame is the pivotal cultural value of the Bible.
  • Organizes nine dynamics of honor/shame in the Bible into a cohesive whole using graphic icons.
  • Uses more than 84 visual aids (diagrams, charts, and graphs) to make concepts more easily understood—to serve Christian leaders, pastors, cross-cultural workers, and lay persons.
  • Thoroughly explains why understanding honor and shame is a strategic issue for world evangelization—across the street and around the world.
  • Explores in variety of ways the importance of honor/shame dynamics in the gospel—and what this could mean for reaching unengaged and unreached peoples.
  • Presents honor-status reversal as a motif of Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation.
  • Shows how the Bible’s various dynamics of honor and shame are contained in a multitude of Scripture passages about salvation and the atonement of Christ.
  • Reveals ten Scripturally-rooted ways to freshly articulate the gospel of Christ—in ways that may better resonate with Majority World peoples.
  • Explains the pathological dark side of honor/shame, but also reveals the Bible’s amazing (and surprising) bright side of honor/shame.
  • Presents five levels of awareness of honor/shame dynamics and what this means for cross-cultural ministry.
  • Demonstrates how honor/shame dynamics are key to understanding the meaning of the kingdom of God.
  • Reveals from Scripture how the legal framework for the gospel can be balanced by a regal framework.
  • Explains from Scripture how God actually shares his honor and glory with persons and people groups—fresh thinking about our motive and purpose for missions.
  • Offers a rationale to train cross-cultural workers in the Bible’s honor/shame dynamics and reinforces Scripture as the beginning point of the contextualization process.
  • Demonstrates the value of using an “honor factor” in developing mission strategy—with three recommendations related to cross-cultural collaboration and ministry to unreached and unengaged peoples.

Our publishing advisor is Dan Wright Publisher Services, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Dan has been providing expert guidance on this project “since day one,” for which I am very grateful.

If you would like to see the latest manuscript, please send me an email, and I will send you the latest PDF.