Firsthand accounts of faith lived out in the context of Chinese Christianity.
The past three decades have seen tens of thousands of Christians from outside China engaged in myriad activities aimed at serving the Chinese church and society. Today their role is changing. New skills – one in particular – are needed to work out what this role and what their relationship to China's church should look like in days to come.
I recently went to my local bank to receive an electronic bank transfer. I have been a customer at this bank for nearly 15 years, and so the idea that I have to show up with ID and fill out reams of paperwork just to "accept" a wire transfer into my account does not upset me. On this occasion, however, I was a bit anxious. Having only just returned to China, I was still waiting for my residence permit to be completed. This meant that my passport was still in the hands of the city Public Security officials—and would likely remain there for the next couple weeks.
This is the second part of an interview with a Reformed church pastor that was originally published in the Christian Times.
For those in long-term service in China, one of the difficulties in discerning where things are headed politically and socially is knowing how to separate out significant long-term trends from those events that, while appearing important in the moment, may prove to be mere distractions. This is particularly true for those working with the church in China, who often attempt to "read the tea leaves," through the lens of religious policy and its immediate affect upon China's Christians.
"Stream of Praise," a California-based music ministry has had a profound influence on the music sung in churches in China. If you have been to China and attended an urban house church or a "youth service" at a Three-self Church, then you have most likely listened to, or sung, their songs. Founded in 1993, they have written 330 songs, and sung at more than 1000 events around the world.
I'm sure you've done it, I know I have. Asked a Chinese friend or colleague what stood out to them if they had a chance to visit your home country. I enjoy hearing what stood out to them or to friends who have visited me in China. Their impressions help me to see afresh the places I care about.
The first time I crossed a cultural boundary; I was but 1 year old! And no, it wasn't my parents whisking me off to some far-off tropical land; it was my family returning to the US after a term of service in Pakistan.
"This is crazy," I observed to my audience of parents and high school students in Beijing. "Why on earth would parents send their 14- or 15- or 16-year-olds to the other side of the world for schooling, especially when studies show some of the best schools in the world are in your own country?"
The piece translated below is from a post on the Weixin (WeChat) page of the Beijing Gospel Church, one of the citys more prominent house churches. The writer is sharing his thoughts on the nature of worship in the church.
笔者从前在北美， 并与当地的中国留学生一起工作, 他提出北美的中国教会应如何修改自己的策略，以达到这些学生的问题。他与后现代学生接触，并从他的经验来解释及引申有用的例子。
毛泽东死后的中国，是意识型态的真空。认为凡事没有绝对价值的后现代主义，并没有成功填补这个空档。为了避免社会纷乱及政治动荡，人们登上寻索之旅，对宗教信仰产生强烈甚至迫切的渴求… …
I have done a lot of cross-cultural training over the years for people heading off to work in China, and one of the resources that I turn to again and again is Turning Bricks into Jade: Critical Incidents for Mutual Understanding among Chinese and Americans. Edited by Mary Wong and others, this book is a collection of "critical incidents" or stories of cross-cultural conflict and misunderstanding between Chinese and Americans.