Chinese Christians have a unique place in global Christianity and are entering into deeper conversations with Christians worldwide. What do they offer each other? One of the greatest challenges to global Christianity is navigating fragmentation and diversity. Another significant challenge is interaction with people of other religions. How can Chinese Christians help in these and other challenges? What role do they play on the global scene? The author addresses these questions in his discussion of this topic.
Todd M. Johnson
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September 22, 2015
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Scholarship
An anonymous, small-scale study done by an agency among its Chinese coworkers provides insight into benefits foreign workers bring to their workplace or team as well as advice for improving relationships with their team members and friends.
Suzanne
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Scholarship
In China, the “post-eighties” denotes those who are were generally born during the 1980s. They are the earliest generation of those who became known in the West as the “Little Emperors” of China. Typically, they were raised in a family environment where all adults focused their attention on their only heir. R and J review the family relationships, psychological characteristics, and spokespersons for this generation. They then give suggestions for Christian expatriates working with this group.
R and J
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Ideas
One issue for younger Christians in China is where to turn for good teaching on issues related to relationships and marriage. Because there are fewer Christians in the generation that preceded them, there are few role models. Therefore, the need for resources and training for the Chinese church in this area is great.
One man who is speaking to this need is Yuan Datong (Andrew Yuan), a Christian marriage counselor who conducts marriage workshops in churches all over the country. He has also authored a number of books on the subject, including Marriage: A Covenant for Life.
ChinaSource Team
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Ideas
The editor's point of view.
Andrew T. Kaiser
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Scholarship
While living in Beijing, I came to know well a migrant family. They had arrived in Beijing in the mid-1990s and had managed to find good jobs and earn enough money to buy an apartment and start a family. Even though they did not have a Beijing hukou, they managed to get their children into a decent school. It was interesting to watch the children grow up, because clearly they saw themselves more as urbanites, even though they technically weren’t.
Joann Pittman
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September 21, 2015
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Stories
When we encounter cross-cultural differences like the indirect communication style featured in my recent post on the rule of three we have a choice. You either complain about the difference and become frustrated or seek to understand it better and adapt.
Joab Meyer
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September 18, 2015
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Ideas
When a child is born in China, the parents must register him/her and obtain a hukou (household registration certificate). When a couple recently went to register their child, they were told that, since they were not married, they would have to pay a 40,000 yuan “social maintenance fee.” Not having that amount of money, they launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise money to pay the fee. Their story garnered a lot of attention and prompted discussion on social media. It was even covered by The New York Times.
ChinaSource Team
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September 15, 2015
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Stories
If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend reading Builders of the Chinese Church: Pioneer Protestant Missionaries and Chinese Church Leaders, edited by Wright Doyle and Carol Hamrin.
Joann Pittman
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September 14, 2015
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Scholarship
Effective communication requires engagement from both ends of the communication cycle—both the ability to send a message and receive feedback from your audience. Using this cycle to reach a common understanding is more of an art than a science—even when we communicate with others from our home culture. However, it is even more challenging when communicating cross-culturally in China.
Joab Meyer
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September 11, 2015
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Stories
Tainted milk, diseased pigs sold on the market, 40-year-old meat discovered in a warehouse in Hunan, and lead-contaminated water in a newly built Hong Kong housing estate—these are just a few examples of the food scare nightmares that have come to light in China in recent years. More such stories continue to surface, seemingly on a weekly basis.
Brent Fulton
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September 9, 2015
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Stories
It is easy to think of the China Inland Mission era as being in the distant past. This article, translated from the mainland site Christian Times reminds us that it is not as far away as we thought.
ChinaSource Team
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September 8, 2015
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Stories