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Visionary art of Jesus as the light of salvation shining over a darkened world bringing hope and redemption. This conference is a good reminder to Christians that the ultimate purpose of even something seemingly cold and private like theology is ultimately to equip ourselves and our fellow believers to better love God and one another.

Shining God’s Light in the World

This conference is a good reminder to Christians that the ultimate purpose of even something seemingly cold and private like theology is ultimately to equip ourselves and our fellow believers to better love God and one another.

The high-speed train travels on a bridge over a wheat field at sunset, with the city skyline in the background. Somewhere between Kunming and Beijing, between my father’s clickety-clack and this near-silent glide, I realized how much the world can change in a lifetime—and how faith, like memory, must find its voice again amid the noise and speed of progress.

Riding the Rails from Kunming to Beijing

Somewhere between Kunming and Beijing, between my father’s clickety-clack and this near-silent glide, I realized how much the world can change in a lifetime—and how faith, like memory, must find its voice again amid the noise and speed of progress.

Fast food restaurant dining room. Learning a few phrases in a few Chinese dialects was very challenging for me, but it is one of the best and most meaningful ways to engage with and minister alongside Chinese communities.

So Many Tones!

Learning a few phrases in a few Chinese dialects was very challenging for me, but it is one of the best and most meaningful ways to engage with and minister alongside Chinese communities.

The traditional Chinese festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, shown in a beautiful and artistic illustration with a Chinese style. In Chinese culture, no circle is more significant or beautiful than the full, bright moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Reunion is the very heartbeat of the holiday, and the moon’s flawless face is its ultimate emblem.

The Quest for the Perfect Circle

In Chinese culture, no circle is more significant or beautiful than the full, bright moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Reunion is the very heartbeat of the holiday, and the moon’s flawless face is its ultimate emblem.

Woman in church praying, Surveying the fraught relationship between church and state in China, the late Chinese church historian Daniel Bays asserted that government control of religion has been a constant feature from Imperial times to the present.

State Dominance of Religion

Surveying the fraught relationship between church and state in China, the late Chinese church historian Daniel Bays asserted that government control of religion has been a constant feature from Imperial times to the present.

Jesus statue in garden at St. Ignatius Xujiahui Cathedral, Shanghai. Traditional China’s worldview—Confucianism, Daoism/folk religion, Buddhism, and the management of “heterodoxy”—shaped how Christianity was first seen: foreign, sometimes tolerated, and often misunderstood.

Traditional China Meets Christianity

Traditional China’s worldview—Confucianism, Daoism/folk religion, Buddhism, and the management of “heterodoxy”—shaped how Christianity was first seen: foreign, sometimes tolerated, and often misunderstood.