House Churches and Cults – the Dangers of Mistaken Identity
The BBC article "The Chinese cult that kills 'demons'" prompted a reader to ask recently, "Have you heard of this cult?"
The Lantern
A monthly update sharing stories and reflections from the ChinaSource team on God’s work in and through China.
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Students on Our Doorsteps
First it was Chinese graduate students and scholars going overseas to study. Then undergraduates joined the ranks of international students from China. Now there are thousands of young Chinese students arriving in the US for high school.
Faith and Generosity
Generosity is an unequivocal characteristic of the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. It is the joyful life that flows freely and richly from a heart that has been set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the way Christians bear the image of the God who "so loved the world that He gave "
Next Steps in Walking with Leaders
"Brother Mark" played a key role in coordinating Walking with Leaders a consultation on mentoring, coaching, and spiritual formation in China hosted by ChinaSource last month in Hong Kong. Here are excerpts from a conversation we had with Brother Mark following the event.
When we Walk with Leaders
It's hard to learn a skill if you've never seen an experienced person do it.Instructions are great but watching a video on Youtube is better. Better yet, however, is having an experienced person—a mentor—walk alongside you, make suggestions, and give good feedback as you learn. If that is true of simpler tasks like pruning roses or learning tai chi, it is certainly true for learning the far more complex skills and attitudes needed in godly, fruitful church leaders.
The Sanjiang Church Incident: More than Meets the Eye
Last week, word started circulating in the western press of a church in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province that was surrounded by parishioners protecting it from a demolition crew.
Seeking Asian Values
In 1997 when China regained sovereignty over Hong Kong and the people of Hong Kong were grappling with what it meant to be Chinese of China, conversations often referred to Asian values. For over a hundred years, Hong Kong had been ruled and influenced by Western values, some referred to them as Christian values. Now that Hong Kong was no longer part of the United Kingdom, the question was how do the people of Hong Kong identify themselves? What values do they hold? Frequently the answer involved articulating Asian values in some way. Often Buddhism was highlighted; other times Confucianism was mentioned as a source for moral guidance.
On the Horse!
February 14 marks the official end of the two-week holiday season in China known as Spring Festival, which coincides with the first 15 days of the lunar New Year. According to the Chinese zodiac, the year that began two weeks ago is the Year of the Horse.
Examining China’s Religious Policy
One of the questions frequently asked about China concerns the degree to which Christians in China face persecution, the default assumption being that China has a specific policy of repressing Christianity.
China’s New Generation
Now that the spacecraft Chang'e 3 has successfully touched down on the moon's surface, China can add a lunar landing to its list of stunning achievements in the past three decades. These achievements among them the most spectacular Olympic Games opening ceremony in history, the lifting of hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and the migration of hundreds more millions from the countryside to the cities stand out as exclamation points in the fast-paced narrative of China's transformation. At once breathtaking and disorienting, the making of what TIME magazine decades ago called "The New, New China" has transformed not only a nation but also its place in the world at large.
Chinese Church Voices – Hearing What Chinese Believers Say About the Church in China
A remarkable article appeared in the Global Times (the English-language mouthpiece of the authoritative People's Daily) on October 10 that openly acknowledged the division between China's official Three Self Church and the unofficial church and suggested that the authorities are trying to bridge the gap between official and underground believers that has seemed irreconcilable for a generation.
New Directions in Christian Education for China
Last summer's crash of an Asiana jetliner in San Francisco shocked and saddened many in China. More than a hundred of the passengers were Chinese high school students enroute to a summer camp in California. The unfortunate tragedy also shone a spotlight on a growing trend of Chinese youth studying in US high schools. By one estimate 25,000 Chinese high schoolers are currently in private schools in the United States.