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Contextualization

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April 2026

April 14, 2026

Why Christianity Needs Individuals but Rejects Individualism

One of the great confusions of modern Western culture is that we've learned to use...

July 2025

July 22, 2025

What motivates obedience when I don’t want to obey?

What does true obedience to God look like—and what doesn’t it look like? This isn’t...

April 2023

April 11, 2023

Presenting the gospel like remade movie trailers

If you've read much of my work, then you've come across this idea: We compromise...

February 2023

February 28, 2023

Bathsheba, #MeToo, and Eisegesis

People get pretty worked up to defend David against charges of rape, preferring to condemn...

January 2023

January 17, 2023

I’m launching 3 online courses!

I’m excited to announce the creation and launch of three different online courses! Which one...

November 2022

November 01, 2022

Think Broadly on Contextualization and Biblical Theology

We previously considered several studies that highlight the benefits of “broad thinking” on creativity. Scholars...

October 2022

October 18, 2022

How do we bridge theology and missions?

To bridge the gap between theologians and missionaries, we need imagination. Here are ideas about...

September 2022

September 21, 2022

What’s your political denomination?

In light of the coming political election, I think it's worth reposting this. NOTE: If...

August 2022

August 09, 2022

What’s the meaning of “blood is thicker than water”?

What's the meaning of the idiom "blood is thicker than water"? We’ve all heard this...

July 2022

July 12, 2022

Must we always talk about hell in evangelism?

Must we always talk about hell when we evangelize? No. But before you cancel me...

March 2022

March 15, 2022

How Our Expectations Influence Our Interpretation of Scripture

Over a hundred years ago, F. C. Bartlett changed the trajectory of memory studies and...

March 01, 2022

Professionalism versus the Holy Spirit in the Work of Missions?

My concern here is not for missionaries. It’s for the lost. Our effectiveness is damaged...

January 2022

January 04, 2022

Is John’s Gospel a Defense of Jesus’ Honor?

Have you ever wondered whether John wrote his Gospel as a way of defending Jesus’...

August 2021

August 17, 2021

Finding Biblical Meaning and Cultural Significance

This post gives an overview of the final two stages of the contextualization process–– finding...

August 10, 2021

The First of Four Stages in Contextualization

In my previous post, I showed how the Bible and culture are inextricably tied together....

August 03, 2021

The Circular Relationship Between Culture and the Bible

Many people only want to say the Bible transcends culture. However, the facts present us...

June 2021

June 08, 2021

My EMS video presentation on contextualization

I recently gave a short presentation titled "Biblically Faithful and Culturally Meaningful Contextualization? Moving Beyond...

April 2021

April 06, 2021

Is biblical womanhood an example of syncretism?

When I first heard about Barr’s The Making of Biblical Womanhood, I wasn’t interested in...

February 2021

February 02, 2021

Honor Restored Training Videos

Looking for videos that could supplement your training for ministry in honor-shame contexts? Thanks to...

January 2021

January 05, 2021

Six Approaches to Contextualization in China

The following six categories signify six ways that theologians and missiologists talk about and do...

December 2020

December 01, 2020

Are fear-power cultures actually fear-peace cultures?

In this post, I want to argue that we have mislabeled " fear-power cultures." Instead,...

November 2020

November 10, 2020

Does the Bible really address policing and black identity?

Looking at the table of contents, I scratched my head trying to imagine how McCaulley...

November 03, 2020

Reading While Black as an Exercise in Contextualization

Prior to the release of Esau McCaulley’s Reading While Black, I had mixed feelings about...

June 2020

June 30, 2020

How God Uses Disability for the Sake of Global Missions

“How does honor and shame relate to people with disabilities?” That was the first time...

September 2019

September 11, 2019

Biblical Theology for Oral Cultures

I wanted to write this chapter for a long time. Finally, I got my chance....

August 2019

August 14, 2019

The Doctrine of Scripture and Biblical Contextualization

What's the relationship between contextualization and an evangelical doctrine of the Bible? A biblical doctrine...

July 2019

July 24, 2019

How do tight and loose cultures practically influence ministry?

What are a few implications and application of tight and loose cultures? How should this...

July 17, 2019

Honor, Shame, and Guilt within Tight and Loose Cultures

How does the distinction between tight and loose cultures affect contextualization, churches, ministry strategy, and...

May 2019

May 15, 2019

Interview with Scott Moreau about Contextualization

When I began reading Scott Moreau's Contextualizing the Faith: A Holistic Approach, I immediately wanted...

April 2019

April 11, 2019

Writing Worship Songs in Chinese (when it’s your second language)

Contextualization involves more than sound theological doctrine or effective ministry strategies. One area of contextualization...