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

Theological Contextualization

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

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’...

November 2020

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...

August 2017

August 23, 2017

A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization (Session 4 Training Video)

Here is SESSION FOUR of 4 training videos I've released over the summer. This final...

August 02, 2017

How does the Bible explain the gospel? (Session 3 Training Video)

There is one gospel yet many ways to present this message. Accordingly, in addition to...

July 2017

July 11, 2017

How does the Bible contextualize the gospel? (Session 2 Training Video)

Here is SESSION TWO of 4 training videos I will release this summer. Below, you'll find...

June 2017

June 14, 2017

Reinterpreting Contextualization (Session 1 Training Video)

In the coming weeks, I will release 4 full length training videos. The audio comes...

June 01, 2017

True but Confusing Advice for Missionaries

Mack Stiles’ recent post on The Gospel Coalition causes unnecessary confusion.[1] Why? It offers advice...

February 2017

February 15, 2017

Contextualize. Don’t Merely Theologize.

I was a math major. But it was my college soccer class that made me...

March 2015

March 26, 2015

Why is Sin Considered a "Debt"?

Sin is debt. That’s how the Bible describes it. Why? I’ve given a lot of...

March 17, 2015

Reply to Doug Coleman (Part 2) — Defining "Dishonor"

In a previous post, I responded to Doug Coleman’s question about the meaning of sin,...

March 11, 2015

The Genesis of Contextualization

It is very possible that we do not honor biblical authority precisely by forcing an...

July 2014

July 08, 2014

Five More Ideas for Crafting Stories among UPGs

In a previous post, I suggested 10 ideas for crafting stories among unreached people groups...

July 03, 2014

10 Ideas for Crafting the Biblical Story among UPGs

Storytelling often is a key component of ministry among many Unreached People Groups (UPGs). Various...

March 2014

March 11, 2014

Changing the Gospel or Just Our Perspective?

Does contextualization mean "changing" the gospel? That is exactly what one missions leader seemed to...

November 2013

November 14, 2013

Jesus Preached a Chinese Gospel

My previous post, examined the story of the rich, younger ruler (Mark 10:17–30). I suggested...

November 06, 2013

What if the rich, young ruler had been Chinese…?

Western Christians make a big deal of the rich young ruler story (Matt. 19:16–29; Mark...

October 2013

October 24, 2013

A Chinese Perspective on Justification

How would I outline a Chinese perspective of justification? I could write a book on...

September 2013

September 12, 2013

Doing Biblical Theology from Outside the Box

Ideally, we can share the biblical story orally and visually. In other words, what people...

September 03, 2013

Why Israel? Recovering the Bible's Forgotten Middle

This post depicts Israel within the biblical story. The summary follows the picture below. God...

August 2013

August 29, 2013

How Do We Do “Theology from a Box”?

Today, I begin to explain step by step how to tell the whole story of...

August 27, 2013

Keeping the Biblical Story Coherent and Balanced

If you would like to download the graph above, click here (a bigger picture) or...

August 08, 2013

A Theological Version of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"

When people are not against something but not necessarily "for" it, what do they do?...

July 2013

July 04, 2013

Biblical Theology from a Chinese Perspective

Check out my most recent article "Biblical Theology from a Chinese Perspective--Interpreting Scripture through the...

June 2013

June 27, 2013

"There is no fairness if you do not let us cheat" — Chinese parents

This is one of the most telling articles you may ever read about Chinese culture.Here...

June 12, 2013

Does Christ Satisfy God’s Honor or His Justice?

Of making many atonement theories, there is no end. It can be a real headache...

June 05, 2013

"What Does It Mean to Contextualize the Gospel?" by Werner Mischke

Check out Werner Mischke's post "What does it mean to contextualize the gospel?"

May 2013

May 27, 2013

Preaching the Gospel to the Tiger Mom

How would you preach the gospel to someone like a “Tiger Mom”? Amy Chua, who...

May 15, 2013

Missiology or Theology? Crossing Academic Cultures for the Sake of the Nations

In order to reach the nations, we will have to cross cultures academically. What God...

May 08, 2013

The Personal History behind "Saving God's Face"

What is the personal history behind my book, Saving God's Face? Why did I write...

April 2013

April 09, 2013

Taking the Context out of the Bible?

Taking the Context out of the Bible? We've all heard taking a passage out of...