Authentic Forgiveness

John C. W. Tran

Description

No one can avoid conflict, sin, and evil, or the hurt and brokenness they cause. The best way to transform conflict and hurt from being life-destructive to being life-constructive is to forgive and to be forgiven.
Authentic, biblically based forgiveness is a gift that God offers to humanity so that hurt can be healed, the cycle of retaliation broken, a painful past soothed, and estranged relationships reconciled and restored. Dr John Tran explains how forgiveness in both Western and Chinese cultures differs from the practice outlined in God’s word. Authentic Forgiveness calls us to examine our own cultural traditions and points us towards the search for true reconciliation, where people risk to communicate, extend trust, and work through anger and pain. Combining biblical and theological understanding with practical strategies for local church ministry, Tran offers an inspiring paradigm of action for Christians in urban Asian contexts and beyond.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783687749
• Langue: English

Extrait

Many can’t forgive. Some won’t forgive. Others think they’ve forgiven. In reality, too few Christians know how to practice authentic forgiveness. In this regard, Authentic Forgiveness is indeed a vital contribution. I’m glad that Pastor John has written this book. It is written with the mind of a scholar, the heart of a pastor, and the insightfulness of a competent cultural exegete. It is a highly commendable read!
Rev Edmund Chan
Leadership Mentor, Covenant Evangelical Free Church, Singapore
Founder, Global Alliance of Intentional Disciple Making Churches
Forgiveness is easy – until you meet real people! John Tran has given us the gift of a theologically articulate and practical resource for helping people in a local congregation to forgive each other and engage more deeply in community. “Forgiveness is costly,” Tran writes, “and we desperately need it.” Whenever people gather together, hurt, offense, and violence are often realities that must be dealt with. As Christ followers, we cannot avoid these realities but must work through these challenges and practice authentic forgiveness in our faith communities. Tran guides us on that path – biblically and practically.
Kurt Fredrickson, PhD
Associate Dean, Doctor of Ministry Program,
Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry,
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA
Authentic forgiveness requires not only a thoroughly biblical and theological understanding as its foundation but also a practical strategy addressing the milieu of local church ministries with realistic cultural constraint. This book combines the best of both worlds, offering an inspiring paradigm for action among pastoral colleagues in urban Asian contexts and beyond.
Rev Stephen Lee, PhD
President and Lam Ko Kit Tak Professor of Biblical Studies,
China Graduate School of Theology, Hong Kong
Authentic Forgiveness is a life-transforming book. It explores how human hurts and conflicts can be deeply and lovingly resolved by courageous acts of Christian forgiveness. It calls upon readers to examine their own cultural blind spots – whether these be Chinese habits of condoning sin in the name of harmony or Western individualistic thinking which understands forgiveness as a private act of intrapsychic release. It challenges many popular notions of forgiveness which either cheapen grace or distort Christian forgiveness. Authentic forgiveness, as John Tran persuasively argues, must consist of forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation. Forgiveness can only come to consummation when there is genuine repentance on the part of the offender and reconciliation between the injured person and the offender. Tran invites readers to step out of their comfort zones to deal with past hurts so as to experience the wonderful joy of mended relationships when forgiveness is practiced in an authentic and biblical way. This is a must-read for pastors and Christians who truly want to follow Christ in this world of broken relationships.
Maureen Yeung Marshall, PhD
Professor Emerita of Biblical Studies,
Former President,
Evangel Seminary, Hong Kong
In proposing a strategy to implement the biblical vision of forgiveness in a local context, this book situates itself at the intersection of theological, cultural, and ecclesial concerns and practices. Through the lens of a wider redemptive-historical framework embedded in the biblical text, it provides a strong and effective critique of both the “eastern” prioritization of social harmony and the “western” preoccupation with self-healing. The particularity of its context allows for a wider application in a time when Christian communities are increasingly finding themselves blessed by culturally diverse groups of believers. As such, this book deserves a place on the shelves of conscientious pastors and Christian leaders.
David W. Pao, PhD
Professor of New Testament,
Chair, New Testament Department,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, USA

Authentic Forgiveness
A Biblical Approach
John C. W. Tran

© 2020 John C. W. Tran
Published 2020 by Langham Global Library
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-773-2 Print
978-1-78368-774-9 ePub
978-1-78368-775-6 Mobi
978-1-78368-776-3 PDF
John C. W. Tran has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
All names used in the stories in this book have been changed to protect the confidentiality of those involved.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-773-2
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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To my beloved wife, Angela, for her love and care over the past thirty years, for patiently supporting me to pursue what God has placed on my heart.
To my wonderful children, Joshua and Rachel, for their prayers, support, and understanding, and the joy they bring to me.
To my other family members, who always love and encourage me.
To those who are broken and hurt.
To our God who cares.
Contents

Cover


Foreword Forgiving Is Hard Work – It Is Heart Work, Not Just Head Work


Acknowledgments


Abstract


1 Location, Location, Location: Forgiving in a Chinese Context


Factors That Shape the Christian’s Perception of Forgiveness


Theological and Biblical Foundations of Authentic Forgiveness


The Rest of the Book


2 I nfluences That Shape and Distort Perceptions and the Practice of Forgiveness


Forgiveness in the Chinese Tradition


Forgiveness in Western Culture


Forgiveness in the Church


Conclusion


3 Broken Relationships: Seven Voices Speak about Forgiveness


The Inevitability of Sin, Conflict, and Hurt


Confronting the Trivialization of Authentic Forgiveness


Healing and Restoration of Relationship by Authentic Forgiveness


Conclusion


4 Foundations of Authentic Forgiveness


Theological Foundation


Biblical Foundation


Conclusion


5 Practice: A Plan of Action for Your Church


Theological Implications


Six Goals


Five Strategies


Target Groups


Conclusion


6 Practice: Implementing the Plan in Your Church


The Pilot Run


Implementation Timeline


Resources Required


Measuring Effectiveness


Conclusion


7 Final Words: As We Have Been Forgiven, so Forgive


Appendix A Sermon Series Topics and Scriptures


Appendix B Authentic Forgiveness Questionnaire: Sample Questions


Bibliography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Foreword Forgiving Is Hard Work – It Is Heart Work, Not Just Head Work
Sue Monk Kidd, in her wonderful novel, The Secret Life of Bees , writes about a young girl who has been spiritually, physically, and psychologically abused. Out of her pain, Lily expresses incisive wisdom about many things, especially about the difficulty of forgiving: “People in general, would rather die than forgive. It’s that hard. If God said in plain language, ‘I’m giving you a choice, forgive or die,’ a lot of people would go ahead and order their coffin.” [1]
Forgiving is so difficult for many of us that we create a wide range of substitute solutions that allow us to pretend we are being good about it all or too mature to be troubled by another’s action, but it is all a strategy for saving face – our own face in particular.
John Tran asks hard questions. John Tran does not settle for easy answers. John Tran has invited us to walk this hard path with him because it is the path to authent