This book is welcome at this juncture of mission history. The reason this book has value in so many different ways is that Werner identifies the core of the drama that impels all things: God’s great honor reverses deep shame. Werner may be audacious to title this book as The Global Gospel, but he is not wrong to do so. –Steven C. Hawthorne, Ph.D. (from the foreword)
I surmise that many practitioners of various aspects of the Christian faith—whether discipleship, pastoral ministry, hermeneutics and preaching, missions, counseling, and other domains—will find great value in The Global Gospel, and for many years to come. This book is a tour de force. –Samuel Chiang, Executive Director, International Orality Network (from the foreword)
Biblically based and well researched, The Global Gospel is a compelling read that helps frame the gospel in the unique social dynamics of honor and shame—something we in the West so often miss. This is more than a book. It is a full-fledged course on biblically based cross-cultural communication containing graphics, charts and diagrams which forcefully illustrate Mischke’s insightful principles of sharing the gospel cross-culturally. –Marvin J. Newell, D.Miss., Senior Vice President
, MISSIO NEXUS
With magnificent, dominant, life changing themes invisible to Western eyes, The Global Gospel will enrich our understanding of who God is and change the way we do cross cultural mission forever. –Terry Dalrymple, Coordinator, Global CHE Network
The first word that comes to my mind is incredible. In The Global Gospel, Werner Mischke has researched shame and honor from various perspectives: the historical, sociological, psychological, cultural, and most importantly, the biblical. He has reviewed a broad array of literature and a multitude of Scripture passages to establish this premise: Western theology has given the world a presentation of the gospel unwittingly influenced by its own Western values. In so doing, the culture of the Bible and the culture of the recipient peoples have often both been marginalized, resulting in unnecessary obstacles to faith in Christ. The value of the material and paradigm contained in The Global Gospel is immeasurable. It is without a doubt worthy of study by all Christians interested in properly contextualizing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the global mission of God. –Paul R. Gupta, Ph.D., President and Director, Hindustan Bible Institute & College
For those who like me grew up in a guilt society and heard the gospel primarily as grace from the punishment of personal sin, Werner Mischke offers an invaluable tool to better understand our Bible and most people. The Global Gospel shows how the biblical writers communicated in an honor/shame culture, presenting Jesus as the one who took our shame to restore humanity’s honor. From this scholarly grounding, he offers practical, specific ways to increase our missional impact in the global village. –John DelHousaye, Ph.D., Associate Professor, New Testament, Phoenix Seminary
In The Global Gospel, Werner Mischke offers himself as a guide—a guide to his own Western culture, a guide to other cultures, and a guide to biblical culture. He wants to train us, to teach us to look at the world through the lens of honor and shame, and toward the end that our Great Commission ministry might be transformed. It’s time for you to read this book! –Ben McGinnis, Mission mobilizer, Nashville, TN
As we faithfully join God in taking the gospel to those who have never heard, into cultures and contexts that are decidedly different than our own, The Global Gospel gives us a valuable working knowledge of honor and shame. As “minority world believers,” it will be crucial that we allow the knowledge of this new insight, this “aha” wisdom to shape the way we reach the last and the least within the Majority World. –Pat Murdock, Executive Director, Issachar Initiative
Missionaries have provided peeks into the shame and honor features of non-Western cultures. Bible scholars have quietly identified shame and honor as essential themes in Scripture. Now we are beginning to see that we need these teachings in our everyday lives. What Werner has done is this: He has gathered Scripture, missiology and biblical scholarship on shame and honor, he has offered it to us in a clear and cogent book, and, in this, he has blessed the church. –Edward Welch, Ph.D., Faculty and Counselor, CCEF
In The Global Gospel, Werner Mischke takes us back to biblical times to demonstrate how honor and shame was the predominate cultural motif for the Old and New Testament writings. He demonstrates conclusively that understanding honor and shame is critical to a proper biblical hermeneutic. The heart of the book is the application of the honor and shame motif to global evangelism and discipleship and its use as a strategy for world evangelism. More than a book to be read once and then discarded, The Global Gospel is a manual for church leaders and missionaries to use as a reference for understanding honor and shame in the biblical context and how to apply the principles of honor and shame in cross-cultural engagement today. This work is highly recommended for Christian workers who want to understand biblical culture at a deeper level. Christian workers engaged in cross-cultural ministry particularly with eastern cultures will benefit through an understanding of honor and shame in our world today and be given tools to communicate at a heart level with people from predominately honor and shame cultures. –Philip Bustrum, Ph.D., Former Chair Bible, Religion, Ministry Division, Professor of Intercultural Studies, Cornerstone University
We live in rapidly changing times where our audience for the gospel is growing in its diversity both where we live and in missions. This requires a better grasp of the world view of those we interact with and The Global Gospel addresses this in a very helpful manner. The concepts of honor and shame are central to that understanding. I highly recommend this volume to all who have a passion to reach those who don’t know Jesus. –T.J. Addington, Senior Vice President, EFCA, Leader, ReachGlobal
The Global Gospel provides a most thorough theological treatise and practical hands-on workbook for both understanding and applying the gospel’s power to transform shame into honor. The author clearly outlines how the transformative power of the gospel transcends culture, geography, ethnicity, and gender! I am eager to see the impact of this teaching in the lives of women we serve in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as they gain insight into their dignity and infinite value in the eyes of the Lord GOD. –Kim Kerr, Executive Director, Women in the Window International
Now and then someone will poke a hole in the wall of culture that offers a better view of our global neighbors. In The Global Gospel, Werner Mischke has punched through to a world of honor and shame from a world that rarely talks in those terms much less thinks in those ways. In doing so he opened up not only the opportunity to understand each other better but the Scriptures as well. The Global Gospel offers Christians a fresh perspective of what it means to be citizens of heaven on earth. –Daniel Rickett, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, She Is Safe
The fastest growing Christian communities in today’s world—especially Africa and Asia—are shaped by cultures where honor and shame are more dominant than our Western Christian notions of sin and guilt. To be sure, the Bible does tell us that we are guilty sinners who desperately need God’s gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. But our shared rebellion began when our first parents, Adam and Eve, acted in a way that was an affront to God’s honor, and then hid in shame from their Creator. We have much to learn from our brothers and sisters in honor-and-shame cultures, and in this wise and instructive book, Werner Mischke guides us along on that necessary journey of spiritual learning! –Richard J. Mouw, Ph.D., Professor of Faith and Public Life
, Fuller Theological Seminary
I have been studying the Bible for almost 60 years, and have been teaching the Bible as a Pastor and Professor for over 50 years, and I am seeing things in the Bible I never saw until I starting reading The Global Gospel. I appreciate the way you have written it in a form accessible to every Christian, with assignments for Bible study and ministry. I pray the Lord will use this book mightily in comforting God’s people and in equipping them to reach others with the gospel in its power and purity. –Joe Martin, Professor of Christian Ministries, Belhaven University
This book provides answers to many of the difficult questions that confront those involved in cross-cultural partnerships and missions. Werner’s deep insights on the subject of honor and shame are groundbreaking in so many ways. The book is deeply researched, well illustrated and its conclusion has dramatically changed my perspective on intra-cultural as well as cross-cultural relationships. You cannot read this book and not develop a better appreciation of God’s rich wisdom in creating diversity and the challenges we face as we engage people of other cultures. It is a landmark contribution to global missiology and theology. –Pastor Emmanuel Ogunyemi, Ph.D.
, President, Life Builders Ministries International,
Lagos, NIGERIA
This is a book that will expand your mind, heal your soul, and empower your witness for Jesus Christ. Werner Mischke expertly calls upon a collage of disciplines—theology, sociology, psychology, missiology, teleology—to expose a significant hindrance to Western missions. There is a blind spot in the Western world view which, it turns out, is a pivotal cultural value of Scripture. In naming the blind spot, Werner opens the Bible afresh and gives us eyes to see the way the majority of the world sees. So Paul: “None of you should think only of his own affairs, but should learn to see things from other people’s point of view” (Phil 2:1-4, J.B. Phillips Translation). The gift of The Global Gospel is seeing things from other people’s point of view. –Donald Mills, Financial Adviser, Associate Vice President, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. M. Div. and D. Min., Fuller Theological Seminary
In The Global Gospel, Werner Mischke takes the reader on a helpful exploration of the multi-faceted dynamics of honor-shame. His practical tools open a way to see how honor-shame dynamics are integral to the narrative of Scripture and are powerfully addressed in the gospel. Mischke’s tone is open and his language is accessible. The honor-shame themes he explores are central to the task of missions and go to the depths of the human soul. Readers from the Majority World will celebrate that some of their most heart-felt issues are being discussed in light of a fresh reading of Scripture. Readers from the West will be awakened to honor-shame dynamics present in their own lives that they never had words to adequately express nor a theology to address. The Global Gospel points the way for all readers to encounter in Scripture a gospel that is better news than they had been taught. This book makes a significant and practical contribution to the global mission conversation. While The Global Gospel will be very helpful to people involved in cross-cultural ministry, I also recommend it to any pastor Bible teacher who is open to see the gospel, revealed through the pages of Scripture, in a way that powerfully engages the head, heart and community. –David Bochman, Ph.D., International–Organizational DevelopmentAphesis Group Ministries
, Paraclete Mission Group
The Global Gospel an easy-to-read scholarly rendition of the importance of ‘Honor and Shame’ in the worldview of a large segment of the world’s population. In the rapidly changing demographic due to migration of the United States (and Europe, Australia and New Zealand), understanding this is an imperative if our outreach to the unreached is to have any relevance. A “must read” book for every Christian who is concerned about being an effective witness for the gospel.” –Dr. Ravi I. Jayakaran, Vice President, Global Programs, MAP International
There is a broad-based lack of understanding in the Church regarding the concept of honor and shame but The Global Gospel goes a long way toward rectifying this situation. It is a much needed book that provides outstanding insight into cultures of honor and shame and how this impacts the gospel and our mission. After reading this book I can’t but read the scriptures through a different lens. Werner helps us understand God’s grace and our mission all the better. –Michelle Tessendorf, Executive Director, Orchard: Africa
Thorough, targeted, touching, timely, theologically sound while demanding some theological turns, and teeming with applications, therefore it becomes required reading. –Tom Steffen, D.Miss., Professor Emeritus, Cook School of
Intercultural Studies, Biola University
This is a much needed resource for the global church. Werner Mischke provides a road map for anyone doing ministry in an honor/shame culture. I expect The Global Gospel will spur the kind of theological conversations that lead to practical solutions for many missiological challenges. –Jackson Wu, Ph.D., Author, Saving God’s Face
The Global Gospel is a reminder that we in the West have much to learn on the topic of honor and shame which the New Testament world—and Majority World today—lived with on a daily basis. This book has influenced my understanding of the gospel and missions. Get this book! Read it! Make application to your life and ministry! –J. D. Payne, Ph.D., Pastor of Church Multiplication, The Church at Brook Hills
The descriptions and implications of honor/shame dynamics in The Global Gospel will give you a new lens in reading the Bible and new insights for the practice of missions. I plan to buy multiple copies to give leaders in my organization. –Joel L. Hogan, Director of International Ministries
, Christian Reformed World Missions
Werner Mischke’s The Global Gospel provides an in-depth yet eminently practical analysis of the crucial topic of honor and shame that makes it indispensable reading for both biblical scholars and cross-cultural practitioners. –Mwana Hadisi, Ph.D., Assistant Prof. of Intercultural Studies, Phoenix Seminary
“Death is preferable to shame,” is a phrase that encapsulates the worldview of many of the world’s peoples. Upon hearing this phrase repeatedly from Muslims, I have consistently sought resources to help me better understand the concept of honor/shame and its implications for my mission work. Unfortunately, the resource list has been limited. The Global Gospel addresses what could be the greatest blind spot in the theology and missiology of Western and Western-influenced Christians around the world—namely, that a deep understanding of honor/shame is not only essential for effective mission work, but also for understanding the Bible. The Global Gospel is replete with biblical and theoretical discourse that validate its provoking questions summoning us to change. –Chris Clayman Director, Global Gates Network Author, ethNYcity: The Nations, Tongues, and Faiths of Metropolitan New York
The Global Gospel is a very welcome, well-written, well-researched, biblically-rooted, contribution to Christian ministry and mission in our 21st century multicultural world. A “must read” for pastors and Christian workers, far and near. –Rev. Dr. John A. Forrester, Author, Grace for Shame: The Forgotten Gospel
Werner does a superb job in peeling back the blinders that hinder our effectiveness in communicating the gospel. The insights he presents are crucial to avoid the cultural collisions that often set ministry initiatives back, quite often for years. Do yourself and your team a favor—devour this book! –Edward M. Smith, Ph.D., President, Williamson College
The Global Gospel fills a significant hole in Western missiology and theology. Werner’s insights and lucid diagrams will tremendously bless all those serving the global church. This book has breathed fresh air into my personal spirituality as well as ministry among Muslims. –Jayson Georges, Missionary & author
We thank the Lord for this book! Drawing on scholarship from across the globe, the reader is given the theological implications of honor and shame, and practical applications for more effective ministry. Whether to better reach your neighbor across the street or around the world, this is a much needed book. –Andrew & Sandra Freeman, Missionaries, Botswana, Africa
It’s no exaggeration that The Global Gospel is an essential contribution to missiology. Werner’s understanding and experience of the dynamic of honor and shame should be read by anyone who truly wants to understand missions. –Dr. Bobby Brewer, Pastor of Spiritual Formation
, City of Grace Church, Phoenix, AZ
In our small church representing 21 nations, getting to grips with honor/shame dynamics has been so important. Through
The Global Gospel, I began to grasp God’s Word with the honor/shame lens and my mind was blown with really how big the grace of God is. –Pastor Andy Moyle, The Gateway Church, King’s Lynn, United Kingdom
The Global Gospel makes several notable contributions. Werner’s work serves as a primer; it introduces the subject and reviews much of the previous conversation. Werner also creatively and provocatively links together several motifs (for example, the connection of purity with shame and honor) that will provoke the review of scholarship for some time to come. Also he aptly shows the importance of shame and honor for understanding the setting and culture of the Bible and the mission field. One surprising treasure was his artful display of the potency of shame and honor to articulate the healing and saving work of the gospel for Westerners. Take and read. –R. L. Hatchett, Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Houston Baptist University
The Global Gospel feels like fresh cool wind in the desert. Millennial hybrid-cultures—present in every metro-urban region—require new biblical insight from the ancient biblical revelation. The Global Gospel gives us both wisdom and ways to deal with these emerging millennial realities that will see God honored and our shame covered. This book is a must read for these days. –Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin,
President, Artists in Christian Testimony Intl.
globalgospelbook.org 