The Honor-Shame Conference: Reconciling the Nations
June 8–10, 2020 
Wheaton College (Chicago area)
You are invited to the 2020 Honor-Shame Conference
Can the gospel of Jesus Christ better engage today’s world—from unreached people groups to secular postmoderns to the global refugee crisis?
Can an honorific gospel better address the concerns of peoples grappling with division, tribalism, racism, or nationalism?
Will people better understand and receive a gospel message that speaks to:
- sin and shame?
- cynicism and alienation?
- violence and displacement?
- defilement and exclusion?
- consumerism and emptiness?
- lostness in all its dimensions?
Join us for the 2020 Honor-Shame Conference to explore how honor and shame influence the gospel, the Church, and various other disciplines, including theology, missiology, pastoral ministry, and counseling.
The June 2017 Honor-Shame Conference gathered 285 people from some 100 organizations. A learning community gathered from North America and around the world. It included professors, pastors, cross-cultural workers, creatives, and other professional practitioners. Click here to see videos from the 2017 Conference. The June 2020 Honor-Shame Conference will build on the efforts and fruit of the 2017 conference.
What are the overall aims of the conference?
- Facilitate a learning environment, networking leaders across disciplines and nations.
- Seed new teams and projects around the world to engage in research, experimentation and the development of new ministry resources.
- Move toward normalizing honor-shame as an essential component of theological and missiological discourse and gospel contextualization.
Plenary session presenters
John M. G. Barclay is a British biblical scholar, historian of early Christianity, and academic. He is the current holder of the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham University in Durham, England and is largely considered one of today’s most influential New Testament scholars. His most recent book is Paul and the Gift (Eerdmans, 2015), which many have recognized as the most significant book on Pauline theology in years.
Jayson Georges (M.Div., Talbot) is the founding editor of HonorShame.com. He has served cross-culturally for 15 years, and lives in the Middle East. His books include The 3D Gospel and Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures: Biblical Foundations and Practical Essentials, co-authored with Mark Baker. His forthcoming book (2019, IVP) is Ministering in Patronage Cultures: Biblical Models and Missional Implications.
Larry S. Persons (PhD, Fuller, Intercultural Studies) was born and raised in Thailand. He has lived in Southeast Asia for more than 30 years, and has exceptional command of the Thai language and culture. He is the CEO of CQ Leadership Consulting in Bangkok. In addition to leadership consulting, Larry teaches “Culturally Intelligent Leadership” at the graduate business school of Chulalongkorn University. He is the author of The Way Thais Lead: Face As Social Capital.
Benjamin C. Shin has served as a pastor, parachurch leader and professor for more than 20 years. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Bible Exposition and Director of the Asian-American Ministry track for the Doctor of Ministry at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. He is the author (with Sheryl Silzer) of Tapestry of Grace: Untangling the Cultural Complexities of Asian American Life & Ministry.
Shirin Taber is Iranian-American and directs the Middle East Women’s Leadership Network (mideastwomen.org). She is the author of Muslims Next Door and a contributor to Islam and North America: Loving our Muslim Neighbors. With the JESUS Film Project, she helped produce the film Magdalena. In 2019, Shirin began her PhD program focused on the intersection of women’s right and religious freedom in Tunisia.
T. V. Thomas is originally from Malaysia and is Founder and Director of the Centre for Evangelism & World Mission (founded in 1984) in Regina, Canada. For over three decades T.V. has enjoyed trans-denominational and transcontinental ministry of speaking, teaching and networking. T.V. helps lead InterVarsity in Canada, Ethnic America Network (EAN), and Lausanne Global Diaspora Network (GDN).
Jackson Wu (PhD, SEBTS) teaches theology and missiology. His books include Saving God’s Face and One Gospel for All Nations. His latest book is is Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes: Honor and Shame in Paul’s Message and Mission. He regularly blogs at jacksonwu.org, and is the book reviews editor of the mission and culture section for Themelios, a journal of The Gospel Coalition.
The Honor-Shame Conference is not a function of Wheaton College.
Banner image by Nikolay Guenov. Used by permission. http://travel.china-finds.com
