In mid-July 2026, Chinese Christian scholars and pastors from various denominational backgrounds in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the three-day Third Public Theology Conference.
What was most noteworthy about this congress was not only what it said, but also how it was experimenting with new ways to speak, lead, communicate, and understand the next generation.
After leaving Kuala Lumpur, one question stayed with me: were we, throughout the conference, actually speaking about the same thing when we used the term ‘public theology’?
The conference, "Chinese Christian Scholarship and the Church in Global Perspective: Review and Prospect," organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies of Chinese Christianity (IASCC) was certainly a fruitful event.
The Chinese church is gradually moving from numerical breadth to intellectual maturity—from movement-driven growth to the building of institutions and a knowledge tradition.
These sessions showcased the intensity and seriousness with which this generation is pursuing in-depth knowledge with academic integrity, intellectual purpose, and faith.