Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
4 Keys to Evangelism in Honor-Shame Cultures

4 Keys to Evangelism in Honor-Shame Cultures

Last updated on: January 12, 2022 at 4:03 am by Brad Vaughn

4 Keys to Evangelism in Honor-Shame Cultures 2022-01-12T04:03:48-07:00 Brad Vaughn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

(This post originally appeared on Ed Stetzer’s blog The Exchange)

I’ll never forget when an atheist, Chinese taxi driver shared the gospel with me. It was one of the best presentations I’ve heard.

He didn’t believe it, of course, but he had heard the message so many times that he could rattle it off like Billy Graham himself had trained him.

Credit: Jakob Montrasio / Flickr

I had spent the past 15–20 minutes explaining the gospel in a way that made better sense in an “honor-shame” culture. Periodically, I would pause to see whether he was actually listening. Would he change the subject? To my surprise, he kept prodding me to say more. Although countless people had shared the gospel with him, he said no one had ever said anything like what he was now hearing.

I was curious, so I asked him to tell me what he had heard. That’s when he perfectly gave a typical Western gospel presentation: People had broken God’s law and deserved death; however, Jesus died to take away our penalty. So, whoever believes in him can have peace and eternal life.

There is only one gospel (Gal 1:6–8), so what did I say different?

Honor and Shame Are Essential to the Gospel

Traditional presentations mainly use legal language, focus on individuals, stress the futility of works, and appeal to people’s fear of pain, whether physical or psychological. I didn’t do that.

Instead, I highlighted a basic but often overlooked fact: honor and shame are inherent to the gospel.

What’s more, humans have a fundamental desire for honor. Everyone wants to be accepted and even praised by others. So-called “honor-shame” cultures exist in the East and the West.

With this in mind, we should rethink how we do evangelism. If honor-shame remains a blind spot, we won’t see fully how the gospel addresses the needs of all people. Therefore, I will mention four critical ideas for sharing the gospel in honor-shame cultures.

Four Key Ideas

1. People

Focus more on who people are, not simply what they do.

There is no “me” apart from a vast network of relationships. No one is truly an “individual” and independent. People’s actions are interconnected. Many Westerners see identity in terms of uniqueness, one’s differences. Non-Westerners more often stress collective identity, how we’re similar. Both are true.

Talk about their relationships. Who are their functional saviors? Which relationships are regarded as most fundamental? Who are “insiders” and “outsiders” (and why)? How do people identify themselves?

In the process, you’ll find out what matters most to people. You’ll likely uncover their most treasured idols. Also, you’ll better identify biblical passages that best communicate gospel truth.

The gospel changes our fundamental identity. We join God’s family. Neither ethnicity, gender, titles, nor even social media determine our most basic identity.

2. Praise

Find out who it is that people most want to please. Whose praise (or criticism) do they care about?

A Chinese idiom says it well, “People want ‘face’ like a tree wants bark.” Why? One’s “face” refers to how people value them. We could use other words like “respect” and “reputation.” To belong in a group (i.e., be accepted by others), having “face” is critical. Maybe this explains why a fifth of the world’s population is on Facebook.

The gospel exposes the danger of people-pleasing or estimating worth based on the number of one’s Twitter followers. Jesus gave similar warnings (Matt 23:5–13). This doesn’t mean that seeking praise and honor is bad (Rom 2:7, 10). Instead, for the one who believes the gospel, “his praise is not from man but from God” (Rom 2:29).

Jesus prayed, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them that they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:22). What an amazing contrast to those at Babel (Gen 11:4), whose fear, insecurity, and pride led them to see the wrong sort of recognition.

In Rebecca DeYoung’s excellent book Vainglory, she gives a gospel perspective,

“Acknowledging that our glory is already given [in Christ] also frees us from excessive attachment to our own accomplishments and reputation.”

3. Power

To whom do people give their allegiance? Whom do they follow? For whom do they generally conform?

Honor-shame cultures tend to be more sensitive to hierarchy and social rank. One’s “face” is linked to power. We share the glory (or shame) of those we align with. Ask any politician or advertiser.

For fear of rejection or loss of “face,” people might respond to authority by either blind conformity or even (in the West) by rejecting authority.

Since Jesus is king, the gospel challenges all other claims to power. Yet, the “King of glory” came as a servant, enduring the shame of the cross. Accordingly, our gospel presentations should clarify how Christ redefines power and honor.

4. Practical

Show people how the gospel makes a practical difference.

Relationships are concrete. There is little patience for abstractions. Because image is everything, people quickly become suspicious of presentations that promise much but show little.

In part, this will mean being upfront about the cost of discipleship, the joy of gaining a worldwide family (Mark 10:30), and the power to obey Christ by faith.

After hearing traditional western presentations, Chinese often ask, “What does that have to do with me?” To my taxi driver friend, the gospel sounded too philosophical. It made no sense to him.

He wasn’t concerned about where he went after he died or whether God accepted his good works. But that day, he was interested to hear more about this God who, for the first time, seemed to care about this life and not only the next one.

Previous Post

May 11, 2015

Missiology reviews "Lost World of Adam and Eve"

Next Post

May 20, 2015 Finding Honor-Shame in UPG Cultures

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Biblical Theology Book Reviews China Chinese Church Chinese Culture Chinese Language Collectivism Contextualization Culture (General) Ecclesiology Evangelism Gospel Honor & Shame (Face) Interpretation/Exegesis Justification/Righteousness Missiology Mission Methods One Gospel for All Nations Other Practical Contextualization Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes Resources Romans Salvation (General) Saving God's Face Seeking God's Face The Cross in Context Theological Contextualization Theological Education Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What covered the sky during Jesus’ crucifixion?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Clouds Rain Darkness Fire

Books by This Author Books by Brad Vaughn

See All Titles »