Editorial reflection and analysis on issues shaping Chinese Christianity.
When shopping in street markets in Asia, I'd often hear the reply, "Same same, but different." The one item was the same as the other but somehow different. Maybe they didn't have the one I wanted but this other item would be just as good. Same thing but different.
The autumn issue of the ChinaSource Quarterly (due out next week) deals with the effects of postmodernism on China and the church.
From the editor's point of view...
Historical events following Mao's death left an ideological vacuum in China. This has created a strong need for faith, even an urge, so as to avoid the risk of further social disruption and political instability. While postmodernism, with its relativity and lack of absolutes, is trying to fill this void, it also leaves people questioning and open to exploring faith.
An interview with a Chinese scholar about his proposal for a Law of Religion in China
Originally published in 2010 as a three part series, this article challenges leaders to develop greater capacity in three areas where resources are often lacking in ministy.
In an historic gathering at the end of June, some 100 church leaders from China joined with their counterparts from around Asia and beyond for the Asian Church Leaders Forum, held in Seoul, Korea. This conference was particularly meaningful in that most of these leaders had planned to attend the 2010 Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, but at the last minute were prevented from leaving China. Nearly three years later, their vision of being able to take their "seat at the table" with other leaders from around the globe became a reality.
Originally published in 2009 as a three-part series on leadership development for Christian leaders in China, the author looks at three of the core issues that impact believers who are called to be leaders.
The President of the Three-Self Patriotic Committee comments on President Xi Jinping's "Chinese Dream" slogan.
Chinas economic growth is unprecedented in recent history, and the effects have been jarring. Having been involved with China long enough to remember when ordinary citizens needed ration cards to purchase basic necessities, I can also recall my shock and surprise when I first saw advertisements for a new weight loss program plastered on the side of a bus in a prosperous southern Chinese city.
The "China Dream" which the country's newly installed leaders are promoting is largely a vision of economic growth and prosperity, couched in terms of national pride and increasing strength vis-a-vis the international community. This vision of a strong and prosperous country is not new; late-Qing reformers and May 4th activists alike sounded a similar call, and progress a century later is still measured against the backdrop of this longstanding national struggle.
Anyone who has been involved in China over the past 30 years can complete the sentence "When I first came to China " with a vividperhaps even harrowingaccount of what China was like in the past. The readily observable changes in day-to-day living that have come about from rapid development and economic growth are phenomenal and at times unsettling. Those newly arrived in China are often surprised at what they find and realize that the reading they have done or the orientation classes they have taken in preparation for living and working in China have not kept up with the pace of development in China.
Chinese house church leaders commit to engage as partners with the global church in world evangelization.