A Church Without Walls
The exhortation of a pastor in China to "Build a church without walls."
The exhortation of a pastor in China to "Build a church without walls."
Anyone who comes to you claiming to be a "China expert" is either deluded (and thus to be pitied), lying (and thus suspect), or out to separate you from your money (and thus to be avoided).
In recent years Chinese cross-cultural workers have started to be sent out to other countries but there has not been a great amount of effectiveness in their work. One reason for their lack of effectiveness is that many who want to serve cross-culturally do not have formal education, often having not gone to high school, much less to college.
If you ever move to a major city in Southwest China to study an obscure language at a Chinese university, perhaps the following insights from our first thirteen days will aid your transition.
On August 12, 2015, a series of massive explosions ripped through a container storage station in the Binhai New Area district of the port city of Tianjin. The station is known to have been a storage site for hazardous materials. The two largest blasts were the equivalent of three tons and 21 tons of TNT respectively, with the second being picked up by weather satellites orbiting earth. Over 150 people were killed and over 700 were injured. The cause of the explosions is still unknown.
Eyewitness videos of the blast quickly spread online, followed by earnest questions regarding safety and responsibility. The Christian publication Territory joined in the discussion by asking readers to share how they were affected by the blasts.
A look at the news and analysis about President Xi Jinping's US visit.
The church in China—more Chinese or more global?
A ChinaSource "3 Question" interview with Dr. Carol Lee Hamrin about China’s National Security Commission.
ChinaSource Conversations
Walking with Leaders: Coaching in China, Navigating Culture
The first in a series of podcasts.
The Missionary's Curse: and Other Tales from a Chinese Catholic Village by Henrietta Harrison.
Harrison recounts the story of Catholicism in a small village in Shanxi, from its initial arrival at the opening of the seventeenth century right up to the present.
The author shares how his worldview has changed over the decades and how his relationships with others have changed as a result of this. As China continues to develop and grow, its need for foreign interaction will change. The deepest benefit foreign believers can bring is the benefit of a life that flows from God through Jesus; however, those whom China invites to come and stay will change according to the country’s felt needs.
The changes in China are both positive and negative, and they require us to rethink the kinds of foreign Christians who are still needed in that country. Some kinds of foreigners are not needed while there is a great need for another kind—those who exemplify biblical values and priorities in all aspects of their lives. Not only can they help strengthen the testimony of Chinese believers and those who shepherd them, they can also act as evangelists.