The Boy at the Gate - Grass roots honour-shame renewing of the mind.

Our study and research is all about an end-goal of practical teaching that transforms lives as we seek to help others around us learn God's ways of how honour-shame dynamics should function. Sometimes that practical application is in situations we have thought about and worked through deeply before confronting. Many other times it turns up in unexpected impromptu daily-life ways. Today's story was not only a reminder that sin is not just about disobedience but about disrespect, but was another situation of the unexpected….

It was a sunny afternoon in the village, and about the time the local children were walking home after school. 

Without any warning God landed me another situation to help others out of cultural mis-placed honour-shame dynamics and to begin to see and experience honour-shame dynamics as God desires. This time it was a group of village children.

Suddenly I had heard our gate bell ring (its a cow-bell tied to the inside of our gate that you don't even know is there unless you have been inside our yard, or seen someone else ring it.)

I was brought a message that some girls from my Saturday village girls' bible study were at the gate.  

However when I got to the gate, I discovered only one of the girls there, but she was with 2 other boys I had actually not seen before. They were all on their way home from school. The girl immediately pointed with a stick she was playing with, to the older boy, indicating it was him who had rung the bell.

But when I asked what they wanted, there was silence. 

No-one wanted to say why they were there. 

After a few more questions and the older boy particularly continuing to be sheepishly silent, I figured out that they were pulling  a prank... but for some reason they didn't actually run away when I had come to the gate….maybe because the girl knew it would be disrespectful to do that and she would be 'shamed' next bible study time if what she did was exposed.

I asked a few more times, in various ways, just to be sure if there really was a real reason for ringing the bell. Each time I asked, I just got silence, and then a hint of a smirk from the older boy. When I tried to ask the other young boy and the girl about it, they also just kept silent and pointed to the older boy.

But rather than just reprimand them for wasting my time, and then telling them to go, I thought momentarily about using it as an opportunity. I had never specifically told them previously to not ring the bell for no reason, so it wasn't a situation of saying 'why are you ringing the bell for no reason when we have told you not to do that?'

So, I firstly responded to the boy using honour-shame language, saying that if he is ringing the bell for no reason, he is being 'disrespectful'.

Well that immediately got a different response. His head dropped and he wouldn't look at me. 

When, culturally, the one major sin to avoid is 'disrespect' or 'dishonour' or 'shame', then without linking the wrong act to the wrong attitude of disrespect/dishonour, there is no conscience prod. But when sin is brought back to the dynamic of honour/respect, then the conscience starts to kick-in. And often here, especially with kids, the English honour word used is most often is 'respect/disrespect'. So the cultural context of sin that envelops the word 'disrespect' sunk in to his heart.

I talked a bit longer to the boy and the two others about how his 'playing' just for 'fun' also means I am less likely to believe him to have a genuine need next time he rings the bell, because this time was not an honest need. So ringing the bell for a joke is like not telling the truth and is making him to be seen as less trustworthy. I asked him if he wanted to be known as someone who was trustworthy? He nodded, 'yes'.

So that was progress…at least he was responding even if not verbally yet!

So then I asked again if he had a reason for ringing the bell. And, with head down again, I suddenly heard a quiet 'no' emerge from his lips. 

I thanked him for being honest, and explained that it is always honourable and never shameful in God's eyes to speak the truth.

But before they went, I said that what he needed to then do was say 'sorry Mma …. for ringing the gate without a reason...'

Well that was just too much, and he went quiet again. So I repeated myself. 

Quiet.

His head was down with eyes looking at the dirt.

The problem is that confession is self-shaming, and if culturally, shame is the big something to be avoided at all costs, he was in a difficult situation.  To respect me, he has to shame himself. He may want to restore respect but he doesn't want to self-shame (in front of me or his friends). To speak the truth meant he self-shamed. To complicate it even further, a child learns that often culturally to speak the truth is also seen as shameful if it might dishonour an elder. So a child learns that culturally it is not always acceptable to others and can be a 'wrongdoing' to speak the truth, let alone it also destroying personal honour.

So I then explained that if he said sorry, there was the offer of forgiveness, and instead of going away shamed, he could go away with the shame removed and back in a position of respect and honour.

I then further explained that God says, that to say the truth and admit (confess) wrongdoing is always respectful and honourable in His eyes, and thus also it's the same for me in this situation.

Wow! Then I heard him break his silence again with, 'I'm sorry' …and he then continued to say fully what he was sorry for.

So then I said 'I forgive you'. 

He looked sincerely a mixture of relief and confusion and puzzlement and wonder. He had probably not ever had such an interaction or experience of forgiveness and shame-removal in that way before.

I then explained again that his disrespectful bell-ringing shamed him, but now his truth-telling and admitting/confessing his sin was honourable and respectful again…so now with my forgiveness he could leave and continue on his way with respect (honour) in the relationship again instead of shame. I re-iterated that is how it is with God…telling the truth and admitting and confessing sin is never shameful in God's eyes, it restores honour in the relationship.

As he left, and walked with his friends toward home, he still seemed a bit bewildered by the whole event…but his head wasn't down, and although as he left I heard some interaction indicating that he seemed to want to brush over the embarrassment of the incident with his friends, I pray God would etch that experience and conversation into his memory, and even if I never see him again, that he will one day remember that God's way of honour is different from his culture's way, and God's way is the only way that truly sets us free from the bondage and shame of our sin.

Who Are the Unreached? Part 2

At the end of 'Who are the Unreached' Part 1, we said:

Maybe a better definition of an 'unreached' heart is one that has yet to hear the gospel in such a way, that it resonates, connects and is understood with the clarity needed so the person truly hears the Creator's intended meaning of that truth in such a way as to correctly accept the truth and understand what it means to forsake all and follow Christ, or else to knowingly understand but reject the truth. 

We said how that the definition that many give to 'the unreached' and the noble sounding idea that we should only seek to 'reach' the people within that given definition, would exclude the bulk of Sub-Saharan Africa.

It would also mean that we should cease all evangelism, missions and discipleship efforts in places like my home country of Australia.  Australia is a place with many strong self-sufficient reproducing churches. However, it is also a place of vast numbers of the unreached. 

The Great Commission is to make disciples

Jesus didn't tell us in his 'great commission' to go and reach the unreached, but to go and make disciples of all the nations.  It wasn't a joblist of ticking off whether each ethnic group of the world has at least one self-sufficient reproducing church and at some time in its history had the gospel presented to it, but rather its an ongoing 'commission' to continue to reach everyone, in every generation, in every corner of the world. 

Any person who has not clearly heard the gospel enough to understand its true meaning in order to respond, is unreached according to our current definitions of 'unreached'.  In fact more biblical language would be to say they are unsaved or lost. The great commission is not just about reaching the unreached, but about bringing the means of rescue to the unsaved. It's about finding the lost, helping those who are blind to the truth to see, enabling those who haven't yet heard the truth to hear it.

Aussie evangelist Sam Chan calls Australia a 'post-Christian, post-church, post-reached' world. There was a generation past that may have had a strong gospel witness, but we are not responsible for past generations, nor does what happened in past generations with gospel witness give us a reason to cease gospel witness in this generation.  This generation, even in Australia is largely 'unreached'.  There are thousands of people in the streets, homes and offices of Australia who have never heard God's name except as a swear word and who have never owned or opened a bible and who have never even entered the doors of a church or heard a sermon or explanation of the gospel.

These are the unreached.

Inclusion or Exclusion?

Sadly there are even some missionaries and mission organisations who are focused only on their idea of including or 'reaching the unreached', (or some say the 'least reached' groups), but it ends up being exclusion of so many others who are 'unreached'. 

('Unreached' is also sometimes said to refer to those places where less than 2% of the population would be evangelical Christians, and 'least-reached' are places where less than 4% - that would mean there are 12 people groups in Botswana in the 'least reached' category and 4 people groups in the 'unreached' category, but the 'Joshua Project' says there are no unreached people in Botswana!)

Jesus' great commission I don't believe is given so that we only focus on those who fit into the category of designated ethnic groups who have not yet heard the gospel, to the exclusion of every other unreached person around the world. Rather it is a reminder that we are not to exclude or neglect anybody…. even those in hard to reach places in our world and those who's language group is small and unattractive in terms of potential 'numbers of conversions' to put on a newsletter, or those based on financial viability and cost of making gospel access possible.

Whether its to your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria or the ends of the earth, there are unreached hearts who need to realise and understand their condemned state and hear and comprehend the message of good news in Jesus Christ.

It might take just as much (or more) effort, expense, danger and culture learning to reach the drug addicts in your city, as to get on a plane and fly to a remote desert or jungle village. 

We need to encourage all Christians wherever they are to be part of Jesus' great commission of sharing the good news of salvation with others, in whatever context God places us or calls us to.  Every lost soul that is found is precious, no matter where on the earth they lay their head at night.

And yes, that does still include those people groups around the world who haven't yet heard the name of Christ, and those who don't have the bible in their own language, but also those who know the name of Jesus Christ and have access to a bible, but don't understand the eternal life-confronting and life-change truth that comes through the living WORD in the written WORD!

Who and Where are the unreached - the lost - God has around you?  Where has God placed you?  Who might God be calling you to reach out to with the good news of salvation from sin, in Jesus Christ?

Whether its baking cookies to give to a sick neighbour who doesn't now Christ so as to grow a friendship in order to share the gospel, or having to get passports and buy plane tickets to travel overseas to some place God has called you to, just be who God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to do and going where God wants you to go….remembering His promise that in being, doing and going, He will be with you always even to the very end!

Whether its across the street or around the world, lets have a heart to reach every person with the eternity-changing and life-transforming good news of Jesus Christ.

Who are the 'Unreached'? Part 1

So often in 21st Century church and mission contexts we hear about the need to focus on reaching the 'unreached'.

It sounds a really noble and biblical challenge, and we should definitely be concerned for those who are not saved.

However, for many people the term 'unreached' has come to mean: a people group where a reproducing church is yet to be seen. It is then believed that missionaries/Christian workers should not be in such places that don't fit that definition, because they are more needed in other places.

If we take this definition, no-where in Sub-saharan Africa should have missionaries in it.  

But as noble as it might seem to say 'lets follow the Apostle Paul's example and make sure we only go to places where the name of Christ is not known', it may not be as biblical as it sounds.

Everyone needs to hear the gospel.  That includes those who have never heard the word 'Christ', but it also includes those who have no idea what the truth is regarding who Christ is and what He actually came into this world to do and bring.

Take the situation here in our corner of Africa.

In probably every village in this country, somewhere in the village of a Sunday you will find some people going to 'church' where they will sing some songs that sound Christian and will read or hear something from the Bible and have someone called a 'Pastor' speak to the people.

But there is a problem.  

What is taught may not be what the Bible says, and how the "Pastor" lives may not resemble anything about what the Bible says is godliness.

In one village situation we were told of, for the month of September (which is HIV/AIDS awareness month), every morning at the Government offices Pastors come and have prayers and sing songs with the workers asking that God would save the nation from the scourge of HIV. (similar events happen across the country at the encouragement of the Government, which is wonderful). Several Pastors from various 'churches' in the village shared the task. 

One was from a church that does not believe in the resurrection but teaches that when you die you will be re-incarnated and come back as a spirit into another child that will be born. Another Pastor has so many children from different women that people have lost count, he is a wealthy cattle owner and the expectation culturally is that if you are rich then you entertain a lot of women in your life. Another is a Pastor and also a leader in the village but teaches as much traditional belief in the ancestors as he does verses from the bible, he once said that 3 people lead us to God - the Pastor, the Chief and the Witchdoctor. Another is a local witchdoctor as well as a Pastor.

That village already has several 'churches' - so some would classify that village as 'reached'. Yet they do not have a full Bible yet in their own language - so others would classify it as 'unreached'.

Then there is the situation of our local co-worker who had a 'Pastor' say to him as he pointed to the uncles, 'These are your 'gods' - you are supposed to honour them and do what they say'.

The presence of church buildings, or people called 'Pastor', or people singing christian songs or holding a bible, does not constitute a 'reached' people group, even if that 'church' is 'self-sufficient' and reproducing.  

People need to hear the truth of the Gospel clearly and faithfully taught by Pastors who see themselves as 'set apart' for the gospel, rooted in God's Word, not compromising or diluting or mixing the truth, and prepared to live holy lives for the honour and glory of the One true God alone.  

If someone hasn't had the gospel taught to them in a way that relates or 'connects' to how they think, they will inevitably 'add on' a belief to already strong cultural practices of the world around them and attempt to function with both....like adding a 'cross' to a 'god shelf'.

Elisabeth Elliot once said: "The will of God is not something you add to your life. It's a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God…or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world." 

Praise the Lord for those who do turn from sin, and from serving Satan and culture to knowing true righteousness as a servant of Christ.  We were also told of another Pastor from another village who was being trained to be a witchdoctor but who left all that behind and came to Christ.  He said that witchdoctors will tell the people that their power comes from God (because the culture has a belief in a Creator God but who they see as far away and detached and un-connected to life on earth), when they really know it comes from Satan.  Satan is ensuring that the people continue to believe a lie and live according to that lie.  It is a lie that tells them that the far away Creator God cannot be reached, and the ancestors are the ones who they must honour instead, as they are the only 'connection' to God and they control what happens on the earth.

Even owning a bible, doesn't signify a person is in the 'reached' category if they don't understand what a bible is for.  

When we first arrived here and managed a small Christian bookshop we soon learnt that although hundreds of bibles were being sold, it wasn't necessarily a reason for rejoicing.  We would have people come to the shop wanting a 'new' bible - one still in plastic shrink-wrap.  They said it had to be one that no human hands had opened before, so that it could be taken to their church's Prophet to open for the first time and from the page where the bible fell open at that first opening a verse would be chosen by the Prophet and a 'personal' prophecy would be given.  They were then told to close the bible and put it on a shelf and ensure that no-one else ever touched it - ever - lest the promises of that prophecy blessing become a curse.  (Our staff were keen that we have a practice of only selling bibles that were NOT in shrinkwrap and explaining the truth to people who came in wanting such a bible!)

On another occasion, we visited a man who had been a kind of 'lay preacher' at such a 'church' and had a bible that he gained under such circumstances.  As we discussed matters with him, there was a verse of Scripture we wanted to show him, but that bible was the only one he had.  He was terrified that upon opening it, my husband would fall down dead! But he was willing for us to use it, if we were willing! It was opened and read... and no-one fell down dead! Following that incident he left that church.

Though many church denominations/groups are active in the villages of Botswana, and many people have bibles in their own language, it doesn't mean these people are 'reached' with the full truth of the gospel.

Many 'Churches' across Africa may be no more than gatherings of the 'unreached'.  Seeking they may be, but reached they may not be.  

In fact every African we have led to Christ in our time here had previously identified themselves as 'Christian' and were church attenders yet none of them understood the gospel. One had been baptised in his church but did not understand the gospel at all. Another didn't even know the term 'born again' was from the bible and thought it was only for those who were part of Pentecostal churches and spoke in tongues. They had no idea what a born again Christian truly was according to the truth of God's word.  They were unreached.

Maybe a better definition of an 'unreached' heart is one that has yet to hear the gospel so that it resonates, connects and is understood with the clarity needed so the person truly hears the Creator's intended meaning of that truth in such a way as to correctly accept the truth and understand what it means to forsake all and follow Christ, or else to knowingly understand but reject the truth.

Let's make every effort to be part of reaching any and every unreached heart across this globe wherever they are, with the truth of the gospel that can set them free!

Balanced or Biblical? 3 needs for missionaries from guilt-innocence contexts!

In the last few days 2 blog posts (one from honorshame.com and one from Jackson Wu) have emerged countering a recent TGC article titled '5 Dangers for Missionaries in Honor-Shame Contexts'.

I doubt the TGC article (which first appeared at IMB) is meant to just create trouble, but it has definitely caused a response.

Both honorshame.com and Jackson Wu responses raise valid concerns, just as Elliot Clark, author of the TGC article most probably felt he raised valid concerns.

I don't really want to just fuel an argument, but my concern is that there seems a desire for 'balance' in a context where honorshame.com point out there is currently little balance, but in the opposite way in which the TGC article is concerned about.

Clark, is worried that with the growing realisation and understanding of honour-shame dynamics in cultures around the world and in Scripture that we are in danger of losing a guilt-innocence-obedience context of the gospel.

I totally agree that with any 'new' understanding any of us are in danger of pushing so hard on that, in order to correct a previously wrong emphasis, that we 'keep pushing' beyond the point of 'balancing' the pendulum swing. When we do that we risk the possibility of dangerous overcorrecting. The refreshing  re-awakening to Scripture's honour-shame aspects cannot be expected to be exempt from this human tendancy. But like the honorshame.com cartoon illustrates, we are a long way from an honour-shame over-emphasis in biblical scholarship and Christian literature and preaching and missions, especially when we look at the last 50 years or so in the West.

The whole reason for my local African Theologian co-worker  and I writing our book 'Highest Honour' (just printed here in Africa and shortly to be available on-line) was to have a discipleship tool. In a world where there are hundreds if not thousands of discipleship programs from a guilt-innocence perspective there just weren't any discipleship programs available that we could find, which addressed honour-shame issues as part of Godly growth in grace, let alone ones appropriate for Africa.

Personally, in ministry I am almost constantly aware not only of making an effort to contextualise appropriately for an honour-shame African context, but to also ensure that guilt-law-innocence contexts are not overlooked and are explained in ways that will be understood.

I understand the fears of the TGC article author, and he is the voice of many others who share similar concerns that guilt-innocence truths of Scripture will be overlooked if the honour-shame focus is too strong.  And yes, we do have to be careful not to 'overcorrect' or just in our zeal, over-emphasise something to the unintentional neglect of other parts of Scripture. I recall very early on in my 'discovery' about honour-shame I was talking with a local theologian about ways to speak the gospel so that honour-shame ears would 'hear' it and I asked about using the word/concepts of guilt. I was in danger of initial overcorrecting, but he was emphatic that alongside honour-shame, to definitely refer to guilt as for the very reason it is not often spoken about, it is 'weighty' and severe when it is spoken about... and when joined with honour-shame concepts would have great impact…and it did.

So I do not deny the caution re pendulum swinging, but this is where we need to realise, that 

guilt-innocence and honour-shame are not two alternative opposites in a fight for greatest emphasis in missiology, 

but are two God-given partners in co-operation to give us gospel clarity.  

However, they are not, in fact, equal partners.

photo: wikimediacommons

1. Need for Re-instatement of the Bible's Supreme Theme

If I could be so bold as to say, the opposite to Clark's fears, is our real danger.

We in the West, have taken a guilt 'sub-theme' of Scripture and made it the supreme theme. The supreme theme of Scripture is not guilt-innocence. The supreme theme of Scripture is God's glory…His honour. As Jackson Wu pointed out, those such as John Piper have repetatively strongly preached this and written about it. 

Sin is 'coming short of God's glory' (Romans 3:23) We have failed to honour Him - bottom line. (Romans  1:21-23) 

We do well to remember that God first describes sinlessness in Scripture not as 'innocent' or not even as 'innocent and unashamed', but simply 'unashamed'. Scripture has a priority and overarching way to describe sin and it is in honour-shame language not guilt-innocence language. We don't need to make apology for that, it is simply unequivocal reality whether we like it or not.  It is not something to be worried about, but to rejoice in. We can fully embrace the Scriptural (rightly placed) honour-shame emphasis with freedom as we endeavour to bring the gospel to a world with a (mis-placed) honour-shame emphasis.  

If you want an Old Testament example just go to Nathan's confrontation of David's sin in 2 Samuel 12 - probably on of the most well used examples of personal sin in Scripture. As God's messenger, Nathan did not use 'obedience' language but 'honour' language, even in regard to God's word. He didn't tell David he 'disobeyed' God and God's law (though that was certainly true), but that he 'despised' God and God's word. 

The sin problem with our hearts is firstly not an obedience problem but an honour problem. Tedd Tripp even identifies this in regard to how we raise our children in his book 'Shepherding a Child's Heart'. 

We have a regal problem before we have a legal problem.

photo: publicdomain

2. Need to Pursue Biblical Realignment More Than 'Balance'

We don't need 'balance', so much as a major biblical re-alignment.

Scripture talks far more about shame than it does guilt. (see 'The Global Gospel' by Werner Mischke p47)   Scripture is not 'balanced' in that regard. 

Clark in his article mentions the Apostle Paul's reference to the 5th Commandment. Exodus 20 tells us that we are to 'honour our father and mother'.  It does not first tell us to 'obey' but to honour.  There are only two places in Scripture where a command to obey parents is given, as a 'sub-issue' of the main commandment. (both in Paul's letters - Eph 6:1, Col 3:20) So, yes these mentions by Paul do link obedience with honour but not as a couplet of equally weighted terms. Nor does Paul say to honour parents because there is an overarching command to obey parents, but he says for children to obey parents because there is an overarching command to honour father and mother. His basis for 'obeying' is in the foundation of 'honouring'. Obedience is 'within' the honour issue.  

Obeying is more the fruit than the root. 

Scripture isn't 'balanced' on this issue, as we might want to understand balance. 

God starts with an honour context (no shame) in the Garden of Eden, and that theme continues right the way through Scripture till its culmination in Revelation. It's true, within that is the reality of innocence and the need for obedience, but they are not the main issue.  Paul did not say in Romans 1 that God's rebuke and condemnation was because of 'disobedience' but because of 'dishonour'. The thanks we don't give Him, is not just because we are disobedient to a command to 'give thanks', but because our hearts are not inclined as they should be to 'want' to give thanks from a heart that 'wants' to honour Him. 

God looks beyond outward displays of 'obedience' to inward devotion (honour) of the heart.

  

3. Need to Awaken to How Honour Helps Us Understand and Teach Obedience

Clark also seems to fear that if we emphasise honour too much we will be in danger of losing emphasis on obedience. This maybe comes from a mis-understanding that honour-shame emphasis cultures don't have a concept of obedience or law, right and wrong or as he says 'lacks categories for transgression'.  This is not a correct understanding of such cultures. 

The 'law' categories of honour-shame cultures are that you must give honour and you must not bring shame. The thing to obey is the one category of 'always maintain honour and harmony in relationships'. Anything outside of that is seen as taboo, shameful, and wrong. Every culture is sin-infected and lacks the fulness of godly descriptions of God's objective and eternal definitions of right and wrong, and instead lives by its own (to one degree or another) mis-placed definitions. 

We all need our minds renewed with new godly definition of right and wrong. (Romans 12:2)

In fact, since ministering in an honour-shame emphasis culture I have actually come to a greater and wider and deeper understanding of 'obedience' - I have had to - because those around me come at 'obedience' from perspectives that I had not encountered so much in my Western setting. I have found myself more particular in how I deal with the concept of obedience in discipleship because understanding the mis-placed contexts of honour-shame around me, has highlighted the mis-placed understandings of obedience as well. 

When honour is sought before the eyes of people instead of God, then obedience becomes something that takes on a subjective 'near enough is good enough as long as no-one sees or objects', rather than a need to obey completely and exactly no matter who sees.  (I raised this in my article in the Orality Journal and in that article mentioned how even Nabeel Qureshi mentions the matter in his book 'Seeking Allah Finding Jesus'). Understanding honour-shame has increased, not decreased, my understanding of guilt-innocence-obedience.

photo: wikimediacommons

And if we neglect honour-shame perspectives in our guilt-innocence-obedience emphasis Western culture we quickly become legalistic in our attitudes and require 'laws' for everything. We then have a false view that if there isn't a law to tell us not to do something, we are free to do it, when in fact it might be totally disrespectful. So then a lack of honour-shame awareness distorts the place and purpose of obedience and law and a well functioning society…to say nothing of our relationship with God.

1 John 3:4

I used to think that 'lawlessness' (as a definition of sin mentioned by Elliot Clark) meant individual sinful actions of specific disobedience to the law. However, it is far more than that. Rather than a defence that sin is inherently disobedience, this definition of sin tells us that lawlessness is an attitude of total disregard for both the law and the lawgiver as both Charles Spurgeon and John Macarthur explain.  

As Spurgeon says: 'he who dares to break God's Law, seeing that he cannot do it except in the immediate Presence of God, for God is everywhere—he that acts contrary to God's Law before God's own face does, as it were, fling down the gauntlet to his God and defy His power! By such action as that, he either means to declare that God is not almighty, or that Jehovah will not exercise His Omnipotence to defend His honor, or that he, himself, does not care what God does, so he will leave Him to do His worst. Every sin has this venom within its bowels—it is a defiance of the mighty Majesty of God' [i]

– or we could say a 'defiance of Almighty God's place of Highest Kingly Honour'!

John MacArthur in his sermon "The Christian's Incompatability with Sin Part 1" on this passage says: "Everyone is doing sin, practicing sin is engaged in practicing lawlessness. And lawlessness is an attitude.  It is not so much the transgression of the Law, as the indifference to the Law.  Construction here makes sin and lawlessness identical. It's living as if there is no Law. It's living as if there is no law-giver."[ii]

This is about a heart that is 'indifferent' and has no regard or respect for the One who gave and instigated the law. Rather than 1 John 3:4 proving that individual actions of sins of disobedience to the law are transgressions of the law, it is saying that sin (singular) is an attitude of heart that is the very essence of disrespect (dishonour) of both the law and lawgiver…..just as pronounced by the prophet Nathan when he confronted David. 

It was my growing understanding of honour-shame that, rather than hindering, has enabled an enlarged understanding of the meaning of lawlessness and the contexts and concepts of obedience and the law. 

Proverbs 30:9

If we take a look at Proverbs 30:9 "lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God" 

or as the KJV puts it 'take the name of my God in vain',  

or as the New Living translates it 'insult God's holy name', 

and as some other translations including the NIV put it - 'and so dishonour the name of my God',

...Breaking God's law (stealing in this instance), is all about dishonouring Him and His name - who He is - His very being and position as our Creator, the Almighty. Obedience to the law is foundationally rooted in the requirement for us to honour Him.

A biblical emphasis does not detract from a right understanding and teaching of the law and obedience, but I find it more greatly enables it.

Let's not be afraid of encouraging people to come to understand more and more what it means to see Scripture's overarching theme of honour from beginning to end!

[i] defiance meaning bold resistance to authority, open disregard, contempt - dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/defiance 
[ii] http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/62-25 

Gospel Evangelism in a Changing World

We have often talked about the realities of shame and honour emerging in the Western World, on this blog. As we recognise and understand these realities more and more, we are helping ourselves be better equipped to reach our neighbours - especially the younger generations.

A while back a friend emailed me to tell me they had attended a seminar by Dr Sam Chan (who blogs at www.espressotheology.com ) in which he said we need a 'shame-honour' model when thinking about reaching the younger Westerner with the gospel.

If that piques your interest, and you wish you could have been at that seminar, well don't despair. Sam Chan has now written a book that deals with this very subject.

If you want a quick overview of the book - take a look at this blog post review.

If you doubt the reality of 'shame-based' ethics and values impacting the younger generations even in the West, take a look at this interview at a USA College.

How to best reach the younger more 'shame' oriented generations, with the gospel has begun to arouse interest across the Western world.  And that is good.

A recent participant in an honour-shame seminar asked  why there is this shift to 'shame' emphasis in the younger generations?  I have mentioned various reasons in previous blog posts, but here on this post on the Culture Learner site  Werner Mischke answers that question.

The fear

However I am getting the feeling from some that there is a 'worry' that to approach the issues of sin and salvation from a 'shame' perspective and not a 'guilt' perspective, is a compromise of the 'true' gospel message.

But I like how Sam Chan puts it when he says that for 'moderns', the issue is 'is it true', but for 'post-moderns' the issue is 'is it real in our lives?'

But he goes on to say (as quoted in the blog post review referenced above):

Because postmoderns are more interested in whether something is real than if it is true, the evangelistic pedagogical method has changed.

With moderns, we used to employ the logic of Truth, Belief, Praxis. In other words:

• This is true
• If it's true, then you must believe it
• If you believe it, now you must live it

But with postmoderns, Chan offers a better pedagogical sequence: Praxis, Belief, Truth. Which translates:

• The Christian life is livable
• If it's livable then it's also believable
• If it's believable, then it's also true

When non-Christian see how the Christian life works they will discover it is livable, leading them to see that it's believable. "And if they see that, they might also acknowledge that it's true." (125)

In other words, just like we are doing here in the African 'honour-shame' context, you start where people are at.  And then go from there to the full gospel story.  In emphasising or going through the 'gate' of people's understanding of shame, to bring the good news of the gospel, doesn't mean we ignore the concept of guilt.  

But Scripture talks about both. Just as the way we shared the gospel in the recent past, went through the 'guilt' gate for law oriented Westerners, we need to go through the 'shame' gate for shame oriented post-modern Westerners. And just like the guilt-oriented need to learn about what God says regarding shame, so the shame-oriented still need to hear what God says about guilt.  Both guilt and shame affect every human being, but where our focus is, is also where the gospel needs to make sense and 'connect' to.

I have found that as I learn how to better connect the gospel with those who think a little differently from myself, it is not a compromise, but growth, as in the process I have begun to grasp the greater picture of the gospel.

Don't hide in fear from the current generation, thinking only of compromise or your own inability or different 'focus', but grasp the opportunity to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and all He  did for us and those around us, on that first Easter 2000 years ago, and in the process be able to share the gospel more effectively in our 21st Century World!

The Shame of Selfish Giving - and the Helping That Doesn't Help

Last Christmas our son wanted to teach his daughter about the joy of giving and not just receiving, so as a gift for me, he had her paint (with his help) some old recycled watering cans we had been using as plant pots. They now bring spots of bright cheery colour to our front porch.

After all, "It is more blessed to give than receive"

Yes that's a bible verse (Acts 20:35)…..but like all Scripture it cannot be taken out of context and in isolation.

Giving in and of itself is not necessarily 'good' or 'right', even though it might sound better than 'getting'.  We are thankful that our little grand-daughter is being taught to give and in a good and right way, but as she gets older she will need to learn further lessons about giving.

One of those lessons is that there is such a thing as selfish giving.  For our giving to 'count' in God's eyes it shouldn't be selfish.  Selfishness is shameful in the eyes of God. But how can giving ever be selfish?

1st it can be attached to an expectation/secret-demand for reciprocity.  In other words it requires pay-back of equal levels to what was given.  It is 'giving' that creates a debt that someone else owes us and we feel dis-inclined to give more until the person has at least 'paid back' what was so far given.

2nd we give to get. This is similar to the above. In other words we tell ourselves we are giving when we buy something we want from a charity shop, or 'give' a kid some money in return for him mowing the lawn or give only because we get more back on our tax refund. This may be using wise ways to spend our money, and it might be showing concern to train the younger generation in a good attitude to work, or it might be, by default, assisting the work of a charity where we choose to buy what we want, but is it really giving in the biblical sense of the term?

3rd we can give because it makes us feel 'good' and 'righteous', but has little or no regard for the true needs of the receiver. Or we only give to those things, even if legitimate, that make us feel good.

4th we can give according to what is 'easy' for us and is of little sacrifice or consequence for us, instead of benefit for the receiver.

 5th like point 4, we give what we don't need anymore, our left-overs and our damaged and obselte items and treat recipients as an alternative to the garbage tip and make them feel bad if they won't eagerly and gladly accept it. You may have heard stories of missionaries receiving used teabags, used tea towels and shirts with all the buttons taken off - these are not fairy stories, personally I can say they are true.

Giving by definition is also for the benefit of the receiver - but it is not a benefit if:

- it incurs a debt for the receiver

- the giving is irrelevent or becomes burdensome to the recipient

- the gift doesn't meet the required need.

Think Before You Give

Recently the Aussie news brought attention  to the fact that the Red Cross want Aussies to stop giving 'stuff' to disaster affected places.  The idea of collecting up old clothes, tools, household goods, canned food, toys etc to send to those whose houses have just been lost to flood or earthquake sounds all very good but it might be creating a bigger problem than its solving.  They cited a situation where 70 container loads of items were shipped to Vanuatu and a year later 18 of those container still haven't even been opened.  The containers cost a small fortune to clear through customs, to store, to move, to unload and sort through and then distribute.  Many of the items are totally unsuitable (like heavy blankets for tropical islands) or food is out of date by the time it can be used.

This is an example of 'selfish giving' as well as unwise giving.  It's giving that sounds wonderful and cost the sender a lot of money to buy and ship the container.  But it was giving that was without due research and consideration for what would be best for the recipient.  Instead of being helpful, the items have never reached the recipient and a huge amount of money they could have been used to really help people has to be spent clearing useless containers of 'stuff'. Givers need to realise that this kind of giving has no honor attached to it…..instead it is shame on the West.  We need to think before we give.

Have you ever had a child choose a birthday gift, card and wrapping paper for a sibling according to what they would like rather than what their sibling would like?  It's so easy to still do this as adults but in a more 'grown up' kind of way.  We have a natural sinful 'bent' toward being selfish, self-centred, and self-focused that we have to recognise the subtlety of.

The phrase 'do to others what you want them to do to you' doesn't mean if you want a pink teddy bear that you should buy everyone a pink teddy bear.  It means that just like you want others to think about what you want and need when they give, then you should think about what they want and need when you give.

A couple of books have been written on this problem of international aid.  'Dead Aid' by Zambian economist Dr Dambisa Moyo, and 'When Helping Hurts' by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert published by Moody Press are two we would recommend.

When we unselfishly give as God wants us to give:

• we should give with careful thought-out purpose and not impulsively according to our feelings of the moment.  Every thought of our mind (including the idea to give) should be brought captive under Christ.
• we should give with more careful consideration for what is good and appropriate for the receiver whether it 'feels' good for us or not.
• we don't give our left-overs but should be willing to sacrifice what we would like to have for ourselves but know God wants us to give it for others.
• not in amount but in heart - like with the widow's 'mite', it's not the quantity of what we give but the heart motive and attitude.

Unfortunately we see a lot of 'giving' coming into Africa that is either useless, irrelevent, unhelpful, burdensome or plain destructive in the long term (read the above books for more info on that). Dembisa in her book Dead Aid notes that over US$1 trillion of aid funding has been poured into Africa, and asks where do we see proportional results?

It looks good on a Facebook page or a newsletter to be able to post photos of great amounts of 'stuff' sent to the 'poor' people overseas, and it sounds good to say a huge amount of money was raised for a particular project and then show a photo of a building or tractor or a pile of clothes for orphans.  But it is only 'good' if it is good for the recipients in a long term sustainable and beneficial way.

It is very easy for us to live by impulse, by careless and selfish ideas (even if they seem sincere), by what we can 'see' or benefit personally as a result of our giving, and by 'feeling good' about it.  

God-honouring Giving

But we need to evaluate even our giving, and see if it is truly both wise and self-less and God-honouring.  

We need to learn more about giving in such a way that firstly means God smiles because He is pleased, then the recipient will still be smiling because of thankfulness of the gift years down the track. Then and only then do we consider if we smile about it - being happy about our good deed should be last on the priority list.  When we do it in that order we will be able to smile, we will have joy - not because of our own goodness in it all, but because of how God has guided and blessed for the good of others.  The temptation is to get it all backwards and give when we feel good, but then down the track the recipient has no smile, and in it all God has no smile and at the end of it, we don't have a smile either.

Instead of the shame of selfish giving, engage in honourable giving that brings a smile to God's face!

A Great New Book..... Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures: Biblical Foundations and Practical Essentials

Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures is an awesome book! 

Authors Mark Baker and Jayson Georges have tied together both the basic needed foundations and practical examples/applications for understanding and ministering the gospel in cultures where honour-shame dynamics are dominant.

I have greatly appreciated interacting with Jayson Georges via the internet over the past few years from when I found him at honorshame.com and as we have shared (along with a growing number of others around the world) a common desire to see honour-shame dynamics play a greater part in reaching the Majority world with the gospel.  I was thrilled to discover he was writing a book with Mark Baker and reading the finished product was exciting!

The Authors

Both Mark and Jayson bring the 'best of both worlds' to their book.  They both have theological grounding as well as practical intercultural experiences to draw on.  The reader really gains a ' ourfold' benefit from the book - 2 scholars and 2 mission practicioners.  And while the 'home' culture of both authors is the USA, they served in different mission contexts, one in Central America and one in Central Asia.  This brings breadth as well as depth to the book, as examples are not from only one honour-shame cultural setting.  

The Book Structure

The book has been structured into three parts with three appendicies. 

Part 1 deals with the 'cultural' side of honour-shame.

Part 2 deals with the 'theologial' side.  

Part 3 builds on both the first two parts, to give 6 sub-sections of practical ministry application: Spirituality; Relationships; Evangelism; Conversion; Ethics; Community.  Each topic is examined as to how honour-shame as a dynamic effects the understanding and outworking of those aspects in a life and society which is rooted and directed by the governing social requirements of honour-shame.

The appendicies list for the reader: 1- Key Scriptures on Honour-Shame; 2-Biblical Stories Addressing Honour-Shame and 3-Recommended Resources

It is assumed the reader is a Westerner who has a guilt-innocence emphasis worldview and is having cross-cultural ministry into honour-shame emphasis contexts.

The Strengths of the Book

There is so much 'good stuff' in the book, it is hard to separate out particular points.  So much of the book reflects my own observations, analysis and conclusions that I often felt like the authors had somehow read my mind and beat me to writing my own book! But here are some highlights:

1. The book is the permeation of practical field examples of honour-shame dynamics working out in the real lives of real people. It not only connects the theory to the practical, but it helps build a pattern of how to look more deeply at what you might be observing.  One of the key issues in ministering in honour-shame dominant cultures is learning to identify and understand what is going on in front of you and to have a collection of examples will be beneficial to any reader.

While I am a very 'practical ministry' oriented person, I am also take a scholarly approach to ministry.  I want to be thorougly biblical and a student of the Word, for the purpose of bringing truth to the hearts of people for very grass-roots practical life transformation.  This book hits the mark.

It is a book of good balance - not too long, not too short, not too academic, but deep enough to warrant some serious thinking.  It is well rounded, keeps the reader interested with its balance of 'theory' and 'practical' and is a great place to start on a journey of effective ministry in honour-shame cultures.  

2. The book does well at 'debunking' various myths about honour-shame.  It is not always done in an obvious way, but I was impressed with how many myths they dealt with over the course of the book.

Just one example occurs on p37 - where they deal with how honour-shame cultures are often contrasted with 'right-wrong' cultures, inferring that honour-shame cultures don't have 'right-wrong' morality. This is pointed out as a wrong understanding, rather that honour-shame cultures just define right and wrong differently - according to community expectations and relationships.

3. I was impressed with the Biblical Theology section where they give the 'Baker-Georges Amplified Version' of the Beatitudes (p93).  My ministry and practical theology 'hobby-horse' is Deliberate Discipleship.  The foundation of such intentional discipleship is that we have to teach God's word and we must do it in such a way so that the hearer 'takes in' the word.  It has to resonate with them. It has to connect with their heart and thinking. Helping folk understand the realities of honour/shame in God's word through clearer translation/paraphrasing is vital.

Just as Westerners need the practical examples of honour-shame functioning in society to help us 'see' it better, we also need practical examples of how Scripture is soaked in honour-shame dynamics, so we can 'see' it more clearly.

4. On page 50 there is a diagram of several flowering plants growing in a garden to demonstrates that so many 'cross-cultural' observed differences ('plants') are the product of a soil type called 'honor-shame'.  Understanding the deeper root and soil issues overcomes the tendency to focus on the list of 'plants' - ie the neat sets of inter-cultural characteristic categories. When we focus on the plants and not the soil, we actually miss recognising the other 'plants' that maybe aren't 'on the list' and we also miss the opportunity to link the ' plants' together. We end up dealing with separated superficial behaviours rather than common root heart motivations.  If we are going to understand and deal properly with the 'plants' we have to know the soil they are in.  

5. Another strength of the book is the chapter on Ethics.  It deals with the 'good and the bad' so to speak of honour-shame emphasis cultures.  It helps the reader to see good where they might normally only see bad, as well as alert a reader to understand the areas that might need particular biblical attention for God-honouring change.  The need for teaching and showing a new honour code is emphasised, and I couldn't agree more!

6. Finally I want to list some 'quotables' which are great in themselves, but will also give you a further 'feel' of the book:

..patronage is the de-facto economic system. Honor, not money,, serves as the primary currency facilitating the tansaction of goods and services. p52

...truth in communication is defined relationally not logically p53

...Western communication is like a dowload that efficiently transfers information, Majority world communication is more of a dance where you avoid stepping on toes p53

...people determine status and identity by who they gather with not by the tasks they accomplish p54

…humans base their perceptions of other cultures more on emotional responses than cognitive reflection p61

...to only view the concept of honor-shame as an exegetical tool for reading biblical texts misses the forest for the trees. Honor and shame are foundational realities in God's mission and salvation that flow through the entire bible. p67

…sin breaks relationships (not just laws) p70

…any Christian theology of sin devoid of the theme of shame is clearly sub-biblical p73

...Jesus taught that honorable behaviour in God's eyes comes from things most often associated with cultural disgrace p95

..Shame is not an Asian or Arab issue; shame is an Adam and Eve issue p118

...our hearts fear what shame might do. Shame controls and defines us only when we live in fear of it p127

...Observing social rules all the time is never an obligation, but honoring people is a commandment from God, and that must be done in a way that makes sense to people. p160

...the church functions as a surrogate family whose gracious welcome frees people to unmask their shame p185

...Shame, not just guilt, is God's piercing voice, making people aware of their need for salvation p196

…Christians should not abandon the pursuit of honor. Rather they should passionately pursue the right kind of honor. p211

Other Comments

I hesitate to criticize but I do want to comment on something that I am glad to say in my own ministry, I am seeing is being 'proved wrong'…..

On page p35 the comment is made: "No group of people would self-identify as an honor-shame culture."

- in our corner of the world, we are actually beginning to see Africans (particularly on the academic end, but not only) understanding and describing their own culture as honour-shame. This is not so different from we as Westerners coming to understand our own cultures as 'guilt-innocence' and talking and writing in such a way so as to mention or reflect that.  I think when they come to understand that this is not a derogatory term but simply an observation and reality, and that guilt-innocence is no better or worse than honour-shame but both can be sinfully misplaced, then there is no need for hesitancy.  And as they come to realise that their honour-shame culture is just like the biblical world, they will come to see there is 'no shame' in being like people and society in bible times.  We certainly aim to not infer any inferiority when we talk to locals about it, but we do desire that they begin to understand it.  It actually helps them a lot to understand the basic anthropological differences as they also begin to understand why so much 'Westernism' seems to bring tension to their societies but they don't know why.  When we explain to them these dynamics, suddenly life around them starts to make sense. 

Who is the book for?

This book is rich from cover to cover and a 'must-have' for every missionary, every cross-cultural worker, every missiologist, every intercultural studies faculty member or student, every pastor, and dare I say, every Christian who wishes to reach out to his/her neighbour according to the great commission in our multi-cultural world.  I don't say this in a trite way, but because I truly believe it. 

This is an excellent book I hope will have wide readership and deep impact.

I received this book for free from the publisher, IVP Academic, in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

"Privileged" - Dr Helen Roseveare - goes to be with her Lord

This week Dr Helen Roseveare went to be with her Lord aged 91

Famous for her books and speaking at conferences around the world, she served the Lord as a missionary medical Doctor in the Congo (which became Zaire and is now the DRC-Democratic Republic of Congo just a couple of countries to our north.)

Her unwavering faith and commitment to serve her Lord and His faithfulness to her in the midst of some of the most horrifying of circumstances including rape by rebel soldiers, has been a great example to me from long before I ever became a fellow missionary in Africa.

I remember hearing/seeing her speak at a Keswick Convention I attended with my parents when I was young. She shared our lunch table on one of the days too, and her name and stories were firmly etched into my memory. They played a part in the picture I formed of a 'missionary' as a child.  I read some of her books that my mum had on her bookshelf and have some on my own bookshelf now too. Probably the two main things that impacted me from her life was that there is a cost to serving the Lord but that at the same time God is totally faithful and able to do above and beyond what we ask or think.

In more recent days one of the stories from her life went viral on the internet - the story of the prayed for hot water bottle and little doll.

As she would speak in various places she would emphasise that God's grace is sufficient.  She would also repeatedly emphasise that she felt her walk with Christ including suffering for His sake, was just an amazing privilege....another word for privilege is 'honour'....she is such a wonderful example of the great peace, joy, contentment and thankfulness that comes into a person's life when they feel the great undeserved favour and honour of God in being His child.

A tribute on The Gospel Coalition website posted this quote of Dr Roseveare's

God never uses a person greatly until He has wounded him deeply.
The privilege He offers you is greater than the price you have to pay.
The privilege is greater than the price.”
—Helen Roseveare

Here is an interview she had on 100 Huntley Street (its in four parts so you have to click on each part to watch it) - and if you click across to watch them on YouTube directly many other videos will come up of her sharing in one-on-one interviews or with hundreds in large audiences.