Tag: Narratives

Blog Entries

Ethical Storytelling

Everyone who has been to China, or met a Christian from China, or read or heard something about Christians in China, has a story to tell. But no one has the whole story.

Blog Entries

Rediscovering the Plot

Each... aspect of the Christian witness speaks to one facet of the totality of Christ’s kingdom reign. Each provides a complimentary narrative in the overall plot, which is the story of Christ at work in and through his witnesses on earth.

Blog Entries

A Positive Legacy in China

While insensitive cross-cultural work has often resulted in closed doors or deportation, sensitive and authentic cross-cultural work has time and again won over the hearts of the Chinese people.

Blog Entries

Historical Context Matters

As we stop to listen, as we hear the Chinese people’s stories, as we discover for ourselves Chinese history, as we put ourselves in China’s shoes, the Chinese context and therefore their practices and worldview become more understandable.

Blog Entries

China and Me

Growing up as I did in China, I had the privilege of listening and learning from many people who passed through our home and life.

Blog Entries

Christianity and the State—Dispelling a Myth

Embedded in today’s evangelical China narratives, particularly the narrative of the persecuted church, is the assumption that regime change will inevitably bring about greater openness for the gospel in China. But is that what Chinese history tells us?

Blog Entries

Finding Themselves in China

It has been said that for the person who has a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

For foreigners who go to China, it is often the case that what they find depends on what they’ve come looking for.

Blog Entries

God, Caesar, and the Chinese Legal System

Western narratives about China and its church are built on a fundamental, but often unspoken, assumption about the relationship between law and society.

Blog Entries

Formed by Our Narratives

These narratives can also have a distorting effect upon those who employ them, for our China stories speak to more than simply what we think about China; they also reveal what we desire.

Blog Entries

When Our China Stories Ring Hollow

Thoughts about the violent demonstrations on the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.