What Not to Say When Disaster Strikes
How should Christians respond when others face disaster? What should they say? What shouldn't they say?
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Stinky Tofu and Language Learning
Earlier in the summer, I had the chance to meet a family that was in the process of moving to China. Among other things they wanted to know about resources to help their young children learn Chinese.
Western vs. Chinese Theology
In the “Teaching across Cultures” class I took last month with Dr. Craig Ott, he had us read The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently . . . and Why by Richard Nisbett. The crux of the book’s argument is that Westerners and Asians think differently because of their different ancient roots.
Too Quickly to Be Astonished
Surveying China’s extraordinary rise over the past decade, Graham Allison, in his book Destined for War, paraphrases former Czech President Vaclav Havel when he says, “It has happened so quickly, we have not yet had time to be astonished.”
Massive Church Building Project Underway in Ningbo
A remarkable church building project in Ningbo, China.
What Does “Ju” Mean?
When I was living in China, newcomers, especially those who had been around for a few weeks or months and had started to pick up some new words and phrases, would often ask me, “what does ju (or some other word) mean?”
Dwarves Kingdom
A documentary exploring the lives of some of China's "little people" living and working at a theme park in Yunnan.
China’s Church and Its Future
A fundamental question for Christians in China—who will lead the Chinese church of the future.
Why China Needs a Higher Righteousness
In June, video footage of a tragic traffic accident surfaced online, once again prompting questions of morality in Chinese society by Chinese netizens. The incident occurred on April 21 in Zhumadian, Henan province. The video shows a woman who was blindsided by one car while crossing the street and left there by pedestrians. Several people and several cars pass through the intersection without stopping to help. Sadly, the woman is struck again by another car and killed. In this article from the journal Territory, Pastor An analyzes the incident and comments that a cold wave of self-righteousness has swept through Chinese society and says, “what we need is a higher righteousness” to counter this wave of self-righteousness.
Towards More Effective Youth Ministry
The 2015 Survey on the Current Situation and Future Prospects for the Church in China, undertaken by the China Gospel Research Alliance, indicated that pastoring the next generation is a priority for Christian leaders in China. The needs of youth in China are great and the church in China must reach and minister to them or risk losing the next generation of believers—which will not just be the loss of individual believers but also the potential loss of Christian families and church leaders.
Matteo Ricci
Learning Chinese is a big task, but learning how to use the language to accomplish simple, everyday tasks is not. You may never, like Matteo Ricci, translate Chinese classics or write books in Chinese yourself. But even Ricci had to start with the basics, learning the sounds, the tones, and the simple vocabulary to accomplish the stuff of everyday life.
Recommended Read—Shanghai Faithful
When a Catholic Chinese-American journalist discovers that her grandfather was a prominent Anglican church leader in China in the 1940s and that her granduncle was none other than the famous house church leader, Watchman Nee, she did what every good journalist does—she set out to tell the story.