The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures

by Jayson Georges

To enhance your ministry among the nations, learn how the Bible speaks to cultures of guilt, shame, and fear. Western theology emphasizes forgiveness of sins, but people in the Majority World seek honor or spiritual power. In today’s globalized world, Christians need a three-dimensional gospel of God's innocence, honor, and power. Is your gospel 3D? Drawing from the author's mission experience and research, The 3D Gospel is a practical guide explaining many aspects of guilt, shame, and fear cultures. For each cultural framework, you will the main cultural characteristics, how it affects everyday life, the biblical story of salvation, key biblical verses, the doctrines of original sin and atonement, two evangelistic approaches, a contextualized form of Christian witness, and much more. A bulk DISCOUNT OF 50% (a case of 50 paperbacks for $225) is available

Genres: Christian, Theology, Nonfiction, Cultural, Christianity, Faith, Religion

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 23, 2014

About the author

Jayson Georges (MDiv, Talbot) has served crossculturally for over fifteen years in Central Asia, a refugee community in the United States, and now in the Middle East. He is the coauthor of Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures and the author of The 3D Gospel and The Honor-Shame Paraphrase series. Georges has taught about honor-shame and patronage around the world and is the founding editor of honorshame.com.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book expanded my view of God in 80 little pages. Having grown up and responded to the gospel in the Western culture, I am very familiar with interpreting the gospel through the lens of guilt/innocence. While I know the gospel also addresses fear/power and shame/honor, these are not lenses I often use to view the gospel. This book helped clarify these for me and enlarge my vision of God's work.

I have had experience with Turkish, Azeri, and Chinese cultures, and struggled to understand the way they interpret things or act certain ways in certain situations. This book helped me to put those cultures into perspective. I have realized that my guilt/innocence lens just makes their behavior blurry and hard to understand. Things make a lot more sense if I view people's behaviors through the appropriate reference of shame/honor or fear/power.

Loved the different metanarratives expressed for each of the three cultures.

Loved the chart provided that summarizes the differences.

Loved the suggestions for how to effectively minister to the three cultures.

And REALLY loved the way Georges ties all three together as a whole: guilt, shame, fear ALL being the result of sin; different cultures emphasize different aspects of this; God's work through Christ's incarnation, death, resurrection provide the innocence, honor, and power that answer all of these needs.

Fabulous.

[Tim Casteel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, very short, introduction to understanding the gospel through 3 lenses: guilt/innocence, honor/shame, power/fear. For someone (like me) who has very little understanding of honor/shame and power/fear world views, it was a helpful starter book. Probably could have been a long article instead of a book. But gave me some good book suggestions to learn more.

[Lily Jansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small but mighty book. Was such a helpful tool and made me think deeply about a three dimensional gospel.

[Brandon Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, organized, and illuminating. Definitely recommend to anyone looking to do ministry overseas or wanting to have a greater understanding of the fullness of the Gospel.

By categorizing culture types into Guilt-Innocence, Shame-Honor, and Fear-Power, it becomes apparent that different aspects of the Gospel are naturally emphasized more than others. For example, in a Guilt-Innocence Western culture, the need for legal forgiveness through Jesus is stressed much more heavily than the freedom from shame that would be more important in Eastern Asian cultures where honor and community standing is held in the highest regard.

Jesus is so much more than just a payment for a debt that we incurred and could not pay. He is the freedom from the shame, dishonor, and disgrace through adoption into His family. He is conqueror for the oppressed who gives power to the meek and puts the last first. A well rounded understanding of the Gospel is essential to having a full perspective of God’s character.

I think a natural argument for non believers would be that this book is essentially a guide on how to twist Christianity to make it more attractive to potential believers. However, the impetus of this book that comes straight from the Bible can be summarized in Paul’s prayer in the letter to Ephesus: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope (freedom from guilt)to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance (freedom from shame) in the saints, and his incomparably great power (freedom from fear) for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19). The contents of this letter has remained the same for thousands of years. Instead of arguing the Bible is being manipulated to be more convincing, I would say that over time, man has shrunk their view on the Gospel and through restoring the Gospel to its original message, it has always been meant for all people and all nations. Another argument could be that Christianity was just a random religion with no basis that someone came up with that built its message to gain as many followers as possible. It seems like creating a message that carries the same weight across cultures worldwide 2,000 years from invention is a task much easier said than done, especially framing it in a way that strikes relevancy in cultures like Guilt-Innocence that had yet to be fully developed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it very applicable for my upcoming trip!

[Chrisyatesbookguy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read. Felt like my eyes were opened to western culture and I didn’t even know it was there. Good book!

[Johnnie Each · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good - I'm so excited to meet people this summer who think about the gospel in a different lens than I do and experience the beauty of God through their eyes!

I don't think the ransom theory of atonement is true/helpful though... We weren't in spiritual death because Satan had us captive, we were in spiritual death because God's wrath was pouring out on us. Even in contextualizing the gospel, I think it's important to be accurate and try your best to represent the gospel as the bible represents it.

[Kinsey Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the charts in this book were explained through words more thoroughly, this would be a 5! Can’t wait to discuss with our global team.

[Rick Dugan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin is experienced differently in different cultures. Individualistic cultures often view sin through the lens of guilt/innocence. Those who break the law - sin - are guilty. The guilty are dealt with according to justice or forgiveness.

But collectivist or communicable cultures usually understand the consequences of sin in terms of shame/honor. "People shamed for not fulfilling group expectations must restore their honor before the community."

And yet other cultures experience the consequences of sin through a fear/power lens. People fear evil and seek power to protect themselves from such evil.

The gospel actually speaks to all three, and it is vital for a missionary to understand his own gospel-worldview as well as the worldviews of those with which he is sharing the gospel.

This is illustrated in Ephesians, where the gospel is applied to guilt, shame and fear.

Guilt/innocence: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins."

Shame/honor: "In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ." "You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household."

Fear/power: "That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion."

Too often missionaries from the West focus on guilt/innocence because it's the only gospel they know. However, the people that they're trying to share the gospel with may come from a shame/honor or fear/power worldview. A guilt/innocence gospel will fall on deaf ears.

These three paradigms not only effect one's understanding of the consequences of sin, but also the remedy. Those who are unaware of such differences will miss hidden clues for effective service, leadership, and communication.

There is a wealth of wisdom and insight for those working in cross-cultural contexts in this book. It should be required reading for those seeking to serve cross-culturally.

More importantly, it can help us see in the multifaceted glory of the gospel treasures that have been hidden by our blind spots.

[Cody Sensenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenged me to really think outside the box when approaching discipleship with people from alternate cultures. Since I grew up in China it really opened my eyes to the difference between cultures that felt hard to out my finger on.

[Connie Haugneland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read. Less than 80 pages. He looks at the Biblical narrative from the three main cultural worldviews: innocence-guilt, honor-shame, and fear-power.

I loved looking at different passages of scripture and seeing how it applied to a different worldview lens than mine. So often in American culture you get the innocence guilt way of sharing the gospel with others but the Bible also talks about the restorative work of Jesus freeing us from shame and fear. He restores our honor and is all powerful over sin and idolatry.

Highly recommend esp if you’re serving people from different cultural backgrounds than yours.

[Jen Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best kind of book! It helps us understand God, people, culture, and the good news of Jesus in a way that makes the swirling cultural milieu a little easier to comprehend and to engage. Georges scholarship is thoughtful, his vision is revolutionary, and I am eager to see how this thin book changes the way we engage with people and cultures. It is already changing my understanding of my own past and the parts of the New Testament that have always seemed a bit culturally confounding. Highly recommended for church planters and people ministering across cultures.

[Sydney Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The gospel is truly a multi-faceted diamond capable of rescuing humanity from all aspects of sin. Our task as Christians is not merely to marvel at the glorious splendor of the diamond, but to spread the knowledge of God’s salvation so all nations know the abundant life of God found in Jesus Christ.”

Very practical book!

[Sydney Repak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as part of international missions training, but seriously gleaned so much relevant information for my personal life. This is a total game changer for relating well to people from various cultures and backgrounds.

[Sara Dangerfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only interesting, it will definitely be a CONSTANT resource.

[Camille Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess I’m ready for Thailand now!

[Elsa K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice succinct book. Basically, Westerners view the Bible in the narrative of guilt/innocence as that fits with our culture. We talk about God paying our debt, being just, forgiving us etc. Other cultures and parts of the world fit into other worldviews- like guilt/shame and fear. If we aren't aware of these differences, we won't share the Gospel or explain the Bible in a way that will make sense to them. The charts and references are handy to summarize.

[Hudson Tucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jayson Georges' The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures offers an
interesting perspective on living out and communicating the gospel to different types of cultures.
Georges suggests that there are three main responses to sin (guilt, shame, and fear), resulting in
three types of cultures: Guilt-Innocence, Shame-Honor, and Fear-Power. His main claim is that
Westerners typically emphasize only one aspect of salvation, and must be aware of each culture
type to effectively communicate a three-dimensional gospel to the world. The purpose of The 3D
Gospel is to "equip global Christians for increased fruitfulness in ministry" (Georges 13-14). He
attempts to achieve this goal by examining each culture group culturally, theologically, and
missiologically.
Georges first examines each culture type culturally. He suggests that the cultures manifest
as a three-way spectrum where each corner represents a fully shame, guilt, or fear culture. No
culture is completely in one corner, but is positioned toward one more than the others. The
reason different culture types emerge is because there are different barriers people must
overcome in order to acquire the basic necessities of life. This changes what is seen as acceptable
human behavior. Guilt-Innocence cultures are structured around rules and laws to identify right
and wrong. A person is guilty if they break the law, and innocent if they do not. Identity is found
in “doing.” Because of this, people define themselves by how their disposition differs from that
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of the community. These cultures are consequently individualistic. Conversely, Shame-Honor
cultures assume a strong group orientation centered around honor, or a person’s social value.
These cultures are inherently more relational. One is expected to adhere to the social norms of
the collective at the expense of personal desires. Morality is defined relationally: what is best
given the social situation is morally right. Fear-Power cultures typically do not follow clear
ethical principles. Behavioral norms are defined by placating the unseen world or spiritual
powers. These cultures are animistic. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit the physical world
and can influence real-world events. Society is centered around gaining power and control over
the spiritual world. Georges presents an interesting framework for understanding different
cultures. His section on culture is, however, incredibly lacking in justification and depth. Why
have different cultures evolved in this way? Why should one believe this is true? Georges
provides little evidence to support his claims and leaves the reader wanting more. For example,
the entirety of Fear-Power culture is explained in only two pages.
After examining each culture group culturally, he reflects on what that means for each
one theologically. Different societies develop different social norms based on different values.
Thus, each culture will view the gospel narrative through a different lens. He retells the biblical
story through the perspective of each culture. While there are some points of the Biblical
narrative that he overasserts with language to fit the culture, this retelling is beneficial. Being
able to articulate the metanarrative in a way that people easily understand is crucial to effective
evangelism. Unfortunately, he follows this with the weakest part of the book. Georges attempts
to explain three different atonement theories in order to contextualize scripture for each culture.
This simply can not be done in two paragraphs. While it may be true that “the various atonement
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theories from church history can help us present a 3D gospel that speaks to all cultures,” this
claim is not justified or adequately explained (Georges 49). The content is more dense than
Georges makes it out to be. Though each atonement theory can be helpful in understanding how
cultures interpret scripture, not all of them can be true at the same time. Again, Georges
overasserts and oversimplifies.
In the last section of the book Georges presents some practical evangelistic explanations
and other contextualized forms of witness. This is by far the most helpful section of the book.
Georges suggests a four-step format for remembering and presenting the gospel for each culture
type. It is easier for people to grasp the significance of the gospel if it is presented in a culturally
relevant way. While displaying God’s plan for salvation in this way is helpful, there are physical
manifestations of the gospel that can be more compelling for different cultures. The gospel can
be presented through truth, power, and community. Fear-Power cultures may not be compelled
by a conversation and only by divine demonstrations. Shame-Honor cultures may need to see the
gospel displayed in community to understand the kind of relational living Jesus offers them. This
connection is important for someone working in the mission field because they have access to
more than just language through the power of the Holy Spirit. One must be prepared to share the
good news both through impactful encounters and spoken words.
Two major factors hinder the effectiveness of this book. The first is that there is not
enough information. The only way this book could be used in a teaching setting is for a light
introduction to mission work. Georges consistently makes big claims about how different
cultures interact and does not justify his assertions. The book is much too short to successfully
"equip global Christians for increased fruitfulness in ministry" (Georges 13-14). The second
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factor is his bias towards his knowledge of Shame-Honor culture. This is the culture he has done
mission work in for most of his life, and his writing reflects that. While this is not inherently
negative, when the amount of information is already small, it makes it obvious how much less
information on the other cultures is given.
In The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures, Jayson Georges presents
a concise framework for contextualizing the gospel across cultural worldviews. While Georges’
goal to equip global Christians for ministry is commendable, the book’s length undermines this
purpose and its potential impact. Georges’ treatment of complex theological issues is too
simplistic, lacking the depth and support needed to substantiate his claims. His over-reliance on
personal familiarity with shame-honor contexts further limits the book’s effectiveness.
Despite these limitations, The 3D Gospel succeeds in raising awareness of the cultural
lenses through which the gospel must be communicated. Its most valuable contribution lies in the
practical section on contextualized evangelism, where Georges encourages Christians to embody
the gospel not only through verbal proclamation but also through Spirit-empowered actions and
communal witness. This insight is crucial for missionaries seeking to minister in ways that
subvert cultural misunderstanding. While this book is not a comprehensive guide, it serves as a
useful conversation starter for those beginning to consider the implications of foreign cultures in
ministry.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty much a shorter version of his other book "Ministering in Honor and Shame Cultures". While I do believe there is good in these books, I fear people could see Jesus as a means for honor, power, or forgiveness, and not to have fellowship and union with God. In other words The gospel becomes a tool to get something. Which is true, but it is dangerous to only love God for what he can do for us verses simply loving God.

I also do not agree with some of the ministry aspects of the book. He highlights how forgiveness and apologies do not need to be verbal. I think If sin is not confessed and discussed it cannot be truly dealt with. He considers sharing a meal to be a sign of restoration but what i have seen it can simply be a cover to avoid an issue, move on, while one group feels superior and the other grows bitter. I have also noticed that people are just simply too prideful to admit they were wrong and cover it by doing something for someone (meal or gift). But we cannot confuse pride and honor nor shame for a need to be humble.

Despite these few things, these books are full of help and should be read by all people working with other cultures.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank my professors for canceling my morning classes so that I could read this before the overseas meeting tonight. Quick but deep read about how different cultures view guilt, shame, and fear.

[Nathanael Ayling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I'd read this sooner

As a Brit serving in Japan with OMF, I was aware that Japan is a shame-honour culture, but if I'd read this book it would have really helped me understand more fully what that means and how to use that knowledge to more effectively the gospel in culturally appropriate ways.

This short book has also given me a deeper understanding of how looking at the gospel through a 3D lens is vital for a full-orbed grasp of biblical truth and relationship with God. It is not a case of choosing one of the 3 paradigms as your favourite or most culturally relevant; we need all three. We need honour to cleanse our shame, power to overcome fear, as well as innocence to clear our guilt.

[Briar Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short read. Read for class and it lead to come great discussion.

I think once you get the understand of the 3 cultural frameworks (Honor/Shame, Guilt/Innocence, Power/Fear), then you’ve gotten all you need from the book.

The best thing about this book is that it teaches you three things (the frameworks above) and it knows that it’s only teaching you three things. It doesn’t turn into a 200+ page book about these three things. Short, simple, powerful. A gifted author knows when to get writing.

If I were suggesting this book, I would suggest a power skim with slowed down study around the understanding of the 3 frameworks, then discuss it with a close friend and be ready to apply it to your life when it’s time.

[Travis Sharpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3D Gospel is a great reminder that we must change our message depending on the culture we are communicating with. Too often, we assume that our way of seeing the world is the same as the way everyone else sees the world. However, this will cause our message to fail, especially when we encounter missionary contexts which are very different from our own. The good news doesn't change, but the way we communicate the good news must be shaped through the lens of the culture we are seeking to encounter. Our willingness to change the format of the message will be tied to our effectiveness within a given culture.

[Ben Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is essential for anyone in cross-cultural ministry. It has opened my eyes to realities you cannot ignore. This book helps guide you as you share the gospel in cultures significantly different than our own.

It helps us communicate all of God's grace to those with whom we share rather than just some facets. The gospel frees us from guilt, shame and fear. How do we effectively communicate each of those freedoms? Read this book to find out

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer on how the Bible speaks to all people and cultures. This book is brief and to the point which I really appreciate. It provides perspective especially for western Christians on how we may view the gospel with our particular cultural background and how there are other dimensions to that same gospel which are valuable for our own sanctification and for missions. I recommend this quick read for all who are interested in the Bible and culture.

[Hannah Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

-lots of charts and lists outlining the differences between guilt/innocence, shame/honor, and fear/power cultures.
-really helpful for people seeking to understand how to share the gospel cross-culturally.

[Jory Bayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the topic of understanding/communicating the Gospel through cultural lenses. I highly recommend this book for every Christian who desires to understand and communicate the Gospel more deeply and holistically.

[Andrew Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgot I'd read this but very good. Gives a great understanding of different cultures around the world and how they may or may not be receptive to the Gospel, and also how to put the good news in terms of their worldview.

[Erin Berkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent explanation of the Gospel as it relates to the three main ways to share it depending on what culture you're investing in. Either guilt/innocence (Western cultures), honor/shame (Eastern cultures) or power/fear (animism/tribal). Very helpful in ministry!! Also a quick read--took about 1.25 hours!

[lyndzelizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 on goodreads!

quick, 80 paged read about how to share the gospel in three different types of cultures found around the globe - guilt, shame, & fear cultures. very eye opening & helpful for people interested in pursuing missions!

[Christina Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

a simple and beautiful read on how the Gospel reaches and impacts the lives of other people in different cultures.

each one of us will experience the Gospel and need a different administration of the Gospel in our own lives. this book is a must read for those who want to deepen their understanding of ministry and how to share your faith with others around you